A BALANCED COMPOSITION
WITH CJ PAINTING
by Cassidy Mantor
When I spoke with Christian J. Martin in June for this article, he was on the way to pick up his eight-year-old son, Maxwell, for a weekend of adventure. The founder of Bend’s CJ Painting was considering their options, either working on restoring a 1991 square-body Suburban or taking their new surf and wake boat out. Both weighed equally.
On the one hand, Christian taught Maxwell how to use the spray paint gun last year and he was eager to make progress on the restoration. On the other hand, the boat, a brand-new green MasterCraft NXT24 that Christian had admired for years and finally bought was beckoning. The common thread is an intentional choice to prioritize quality time with his son.
“The thing I like most about working with CJ Painting is that a lot of trades will use what the previous trade left behind as an excuse for why they can’t do their job to the highest level. Christian never does that. If there’s something he’s capable of doing, he’ll take that on to make sure his work looks as good as it possibly can – which is how we want it to look also. He just doesn’t make excuses when he comes on site.”
–Tory Garcia, Founder, Makena Built
Christian has worked hard over the past three decades to build CJ Painting’s legacy. What sets the company apart is his commitment to developing the best team and delivering the best product. Christian works with clients to understand their creative visions, giving them a painter’s vocabulary to help define their desires. Then, he makes it happen.
It comes as no surprise that under Christian’s leadership, the individuals who make up the CJ Painting team are the best, focusing on their individual talents and unique traits. Whether it’s traveling to Portland for the right finish or providing solutions to strengthen a home’s longevity, CJ Painting breaks down challenges and meets them with expertise, resourcefulness, and exceptional creativity. Here’s how.
A BUILDER’S PREFERRED TRADESMAN
At the base of the Three Sisters on 10 acres is a 4,400-square-foot modern home designed by Jason Todd and constructed by Makena Built. The home is a masterpiece – it’s the personal family home of Makena’s founder, builder Tory Garcia. Concrete flows from the interior floors to the exterior surfaces and it is a single-level very livable 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath home.
Tory has known Christian for over 11 years. The first time they worked together was on a Central Oregon Builder’s Association (COBA) Tour of Homes project in Northwest Crossing. They completed the house from start-to-finish in a speedy four months. It was such a smooth process that they finished a week early. When it came time to engage a subcontractor for help with his family home, he knew without question that it would be CJ Painting.
For Tory’s family house, CJ Painting is actively working on improving existing ideas. They’re painting casework and some unique flush trim details, repainting walls and ceilings, as well as touching up where sheet rock improvements were needed. “He’s helping us pull it off in the manner that we had originally envisioned,” Tory shares.
“The thing I like most about working with CJ Painting is that a lot of trades will use what the previous trade left behind as an excuse for why they can’t do their job to the highest level. Christian never does that,” Tory says. “If there’s something he’s capable of doing, he’ll take that on to make sure his work looks as good as it possibly can – which is how we want it to look also. He just doesn’t make excuses when he comes on site.”
“Christian is willing to jump on board and do everything it takes to execute at the highest level – even when creative elements may be out of the norm. He will go on that journey with us, pushing the limits to see what we can create together.”
–Tory Garcia, Founder, Makena Built
The house is a contemporary style with ICF construction concrete walls. Because it’s his personal home, Tory is trying out new design ideas with the intention that he will be able to show them to clients in the future. He explains, “If they can see it in my house, a lot of times it serves as an example of the vision I have for their homes in the future.” The techniques Tory and CJ are working on include flush trim throughout with no details that extend past the sheetrock. “It creates a clean, contemporary look, adding to all the metal and concrete in the house as well,” Tory says. “Christian likes the creative side of things too, and he is always game to take those details and elements and execute them in the way we’re hoping them to finish out.”
Makena pushes the envelope in their different design elements. Garcia’s background includes a successful tenure in project management for Walt Disney Imagineering, where his team built numerous projects at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and MGM Studios. For the past 20 years he has applied those learnings to his work at Makena, leading the firm to produce exceptional design and a quality client experience. Makena’s preferred interior designer, Martha Murray, crafts cutting-edge interior looks, as do their architectural partners. “Christian is willing to jump on board and do everything it takes to execute at the highest level – even when creative elements may be out of the norm,” Tory says. “He will go on that journey with us, pushing the limits to see what we can create together.”
In addition to CJ Painting’s creative versatility, their on-the-job communication is exceptional. “Christian’s guys are on site the day they’re supposed to be, they take how long they said they would, and the place is spotless when they walk out,” Tory observes. “It is a nice partnership when you have a subcontractor who demonstrates that level of respect for the schedule and job site and can also deliver an exceptional finished product. That whole package is very difficult to find.”
“Christian’s guys are on site the day they’re supposed to be, they take how long they said they would, and the place is spotless when they walk out. It is a nice partnership when you have a subcontractor who demonstrates that level of respect for the schedule and job site and can also deliver an exceptional finished product. That whole package is very difficult to find.”
–Tory Garcia, Founder, Makena Built
CREATING BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT LAST
CJ is actively working with a former Nike executive and his wife who spent the past 10 years planning their dream build. With their three daughters away at university, their goal was for this house to be the place their children came home to on their breaks and in the future bring their own families. “It was a labor of love,” the homeowner reflects.
The house is a modern style that balances clean design with the warmth and comfort of a generational home. The level of detail they approached their project with meant that the materials, finishes, and surfaces were exceedingly important. “You can’t hide anything because the materials are right there to look at,” the homeowner says.
“We had 35 samples of different finishes on walnut and all of them were wrong in one way or another, either too opaque, too milky, or too warm. CJ was in the house doing some other work and overheard us having an issue with selecting the right finish in the kitchen. With his passion, he came over and asked us, ‘What’s the problem?’”
–Homeowner
When it came time for the color of the cabinets, his wife knew what she wanted. “We’re very detail-oriented and this home reflects our attention to fit, finish, and materials,” he adds. They used walnut to soften the crisp, modern design, but they couldn’t find the right finish on their cabinetry to make it look clean and natural. Unlike in larger cities where one can go to a showroom or look at another building for inspiration, Bend was a challenging place to get the level of design and simplicity of details that the clients sought – their refined taste necessitated flawless execution. CJ created a solution.
“We had 35 samples of different finishes on walnut and all of them were wrong in one way or another, either too opaque, too milky, or too warm,” the homeowner shares. “CJ was in the house doing some other work and overheard us having an issue with selecting the right finish in the kitchen. With his passion, he came over and asked us, ‘What’s the problem?’”
They explained the challenge they were having with the walnut cabinetry. CJ’s response was, “I don’t know exactly what the answer is right now, but I’ll get you an answer.” He mentioned a contact in Portland who works on high-end finishes and that he’d like to partner with him to see what options he had for a very specific high-end finish for walnut. He asked if it would be ok if he took a sample and ran with it.
“It’s a bit of a cliché to say that building a house is a journey you take with a bunch of people, but between our contractor Kristian at Timberline Construction and CJ, these are the people who are making the home we’ll live in and that will last long beyond when we’re here. CJ’s level of attention to detail, his passion, and expertise are what saved us. He helped us achieve this home that we dreamt about. He’s so genuinely passionate and down to earth – we just love him.”
–Homeowner
“We were desperate for a solution,” the homeowner recalls. “The clock was running, and we’d gone through so many rounds.” Adding to the pressure, it was a Friday, and the homeowners were traveling back to Europe for work that weekend.
CJ drove to Portland with a big slab of walnut in his truck and an idea in his head. When he returned, he showed the homeowners several examples. As he presented them to his clients, he told them he didn’t like the samples, that it didn’t feel quite there in terms of what their vision was. He did another round and nailed it.
“It’s a bit of a cliché to say that building a house is a journey you take with a bunch of people, but between our contractor Kristian at Timberline Construction and CJ, these are the people who are making the home we’ll live in and that will last long beyond when we’re here,” the homeowner says. “CJ’s level of attention to detail, his passion, and expertise are what saved us. He helped us achieve this home that we dreamt about. He’s so genuinely passionate and down to earth – we just love him.”
A DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODEL
Restoration factors heavily into Christian’s goals for this next phase of business. CJ Painting is putting the final touches on its Barndominium – the new 8,000-square foot studio shop with a loft, offices, shower, and open workspace. With city limits expanding out their way, CJ already has plans and permits for another shop on the same site where they will set up their business expansion.
The shop is also the homebase where Christian trains his team and instills the values that will serve them well in business and in life, namely integrity. For many on his team it is the first time they have been mentored. From showing up and working as a team to helping them with money matters and retirement planning (CJ Painting offers retirement plans for its employees), Christian takes pride in developing them as people as well as outstanding painters.
“Building the strongest team is what makes for a good product,” he says. “I can’t be the one who draws it out of them, but I can show them their potential. I tell my son this all the time.”
With pigments and dyes in concentrate form, CJ Painting is becoming a paint store in its own right. “When you’re staining 100 cabinet doors, you can expect someone to apply it light-handed and another to apply it heavy-handed, so it will come out differently,” Christian explains. “With our system, one man sprays it all on uniformly. It’s not as messy and there are fewer fumes and chemicals.”
“I’m being asked to help translate what their clients want,” Christian says. “We go outside to look at a tree and I ask them what they see. By listening to how they’re looking at something I can figure out how to make it. A lot of people want to be told a color number but when you’re working at this level, it’s harder for some to articulate that something is too dry or that it needs more body, or more or less pigment.”
–Christian J. Martin, Founder, CJ Painting
This new paint lab works well with CJ Painting’s plan to take the best care of its team. “The idea is to give the guys who work for us ownership in it,” Christian says. “Growing up, I struggled with the traditional education system, but I understand applied learning like critical thinking and communication skills, and I want that for our crew too. I’m creating something now that people like me were told we couldn’t have.” His vision is motivated by gratitude and a keen empathy for the underdog.
The Showcase House that CJ Painting works on is a fundraiser for COBA. As a nonprofit, the resources raised go to continuing the efforts of advocating for the construction industry, including helping build more affordable housing in Central Oregon. “I like my guys working to recognize how good we have it working where we do,” Christian shares. He has come a long way from where he began, working long hours on spec houses with a borrowed pump and equipment, to the intricate and creative challenges in the custom homes that he paints today.
The reason that growth is sustainable is because Christian is focused on striking the balance between effort and ease, knowing which partners to work with and where to apply resources for the maximum return. “The market and industry have changed so much,” he explains. “Especially since COVID, we focus on building a stronger team and that offsets our labor cost. I’m not going to cut my guys’ pay because someone doesn’t want to pay their market price. Good tradesmen cost money. We focus on team-building, and it gives us peace of mind. When we slow down, we are happier and we produce a better product,” Christian says.
Part of slowing down for Christian includes focusing on the value of family and knowing how to set priorities. He says, “I am always on top of my work come Monday at 4am, and I like to be of service and please people, but my team also knows how important my time is with Maxwell and my family.”
In loving memory of Taylor Shane Wyss.
Up next for CJ Painting is more work in the custom home industry as well as meetings with builders. “I’m being asked to help translate what their clients want,” Christian says. “We go outside to look at a tree and I ask them what they see. By listening to how they’re looking at something I can figure out how to make it. A lot of people want to be told a color number but when you’re working at this level, it’s harder for some to articulate that something is too dry or that it needs more body, or more or less pigment.”
Christian’s ability to relate to people makes for a strong partnership with clients and builders. “When you understand them and what they want, you come up with something so much better,” he says. Those moments translate to house painting and also to a more satisfying life beyond the craft – meaningful relationships and the commitment to a life led in alignment with his deepest sense of self. “I feel like I get caught up in the grind trying to please others, but what makes me better in my work is when I am me,” he shares.
Christian is also intuitively creative. “He sees a piece of raw wood and its tones and knows what colors and finishes to put on it without a lot of mixing and matching,” a paint rep said about CJ when the two bonded over technical stains and washes from European paint company Diamond Vogle.
CJ and his son Maxwell
His clarity comes with much gratitude, from Miller Paint, Retro Rides, and Sulphur City Studios in Bend to his accountant, his office manager, family, friends, builders, business colleagues, April and the girls from Vanilla, and of course clients. Christian adds, “A special thanks to the core members of the CJ Painting team and especially my son, Maxwell, for allowing me to see clearer.”
Christian’s leadership of CJ Painting and his role as father are intertwined at the deepest of levels. His guidance helps motivate others to achieve their greatest potential. As for Maxwell, he’ll work with Christian a couple days a week while school is out. “He needs to learn, and we play the rest of the time,” he shares.
