By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Can't decide between wallpaper or a new paint job in your living room? How about a wall of marble? Or how about exchanging your plaster for the look of brick. Or better yet, how about the prematurely aged wall of Martha Stewart's dreams.

It's not as difficult as you might think. All you need is a skilled artist who can use a paint brush to create one of these "faux finishes" on your normal, everyday sheet rock.

One such artist is Ray Munger, a Lake City resident, who runs Portico Studios.

Munger grew up in Kansas City, Kan. and studied both art and social services in college. He moved to Seattle in 1990. For eight years, he worked at Children's Hospital, teaching art to troubled kids, but he eventually realized he wanted a job where he could use his skills in painting and drawing more.

"Art become increasingly important," Munger said. "This allows me the option of working in the field."

Munger's opportunity to leave Children's Hospital came when his friend and fellow painter, Sam Osheroff, suggested they go into business together. They started Portico Studios in 1999.

Osheroff eventually left the business in search of a more secure income, but not before teaching Munger a lot about decorative painting.

Needless to say, optical illusion is a big part of Munger's work. Say a homeowner wants a more elaborate trim on a doorway. That can be accomplished with artist's tricks with light and shadow. The French call it "trompe l'oeil" - fool the eye.

One of the satisfying parts of Munger's job is when the trompe l'oeil works on an unsuspecting observer, like the time he was painting a faux marble floor in a Green Lake home. A friend of the homeowner walked in and said "when did you put marble down?"

Munger not only paints faux finishes, but murals as well. Some of his work can be seen in local restaurants such as Roxy's Diner in downtown Seattle, which features a wall dedicated to the Yiddish gauchos of Argentina. He also did a mural of basketball-playing ancient Greeks at Neko's on Queen Anne. It is this mixing of themes so often found in murals that fellow painter Don Bugler, who has worked with Munger in the past, says makes the work interesting.

"The idea with murals is taking a bunch of different ideas and putting them together," Bugler said. "It's fun to make it work visually."

For more info. on Portico Studios, call 440-1563. (