Painting the Town

In a place like Boulder—where morning light shifts across the Flatirons and architectural styles range from historic cottages to modern marvels—color affects the emotional tone of a space. That idea has long guided Fordham & MacLean Painting, a small painting business that has steadily shaped Boulder’s residential scene for more than four decades. 

Founded in the late 1970s as Fordham & Monroe Painting, the business was acquired by Hector MacLean shortly thereafter, who originally joined as a painter. “I needed a job,” Hector says. “It was just the three of us at first, and then one by one, they left. I just kept going.” 

That affinity to keep going is part of what makes the company unique. Rather than seeing the business just as a source of income, Hector chose to find passion and pride in his work. Over time, he developed an approach that treats painting less as a finishing step and more as a defining ingredient. Fordham & MacLean Painting’s work now spans modest homes and large-scale projects, but the process remains rooted in discovering customer needs, an intuitive understanding of color, and meticulous preparation.

That philosophy extends to durability. While many paint jobs last only a few years, Hector and his small crew—now including longtime team members Anthony Samuel and Ben Bishop—take pride in work that can last 10 to 15 years. “Instead of hiding problems, you fix them,” he says. 

Color selection is another defining part of the process. Hector credits much of his understanding to his wife, Kerry Lee MacLean, a Boulder-based children’s book author and illustrator known for “Pigs Over Boulder.” Her influence helped shape the company’s emphasis on color as both emotional and visual language. “She really helped me learn more about color and what goes well with certain environments,” Hector says.

As part of his consultation, Hector encourages clients to live with sample colors for several days before making a final decision, allowing light to filter in and around them in different ways. He also likes to point out how the right-colored wall can make a painting really pop, and he encourages clients to play with decor during that time. 

The company’s careful work has taken Fordham & MacLean Painting into some of Boulder’s most recognizable spaces. The company contributed to the renovation of the historic Boulder Theater in the early 1980s, completing a three-day overnight effort ahead of a concert season deadline. Over the years, its portfolio has expanded to include high-end custom homes, historic properties in neighborhoods like Mapleton Hill, and commercial and cultural projects such as Cronin Jewelers, Fox Theatre, and St. Andrew’s Church. “We don’t say no,” Hector says, speaking of the team’s love for any range of projects, even a single wall. 

One of his favorite projects, though, was working at Ball Aerospace, where precision requirements reached near-clinical levels. “It had to be dust-free,” he says. “Probably the highest level of meticulous painting we’ve ever done.”

Much of the company’s identity is rooted in Boulder’s homes and in the relationships built inside them. For decades, Hector has been a go-to painter among University of Colorado Boulder faculty, with referrals spreading quietly through academic and neighborhood circles. Word-of-mouth remains the primary driver of the business today.

But to Hector, growth isn’t always the goal—longevity is. The city has changed dramatically since Hector arrived as a teenager in the 1960s, and he’s evolved right alongside it. “When I first came here, it was a little university town. Now it’s become this place where people come to build their dream homes,” he says. 

Those evolving homes have brought shifting tastes, cleaner lines, larger footprints, and more experimentation with color ... and perhaps higher expectations. Clients are willing to repaint entire spaces in pursuit of subtle tonal changes. Thankfully, Fordham & MacLean’s process accommodates that, with its multiple rounds of samples and extended decision-making time. 

Today, the business has developed an unmistakable rhythm. Hector leads crucial initial discussions and color consultations while Anthony and Ben carry out the detailed execution that upholds the company’s reputation for consistency and care. When Hector eventually steps back, the future of Fordham & MacLean Painting will remain in the hands of the small crew he has trained over decades. The structure may shift, but the character and quality are set to endure. 

In a city defined as much by its natural beauty as by the homes beneath it, that kind of work rarely calls attention to itself. But it lasts.

Learn more at fordhammaclean.com.