Alice Primm’s background is in the niche specialty of faux painting, a discipline that has a long, fascinating history. Faux painting, said Primm, is quite simply “painting something to look like something it’s not.”
Back in the 1700s and 1800s, many people who moved to the Lynchburg area — some of whom, of course, were English — loved French wallpaper and Italian marble, but they couldn’t afford to bring those commodities over from Europe. So, itinerant painters traveled through the Lynchburg area, working in structures high and low. And they painted, for example, woodwork to look like it was burled walnut or fireplaces to look like they were marble.
“So that’s what I did, and that’s why I was working in Lynchburg — because there are so many historic structures here.”
Primm had also relocated from North Carolina to Lynchburg to be with Randy Parr, the owner of Lynchburg Restoration. Months later, esophageal cancer quickly and unexpectedly claimed his life. And suddenly, Primm was in an old, venerable house that happened to be in terrible shape. And she was, of course, bereft — then came COVID-19. But Primm’s story, not without hardship, is an ultimately triumphant one. It speaks well for the power of resilience and the possibility of second chances.
Parts of Primm’s house now function as Point Lookout Airbnb, the end result of her pouring “all of my grief and all of my love into this house.” The house, which dates from 1852, once sat on 1500 acres and was part of the original land grant from King George II to John Lynch.
“This property now sits on a mere 2.83 acres,” Primm explained. “But it’s a beautiful setting on a high bluff overlooking the James River and Treasure Island, where Harris Creek and the James River meet.”
Guests can avail themselves of the restored, original house: two upstairs bedrooms and a bath, along with the downstairs game room, library, and fireplace.
All this is a sterling example of the power of second chances. But her story has a not-inconsequential personal component as well. Two years after she lost her love, Primm reluctantly entered the world of dating. A random stroll through one dating site yielded an overwhelming, instant affinity with Mike McColloch. McColloch’s background was eclectic: an Oregon lawyer also studying the business of wine. Luckily for Primm, she could work on her faux painting and talk at the same time. They would have lengthy, twice-daily long-distance conversations.
“By the time we met, we’d been talking every day for around two months.”
They went on an amazing Maine vacation and met each other’s families. They vacationed in Ireland. Marriage was a distinct possibility. It was a trip to Scotland that truly finalized their path together. Primm’s family originates from the Isle of Skye — off Scotland’s northwest coast — and the last name McColloch speaks to an obvious Scottish heritage.
“We traveled around Scotland and fell in love with it,” she remembered. “When you go back to the land where your ancestors originate, there’s a feeling of belonging and a richness — the depth of your roots within your soul. There’s something that connects us there.”
It was during this visit that plans for marriage went forward, which they resolved to do Scottish-style. A proper Scottish wedding requires a kilt that represents one’s clan. The McColloch clan had a rather sordid history.
Many were rogues and thieves, and one of the last noblemen in the line bore the dubious distinction of being the last person executed by the English using the iron maiden. This ancestor, refusing to pay taxes to the English crown, had his castle confiscated. His response was to kill the new inhabitant of his castle — not exactly the preferred mode of conflict resolution. Part of the punishment also involved “completely taking the McColloch tartan out of circulation. You can’t find a McColloch tartan.” Sufficient research, though, facilitated the reconstruction of a specially woven McColloch tartan and kilt.
Their Scottish wedding took place in the U.S. in April 2023, complete with bagpipes and an array of kilt-wearing wedding guests.
McColloch has a downtown law office, and Primm is ensconced in a beautiful, historic house. What makes her story so powerful is that she is very cognizant of the difficulties she has faced — there is no attempt to paper over some very real trials and tribulations.
“We could not,” she concluded succinctly, “be any happier.”
And that pretty much says it all.
