The "Road" to Decorative Painting
by Tonya Hopkins
Description: Tips and resources to get you started with decorative tole painting.
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You will find throughout this article I will refer to myself and others
as decorative painters. I believe we are all "artist" but a lot of
people that I have talked to are scared of that word "artist". They feel
intimidated when they see an article about "artists" and do not feel the
article is geared towards them. To make those people feel more
comfortable and made to feel that I am "talking" to them, I will use the term
decorative painter.
I had wanted to become a decorative painter since I was a child. I
never thought I would be able to paint, I could not even draw a stick
figure. Sound familiar? The desire was there but I was afraid of failing.
What a big mistake that was. I wasted years of my life being afraid of
something I felt a connection and love towards. If this article can get
one person to try something they have been afraid to try, then I will
consider it a success.
Like I said, I had always wanted to travel down the "road" of
decorative art. I put it off, afraid to try it for most of my life. In 2000 I
seen Donna Dewberry (http://www.onestroke.com) on television talking
about how easy her technique was and how anyone could do it. Yeah right,
I thought. I knew that I for one would never be able to learn to
paint. I decided to try it, mostly to prove that no, not everyone could
learn to paint. I bought all of the supplies that she recommended and got
to work on what I thought would be a failed effort. I practiced day
after day for a few weeks and did not see the results I wanted to see. I
thought to myself, ok I really can't learn this, I put my supplies away
and did not think I would ever drag them out again. A couple of months
later I came across several groups on the internet for decorative
painters. I decided to join a couple to see if there was any help for me.
Meeting and talking to other decorative artists built up my confidenc!
e enough to give decorative painting another try. I got my supplies
back out and attempted to paint something using the One Stroke method
again. I was a success! Was it perfect, did it look just like Donna
Dewberry's? No, but I could tell what it was and I could tell, with continued
practice I could learn to paint using the One Stroke method. I
continued to practice everyday and soon I was painting things that I could be
proud of. After painting using the One Stroke method for several months
and after building my confidence, I decided it was time to venture on
to other forms of decorative art.
To start my adventure using techniques and styles other than One
Stroke, I started doing my "homework". I surfed the WEB for resources,
groups, and tutorials. The internet allows us to find teachers, motivation,
and learning resources with the click of a mouse. In my search for
online resources I came across several sites and communities that really
taught me the basics of decorative art and when I was ready, the more
advanced techniques. Two of the most helpful websites I found were Tole
Town and Tole Friends. Tole Town is an inexpensive community with
a lot to share. They offer live online classes every month, a glossary
of painting terms, skill builders, self study classes and more.
Tole Friends is a non-profit
organization that offers help from the "big brushes", free lessons, articles, a
mentoring program and much more. These are only two of the online
resources I found useful. Do a search and you will find an array of help
available to you.
Another great resource to learn decorative painting is books. It is
very easy to find books geared toward the beginning decorative painter
these days. One of the best books I found was Jackie Shaw's "Big Book of
Decorative Painting". It offers the reader insight into the very basics
of decorative painting as well as advanced techniques. Jackie Shaw also
has a newer book called "Step by Step Painting Course", that I
recommend. http://www.jackieshaw.com
There are a lot of resources for the beginning decorative painter. The
above are just a few that I personally found very helpful. With the use
of modern technology anyone can find help on how to begin their journey
down the road of decorative art.
The most useful piece of information anyone can give you is, not to let
fear stand in the way of trying something new. Decorative art *can* be
taught. There are artists that possess a natural talent but there are
thousands upon thousands of decorative painters that were not born with
the talent to create with paint, they were taught! You can be taught as
well. Surf the WEB, read books, find a local teacher, join a painting
society and most of all do not let fear stand in your way. I am proof
that once you get over your fear, anything is possible.
Reprinted with permission from The Artist Barn
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