Be sure to invite your friends and family to join in on this
month’s chapter meeting, and take a few moments to talk about the
rich history of decorative painting and share just what it is
about decorative painting that makes it special to you.

We have included two flyers with this email, one in 8.5″x11″
format and one in 11″x17″ format, to be hung with the display at
your exhibition and to give your admirers more information about
the art, the Society of Decorative Painters, and the history and
nature of the art form.

A message from Jay Staten, the new Publication Editor:

Dear SDP members,

First of all, The publications staff sincerely apologizes to each
and every one of you on the tardiness of the magazine. As the new
publications director, it is my #1 goal to get the magazine back
on schedule.

Second, obviously Issues #3 & #4, will be late this year. But
for 2012, we are now on track to meet the dates promised to the
members.

I am happy to tell you that we have officially recieved
confirmation that the magazine will be in the mail on October
14th, and on its way to you.

In addition, the Publication Department is pushing hard on Issue
#4-2011. It is our goal to have it to press prior to Thanksgiving,
which means you will have it before Christmas. It, too, will be
chock  full of great projects and news from the Society. Also,
Issue #4 will carry the Conference Special — your registration
guide to all-things SDP for the “Flights of Fancy—Celebrating 40
Years of Painting 2012 Conference and Expo” to be held May 14-19,
2012.

Third, I love hearing from our members! — new ideas, new projects,
likes and dislikes. You can always email me at href=”mailto:jay@decorativepainters.org”>jay@decorativepainters.org.

Thank you for your loyalty to the Society of Decorative Painters,
without you none of this would be possible.  I look forward to
serving you in my new role, and to making your membership as
valuable to you and your chapters as you are to us.

Jay Staten
Publications Editor
Society of Decorative Painters
A Preview of The Decorative Painter Issue #3, 2011

Just click on this link to visit decorativepainters.org and follow the simple instructions to renew with a credit or debit card or with PayPal.

In the meantime, have you had the opportunity to check out SDP’s YouTube Channel, where we have videos of convention and Magazine projects? Have you seen the latest slide show of all of the projects from Issue #2 of the Decorative Painter which is shown below? (If you are reading this post in an email you may not see the video below depending on your program settings.) Share the fun and excitement of learning by showing this slide show to friends and fellow painters.

Remember, October is Decorative Painting Month, and it’s just around the corner! It is a great opportunity to help the 2012 Membership Drive. Share this post with your Facebook friends by clicking on the Share button below.

Jay Staten, the new Publications Director  brings 35 years of publishing experience to the society, and has already proved herself invaluable in the timely production of The Decorative Painter.

Becky Gray, the new Conference Director and Chapter Coordinator has many years of experience in local event planning and organization, and will be producing a fantastic conference for the 40^th anniversary of the Society.

Sheryl Born, the new graphic designer, has in ten weeks already produced two issues of The Decorative Painter, and has now begun work Issue #4 of 2011.

Matthew Clagg, the new Marketing and Communications Coordinator is the newest member of the staff.  He has worked with a variety of Wichita arts organizations to promote their offerings to the community, and will be working to create connections of the SDP community and grow the societies membership.

We know that many of you have been disappointed as the production of the Decorative Painter magazine has fallen behind schedule in the past, but we want you to know that we are all working hard to not only get the magazine back on schedule, but to restore and improve the quality of this great publication.  We are also going to be working to open the lines of communication with our members.  This is a society, after all, and every member has a voice, so lets hear them!  As it now stands, we are on pace to be right back on schedule by the first issue of 2012 and we are all looking forward to bringing you four more great issues, as well as our 40th annual conference!

For the blog we are currently building several new programs to keep you updated with news from society members around the world.  We will be bringing in educators, chapter news, business ideas, and more!  Thanks to all of you for your loyal support to the Society of Decorative Painters.  We are happy to tell you that Isssue #3 has been sent to the printer, and we will have a full shipping schedule for you as soon as it is available.  For now, enjoy a preview of a few of the projects you’ll be finding in your mailbox soon!

Hope to see you there!

Elizabeth Stevenson
Conference Director & Chapters Coordinator

When I teach classes, I explain shading as the absence of light and highlighting as the presence of light – not the addition of paint. I feel this is an important fact to keep in mind as you are painting. No matter what subject matter is that I am painting, I use this method.

If floated color is not sheer, it overpowers the painting and looks like a line of added color instead of a soft shadow. Always use transparent color for shading. You should be able to see through all your shading to what has been painted underneath and thin layers of paint will be transparent allowing that to happen. You can always add another layer of color if it is sheer, but once you get a heavy layer of color on and it dries, it is very hard, if not impossible, to correct. I like to call this method “dirty water floating” since that is pretty much the consistency of the paint when you are using it for shading.

That leads to the question of how do you know whether or not a color is transparent? Sometimes it says on the label but not always, so to find out for yourself, do the following test. Take a piece of newspaper from the classified section – you know, where all the tiny print is for the ads – then thin the color you want to test way down with water until it is sheer. Now brush the thinned color across the printing on the newspaper. If the background is tinted the color of the paint and the printing is still black that color is sheer and will be great for shading purposes. However, if the background is tinted but the printing turns grayish looking, you will know that the color contains white and will always give you chalky looking floats!

Dampen the brush (I most always use at least a ½” or larger angle shader) but do not blot your shader brush on a paper towel. Instead, press the excess water out on the side of your water container. The extra moisture left in the brush will help to give you a nice sheer float. Dip just the long corner into the paint and then walk the brush back and forth on both sides in the same place on the wet palette until color is sheer and is on only the top half of the bristles. What you see on the palette is what you will see when you paint on your surface. There should be no visible line of paint, just a gradual fading of color. I promise you, if you have a line on your palette you will have a line on your painting when you add the shading so please take a little more time to work the paint to a sheer consistency. You can go back to that area of paint on your palette many times before having to thin more paint.

Here is an example of what I mean:

I love to paint peppermint candies and like to shade with a dark navy blue. If that color is not sheer, it will take over the peppermint painting! On peppermint, the white is a really clear white and that usually has a blue tinge to it when in shadow. You don’t want to “see” navy blue paint, you just want to “see” a shadow. So when you are adding the navy blue shading on the candy cane images you are painting the area that is not receiving much light and it would really be clear white that has a blue tinge to it. Since the color is sheer, I can also pull it over the red or green areas and have the floated color just darken the colors instead of cover them.

I also pull the paint along with short strokes instead of one long stroke. I find it is easier to apply that way and keeps you from outlining an area. I like to start the chisel edge of the brush on the edge of the design, slide down, pull across an area, and then slide off on the chisel edge. Basically a “C” stroke. Pull across any “V” shapes in the design instead of going down into the “V” and then back up out of the “V” shape.

I hope this is of some help, especially for those that have a problem with floating color. Try it, you just may be surprised at how easy it really is to float soft color!

Used with permission by Margot Clark – margotclark.com

Artist’s block? At times I stare at the blank white drawing pad and I feel I don’t have a new design or painting idea left in me. Other times, the object of my staring is the computer screen and I don’t know what to blog about…writer’s block. I’ve learned that staring doesn’t get me anywhere. So what do I do to refresh and gain new inspiration?

I like to begin with a short break; a few minutes walk outside for a new perspective of the world and nature.  Something is always blooming in my yard and I look for any pop of color or contrast (flowers, new-growth green leaves, sky, sunsets, birds, butterflies, rainbows, goldfish in the pond, etc.). I usually have my digital camera with me for reference photos. I try to take note of  texture (tree bark, pine cones, or smooth shiny berries) and interesting shapes as well as lights and shadows (garden urns, a shovel leaning on a wheelbarrow, gates, bird houses and baths, a swing or a bench).  I try to remember to breathe deeply an appreciate the fragrances. Even fragrance can spark a painting idea. There is something about just observing and enjoying nature that clears the mind.

Visiting a produce stand or flower market can also be inspirational. One of my favorites activities is going antique shopping or visiting a flea market. If it is night time or bad weather, there are other activities that can spark inspiration…looking through magazines and painting books while listening to favorite music or surfing the websites of museums to look at artwork.

Next, I do some of the exercises Mary Jo Leisure, MDA, taught me in a seminar. My favorite and most productive is sketching thumbnails. I set a timer and sketch 4 or 5 tiny thumbnails (postage stamp size)  within a 10 minute time frame of things I saw or thought of. I do no details in these; just shapes, i.e. a ball shapes or clouds indicating flowers, simple lines indicating stem direction. These thumbnails can be enlarged and developed into detailed drawings of recognizable objects later…for instance, changing a cone shape into a vase, adding petals inside the ball shape, thorns on stems, calyxes on the flowers.

Ideas for a  painting (or writing a blog) can be sparked by any of these activities. I rarely know exactly what sparked them. Many ideas seem to come “out of the blue”; a complete surprise to me. I try to jot ideas down just as soon as possible or better yet, sketch a tiny thumbnail. Many of  my thumbnails are never acted upon, others become seeds for paintings or inspirations for a blog.

I’m going out for a walk first thing in the morning. Fresh ideas are just around the corner.

Used with permission by Jean Archer MDA – jeanarcher.com

Noreen Burgess CDA, Doxie Keller TDA, and Helen Stadter MDA

The Three Brushketeers: Noreen Burgess CDA, Doxie Keller TDA, and Helen Stadter MDA have attended all thirty-nine SDP Conferences!!  Congratulations!

If you have also had perfect attendance please let us know. We want to honor you, too!!

Hints and Tips for Coming to Conference in 2012

Want to come to our spectacular 40th SDP Conference in Wichita in 2012, our Ruby anniversary year? Here are some suggestions to get you started saving. You are sure to have other great ideas.

1. Start a BKTM (Be Kind To Me) fund. Figure out how much money you will need to attend Conference. Divide the total by the number of months until Conference and put away that amount each month. Before you know it you will have your trip money guilt-free!

2.  After shopping, empty your change out and save it in a jar marked “For Conference” or “BKTM.”

3. Save pop cans and cash them in for $$$ for Conference.

4. Have a garage sale or a craft show at Christmas time and mark the earnings for Conference.

5. If available in your area, host a “gold sale”! Cash in your unwanted gold and you will be surprised at how much it will bring in.

6. If you can drive, consider bringing a “busload” of friends. Share rooms and shop for food to enjoy in the room. More money to spend on classes and at the Expo!

7. Ask for gifts of money for your birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Grandparent’s Day,  Groundhog Day, 4th of July (well maybe not the last two but you can try!). Deposit them in your BKTM fund.

See you next year!!

2011 Conference is winding down This is the last full day.  The Hyatt Regency is such a pleasant hotel. The grounds have waterfalls and fountains everywhere and the staff could not be more friendly!  Seems as if we are leaving family!  Wichita is a surprising city with so much to offer with museums, gardens, the zoo, and fabulous restaurants.

Classes continued to be enjoyed by the attendees.  Vendors were busy with demos and make-it-take-its on the Expo floor.  The highlight of the day was the Annual Banquet!  The tables were decorated by chapters, vendors, teachers and members.  So much fun to view the creativity and to vote for the one you liked the best. The evening ended with a rockin’ out DJ and music from the 60′s.  Everyone was invited to get up and dance and they did!

Another lovely view of the grounds of the Hyatt Regency in Wichita. Creative waterfalls everywhere.

Downtown Wichita features many life size cast bronze statues. A treat to come upon them.

The Winner. Barbara Hammett presents Gayle Oram's painted palette to Jean Grommon at the Certification Booth Drawing.

Dorothy Dent teaching her well known style.

Enjoying the beautiful table decorations at the Annual Banquet.

EVERYONE on the dance floor.

Darla Foreman & Jan Pierson MDA dancing to Woolly Bully

Share the fun we had at the 2011 Banquet and join us May 14-19, 2012 in Wichita, Kansas as we celebrate the Society of Decorative Painters’ Ruby Anniversary!
Make plans now to share this exceptional occasion with your SDP family.

If you do not see the video below, view it here.  The lights were low in the ballroom so the video is a little dark, but look at all those smiling faces. Listen to the singing and the laughter!