Trends

Although I have been a decorative artist for many years I am still learning and improving my skills, there are always challenges and creative solutions that need to be found. Working with a variety of clients on numerous finishes and projects. Making sure your client is happy, loves the finish and the job is on time and on budget can be challenging especially in the building trade where you are often working in difficult conditions and the job is often running behind and clients can change their mind even though the sample has been approved!! Having said that I love my job and wouldn’t swap it for the world, it certainly keeps me on my toes, I meet so many different interesting people and go into so many beautiful interesting properties. Being involved in a craft based industry does bring so many rewards and satisfaction, its great to stand back from a job you’ve just completed , it looks great and your client is happy,now that’s a lovely feeling and every job is different so its never boring.
It isn’t for the faint hearted but is it for you???

The classes we run here at Paint School are for all levels , everyone is welcome and will feel comfortable, we always have a good mixture of people so you shouldn’t worry about being out of your depth, alternatively if you are experienced and want a challenge then you can be sure I will also offer you the opportunity to add to your skills, it never does any harm to brush up on the skills you already have!!

Over the years I have taught people from 14 years to 80 years and some people have said they had always wanted to have a go and wish they had learned ages ago but life somehow gets in the way…. I say the main thing is you are here now!!
I have also helped many people change careers, for years you can be unhappy in a job and having the ability to retrain and start your own business or work for someone in this industry can be exactly what the doctor ordered, life is short and you should follow your dreams. The good thing is the courses are short and its easy and affordable to sign up and have a go, you don’t know until you try, even if you just want to come and try one of the classes for the enjoyment of doing so, you never know where it will lead. There is a class for everyone and I am sure when you have been once you will sign up for another one, many people do and many people come to them all. Along with the regular classes taught by myself there will be many new classes and guest teachers who are experts in their field, so watch this space!!

Venetian Plastering Trends

Venetian plaster:

This has to be one of the biggest trends right now. I was very lucky to be introduced to venetian plaster back in the early 1990’s, I was doing quite a lot of work for Jocasta Innes who started an amazing company called Paint Magic, there were many Paint Magic shops and she used to source materials for specialist decoration, so it was readily available for all, she had invited an Italian company over to demonstrate marmorino and I was lucky enough to be invited, I fell in love with the finishes you could achieve with venetian plaster, they showed us how to do raised stencils, and I thought.. wow!! You cannot achieve that with paint and the textures I had been using. I swiftly booked a flight over to Venice, home of the polished plaster and did a course at San Marco.

Ever since then I have used Venetian plasters extensively in my work and every year it has become more and more popular. I can think of many reasons why the demand has exploded, it is extremely versatile, firstly it can be used anywhere, there are plasters for interiors and exteriors, bathrooms including wet areas, you can apply to doors so they match your walls creating a seamless finish, it can be subtle with hardly any movement or more dramatic with different colours added, it can be natural, textured and matt or smooth and highly polished. You can create marble effects with it, raised or flat stencil designs or maybe banded designs with smooth and textured, in fact there is no end to the possibilities and if you do not wish to do a large area it looks great as a feature wall or on a chimney breast wall.
Venetian plaster is a term that covers many different finishes for example a plaster with a high shine is called polished plaster, spatulata or spatulata veneziano and of course you have many different brand names, there are many companies selling it in the UK now, back when I started using venetian plaster, the product range was limited and it wasn’t so readily available in the UK in fact few people had heard of it, so I used to import crates of it straight from the factory, I don’t need to do that now as its so easy to buy. I have my favorite products and suppliers but am completely independent and not tied to any one product which gives me the freedom to experiment with a vast range of brands and products.

Back when I started using venetian plaster, the product range was limited and it wasn’t so readily available in the UK in fact few people had heard of it, so I used to import crates of it straight from the factory. When I run my venetian plastering courses you can be assured that you will get all the inside knowledge, a complete understanding of the application and expert tuition.

Trends in the industry