PAMPERED PALETTE

Some Very Nice Comments About Pampered Palette

2012-01-24T05:50:00.001-05:00

We would like to thank the following individuals for their kind comments and recommendations on our Pampered Palette. These comments mean so much to us and are truly appreciated.

Lynnette Horn
Here's a small business really working hard t...o promote decorative arts. Please like ther page.

Linda Haskett Starr Felder
this is awesome!!!!!

William Buzz Smith
Pampered Palette Studio is like the rebirth of the Decorative Painters Studios of the past. David has worked hard and has recreated the atmosphere of the Industry that has somewhat been lost recently. I congratulate David and intend to promote his efforts both at his studio and his involvement in the SDP.

Cathy Lee
Please "LIKE" this page

Matthew Clagg
Pampered Palette, owned and operated by David Vernon, is committed to excellence in sharing the excellence of decorative painting with the world. Take a look!

Craines Cutouts
This is the greatest place. Always friendly, respectful and honest.

You can "Like" our Pampered Palette page by going to the following link and selecting the "Like" button at the top of the screen.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pampered-Palette/144936648911611

Again, thank you for your kind comments.

Pampered Open House February 12, 2012

2012-01-15T11:12:00.002-05:00

Pampered Palette Open House

February 12, 2012

We have a confirmed date now for our Open House. Here are the details so far. The Open House will be to launch all of our new products lines that we have added to our studio including DecoArt Americana, DecoArt Traditions, JoSonja Acrylics, Maureen McNaughton Products, Scharff Quality Brushes, new surfaces, new supplies and new books by Lois Mueller and Michele Walton. These products are new to our studio. We would like to invite everyone to come on out to our studio and see all the changes.

Our doors will open at 9 am Sunday February 12th. We will have two FREE classes for those attending. The first class will begin at 10 am with special guest artist Carolyn Spencer and the second class will begin around 1 pm with special guest artist Sandy Scales. All attendees planning to paint during the class should bring all of their normal painting supplies including brushes, paper towels, brush basins, etc. (Note: Paints will be furnish for the classes) We will provide additional information about the classes soon.

Since we will be celebrating/launching all of our new products, we will have door prizes, discounts on certain products, food, drink, painting and fun.

Door Prize #1 - One person will win a seat to Scottie Foster's June 9 & 10, 2012 Bavarian Doves & Flowers Tray seminar at Pampered Palette. (Note: Winner will need to purchase the surface for the seminar but the seminar itself will be free).

Door Prize #2 - One person will win a copy of the National Museum of Decorative Painting book "100 Angels".

Door Prize #3 - One person will win a 5 piece wood surface package valued at $70.00.

Door Prize #4 - One person will win a Pampered Palette Twill Long Sleeve shirt (Red with Pampered Palette embroidered in Black)

Come on out for a day of Fun, Food, Friendship and Painting. Watch this space for additional information or send an email message to david@pamperedpalette.com

Also, visit our website and online store for information or to order all your decorative painting supplies at http://www.pamperedpalette.com/

Building a Stronger SDP - Promoting Decorative Painting

2012-01-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

You know, here we are in 2012 already, can you believe that? In a few months we will start all of the conferences for the year. Actually, they begin next month with the Vegas Show, then SDP, Houston, HOOT and NET. What a great year. Are ...you going to any of the Shows?

We, mainly myself, have a very busy year planned. I am running for the SDP Board Member at Large, will be attending the SDP, Houston and HOOT shows as a business exhibitor. I wish that I could attend them all but it just is not possible but maybe one day I could. All of this babble brings me to my point.

I operate with a different business philosophy. I am a firm believer in promoting and marketing decorative painting so I do a lot of marketing. In order for us to grow our industry I feel that it is critical that we market our art forms to any individual that we can get ourselves in front of for a presentation, demonstration or just a chat. You may have noticed that I use a lot of the social networks to reach out to anyone that will listen about the joys of decorative painting. I do not really care what craft, paint brands, media, brush types, art forms, sex, location, etc., I will always engage individuals in some form of discussion about decorative painting. It is true that I have a decorative painting studio but I do a lot of my marketind, outreach and yes even some seminars/workshops without charging a fee. I operate the DAC artists social network which is FREE to all it's members. I am teaching at two chapters this year at no charge to them for paints, travel, lodging, instruction, etc. I operated the World of Color for the last two years FREE to all of the attendees and I plan to continue and grow that event (need to find some time). I am not telling anyone this to receive any kudos or pats on the back. I do this because I want to and I feel that in order to grow our industry I need to give of myself and reach as many individuals as possible.

I take a firm stand on being inclusive of all art forms, all products, all brushes, all people and strong customer service. That is why I am running for the SDP Board Member at Large. I feel we need and deserve a better, bigger, and stronger SDP organization. An organization that listens to it's membership and is responsive to member needs. You as a member or a new member (yet to join) can make a difference. SDP is your organization so as an organization they need your support and input in order to build that bigger, stronger and responsive organization that is responsive to their communities and members. You as members can make that difference. I do not care what individual that you may cast a vote - JUST VOTE.

You know, I meet and speak to a lot of people and from listening to their comments it is clear they want change in their organization. So, it is truly important for all of us to join together and work towards building that organization. It is so important to me and I hope to you that our art form continues to grow. I reach out to all of my FaceBook friends, SDP members, potential members, painters, crafts men and women to support me and SDP. Working together we can make change and build a Stronger/Better/Bigger organization.

I, myself, am always available for anyone that would like to chat, just call me, drop me a line here on FaceBook or shoot me an email. Tell me what you want to see from a Strong SDP. If I receive a message from any individual, I can assure you that I will respond.

Okay, I will get of my soapbox now. It is just I am very passoniate about decorative painting and our future as an industry.

David

Happy New Year - Expect Big Things From Pampered Palette In 2012

2012-01-07T06:59:00.001-05:00

Last year (2011) was our BIGGEST year so far. We have grown by leaps and bounds. What will 2012 hold for us and the decorative art community?

Well this morning we announced another great seminar for Pampered Palette for the 2012 seminar season. We are hosting Michele Walton in October (13 & 14).

I do not know if many of you have noticed but we are always full of surprises. So here is another fantastic seminar added to our list. My gosh what can I say. Just since November 2011 removed one product line and added DecoArt Americana, DecoArt Traditions, JoSonja paint lines, Maureen McNaughton's complete product line, JW Varnish product line, Scharff Quality Brush line, new books, new patterns, new surfaces, new seminars and there is more to come. These new products were added after 3 years of requests coming from our customers. We are a studio for the decorative painting community and our customers so we are here for you not a particular product line.

Wait until you see us at the SDP Conference. We will be full of surprises there. Are you attending the SDP Conference? Be sure to stop by our booths there will be lots going on there with, of course, surprises. We are just busting at our seams with news but we cannot tell you guys everything at one time. Watch these pages and our website for all the latest news and more surprises.

PS. Here is a little hint for you...........COMING SOON TO PAMPERED PALETTE - JoSONJA PATTERN PACKETS AND LOIS MUELLER BOOKS.

Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ for all the latest products, supplies, books, patterns, DVDs, etc.

"THE PREMIERE STUDIO FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTIST"

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

50% Sale on All JansenArt, GlobalArt, David Jansen and Heritage Products

2011-12-13T05:48:00.002-05:00

‎
50% Off on all GlobalArt, JansenArt, Heritage and David Jansen Products.

We are having a Holiday sale on all remaining discontinued Heritage, GlobalArt, David Jansen and JansenArt merchandise.

The Holiday SALE will continue until all of the sale items are gone. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, this is a perfect time to take advantage of the sale, save some money and obtain items tha...t will make great gifts. NOTE: There will be no re-orders or special orders. This sale applies only to in stock merchandise.

These are the same Acrylic paints, DVDs, Books, Brushes, Mediums, and Patterns that can obtained from any Heritage Distributor or Dealer but why pay retail when we have all of the items at 50% off their retail price.

Take advantage of our 50% off Sale. Get your HERITAGE ACRYLICS/MEDIUMS, DAVID JANSEN PATTERNS, DAVID JANSEN DVDs, DAVID JANSEN BOOKS, GLOBAL ART BRUSHES and some discontinue Jansen wood items. While supply last - 50% off.

What is on Sale?
All Global Art (Jansen) Brushes 50% off
All David Jansen DVDs 50% off
All Heritage Acrylics 50% off
All Heritage Mediums 50% off
All David Jansen Books 50% off
All David Jansen Patterns 50% off
All GlobalArt Palette Liners 50% off
Discontinued Wood Surfaces 50% off

These items make great holiday presents for friends and family. The savings more than offsets the shipping costs. We select the least expensive shipping method to save you even more. Get them before they are gone!

Pampered Palette is very proud to be the Maureen McNaughton Products, DecoArt Americana, DecoArt Traditions and Scharff Brush distributors.

Happy Shopping

Visit our website online store at http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ and select the "Sale 50% off" category. Questions can be directed to david@pamperedpalette.com

David Jansen DVD 50% Off Sale!

2011-11-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

Get Ready For Christmas Sale - Will Continue Until Everything is Gone.....

WE HAVE CREATED A SPECIAL CATEGORY AT OUR ONLINE STORE TITLED "David Jansen DVD 50% Off SALE". ALL PRICES DISPLAYED FOR THE DVDs ARE THE 50% OFF PRICE.

DVD SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED SO ORDER EARLY TO GET THE ONE YOU WANT. ONCE A DVD IS GONE, IT IS GONE.

Get Ready For Christmas SALE!!!!

ALL IN STOCK DAVID JANSEN DVDs WILL BE 50% OFF RETAIL PRICE. PRICES DISPLAYED AT OUR ONLINE STORE WILL REFLECT THE 50% OFF PRICE.

NOTE: NO SPECIAL ORDERS OR RE-ORDERS. THIS SALE ONLY APPLIES TO IN STOCK DVD MERCHANIDSE ONLY.

VISIT http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ select the DAVID JANSEN DVD 50% Off SALE catagory to view the available David Jansen DVDs. Sale prices on all David Jansen DVDs will reflect the 50% off price.
NOTE: Check out our other sale category "Sale 40% off" for additional bargains.

Do not miss this sale. Buy that DVD gift for your friends, family or fellow painters.

This sale will be online only so you must go to our online store at http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ to place your order.

40% Off Sale - All GlobalArt, JansenArt, Heritage and David Jansen Products

2011-11-20T07:08:00.001-05:00

We are having a sale on all remaining discontinued Heritage, GlobalArt and JansenArt merchandise as we need to make room for all the new product lines that we have added to our store. The past two weeks has been a little busy as we stocked our shelves with Jo Sonja, DecoArt and Scharff product lines. We have new products that has definitely brought new possibilities, ideas and excitment.

We still have items to sell. The BLOWOUT SALE will continue until all of the discontinued merchandise is gone. With this holiday season upon us, this is a perfect time to take advantage of our sale, save money and obtain items that will make great gifts. NOTE: There will be no re-orders or special orders. This sale applies only to in stock merchandise.

These are the same Acrylic paints, DVDs, Books, Brushes, Mediums, and Patterns that can obtained from any Heritage Distributor or Dealer but why pay retail when we have all of the items at 40% retail.

Take advantage of our 40% off Sale. Get your HERITAGE ACRYLICS/MEDIUMS, DAVID JANSEN PATTERNS, DAVID JANSEN DVDs, DAVID JANSEN BOOKS, GLOBAL ART BRUSHES and some discontinue Jansen wood items. While supply last - 40% off.

What is on Sale?

All Global Art (Jansen) Brushes 40% off
All David Jansen DVDs 40% off
All Heritage Acrylics 40% off
All Heritage Mediums 40% off
All David Jansen Books 40% off
All David Jansen Patterns 40% off
All GlobalArt Palette Liners 40% off
Discontinued Wood Surfaces 40% off

These items make great holiday presents for friends and family. Get them before they are gone!

Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ and select our NEW category titled "SALE 40% OFF" for all our discontinued on sale items or call (703) 754-8141 to place your order.

Pampered Palette is very proud to be the DecoArt Americana, DecoArt Traditions and Scharff Brush distributors.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Painting and Happy Shopping

OUR BIGGEST SALES EVENT EVER CONTINUES!!!! DO NOT MISS THIS!!!

2011-11-07T15:00:00.002-05:00

WE ARE CONTINUING OUR BIG SALE UNTIL EVERYTHING IS GONE!

DO NOT PAY RETAIL - WE HAVE IT FOR 40% OFF

GET READY FOR OUR BIGGEST SALES EVENT EVER!

JUST IN TIME FOR THOSE HOLIDAY GIFTS!

NOTE: SALE ITEMS ARE AS SUPPLY LAST - NO RE-ORDERS OR SPECIAL ORDERS

What is on Sale?

All Global Art (Jansen) Brushes 40% off
All David Jansen DVDs 40% off
All Heritage Acrylics 40% off
All Heritage Mediums 40% off
All David Jansen Books 40% off
All David Jansen Patterns 40% off
All GlobalArt Palettes 40% off
Discontinued Wood Surfaces 40% off

"You do not want to miss our biggest sale ever as we make room for our NEW Jo Sonja, DecoArt Americana, Traditions paint lines and Scharff Quality Brushes."

This sale applies only to in stock merchandise. No special orders will be accepted.

Get that DVD you wanted, that brush, those paints all at 40% off. What a great savings.

Do not miss this sale.

THE PREMIERE STUDIO FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTIST!

Visit our website at http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ to take advantage of the sale online. Select the "Sale 40% off" category. Everything that is on sale is listed under that category.

2011-11-04T07:40:00.002-04:00

The World of Color Begins Tomorrow. How time flys by. It seems like yesterday that Mark and I thought of the idea to hold a World of Color Expo in the Washington DC area to promote decorative painting and ceramics. I am finding it hard to believe that it has been 2 years. It has been a great 2 years though.

PAMPERED PALETTE PROUDLY PRESENTS OUR 2ND "WORLD OF COLOR EXPO" EVENT. This is a Pampered Palette Sponsored event to PROMOTE Decorative Painting and Ceramics. This event is FREE to all attendees.

Washington DC Area Decorative Arts Expo/Exhibit - A World of Color

PLEASE JOIN US AND OTHER ARTISTS TO PROMOTE DECORATIVE PAINTING THROUGHOUT THE WASHINGTON DC AREA.

HAVE FRIENDS THAT DO NOT PAINT, KNOW OTHER ARTISTS, FRIENDS THAT HAVE NOT PAINTED FOR SOME TIME, THEN ENCOURAGE THEM TO ATTEND.

BRING YOUR FRIENDS, CAMERAS, TAPE RECORDERS, AND QUESTIONS. LEARN DESIGN, TECHNIQUES AND VISIT WITH OUR PROGRAM TEACHERS. MARK YOUR 2011 CALENDARS.

Grab your brushes, come on down to paint with Theresa, Georgia, Val, Paul, and Arlene, watch David Jansen paint, meet other artists, browse the available wood surfaces, new products, and just have a great time. Everyone is invited to join us at this FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EVENT.

Never painted before? Well come on down to the exhibit and we can show and tell you all about it.

Washington DC Expo/Exhibit - "A World Of Color"
Westin Tysons Corner (Rt 495 & Rt 7)
7801 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA

November 05 & 06, 2011
(10am till 5pm, both days)

Open to the Public, Admission is FREE

JOIN Special Guest Artist David Jansen as he paints a selection of doors with a variety of techniques.

There will be make and takes, demonstrations, new products, a decorative art gallery, decorative painting tips/techniques, Heritage Educational information, new products, wood surfaces, local association information, etc.

Come visit with artists from the following Studios:
Jansen Art Studio - David and Martha Jansen
Pampered Palette - David Vernon
Dawbon Art Studio - Georgia Dawbon
Creative Legacy Studio - Paul Seymour
Arlene Newman's Designs - Arlene Newman
Dave's Cuts - David Parmer, Wood Products
Val Cole - Heritage Ambassador
Theresa Maxwell, Heritage Teacher

Participating local SDP chapters providing chapter news and information:

Potomac View Decorative Artists
Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters
National Capital Chapter of SDP

NOTE: Studio and association listing could change over time.

This is a Pampered Palette Sponsored Event to PROMOTE decorative painting and ceramics.

THIS EVENT IS "FREE" AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ------ EVERYONE IS WELCOME and INVITED.
Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ for additional information. Make your plans today!
Proud members of SDP and CAG.

2012 SDP Board Member At Large - Election Run

2011-10-03T11:17:00.001-04:00

I just thought I would let you know that I am running for the SDP Board as member at large for next year. I know this may seem a little early but I am reaching out to painting friends and chapters requesting their support. I know that I am fairly new to the industry but everything that I do and have done is to promote decorative painting, increase member numbers and try to increase our industry ...presence. I was asked if I would run by the nominating committee while at HOOT and I accepted as I feel that now is a perfect time to work with our chapters and members to build a bigger, stronger, and more responsive SDP. If we all work together, then we can definitely make a difference. I will be representing the members, chapters and other painting friends if I am elected. I will use my years of experience (over 40) in business, marketing and Human Resources management to help bring about change throughout SDP. It is time for a new, bigger, stronger and better SDP, I think.

The voting, as you know, will be at next year's 2012 SDP Conference however, for those members that cannot attend the conference, there is an absentee ballot process where non-attending members can vote making their voices heard.

Hopefully, I can count on your vote and support. I think it is time that our members are heard and my intention is to work very hard on their behalf.

If you are not a SDP member or if you need to renew your membership, now is the perfect time to do just that. Have a great day and happy painting.

David

Comments About Pampered Palette From Seminar Attendees

2011-09-28T00:49:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we had a fantastic seminar at our studio with guest artist David Jansen. I wanted to share some of the comments that we have received from the attendees. We appreciate so much their comments, friendship and their business. Check out the comments below:

"Thank you so much for your hospitality this past weekend. Good company, good classes, gracious hosts and great food. I appreciate so much your dedication to excellence in the decorative painting community. My very best wishes for continued success with Pampered Palette". (Susan M.)

"The seminar was WONDERFUL - and we need to thank you for sponsoring David to come to teach us. It was the best seminar I have been to in 10 years. So, again THANK YOU VERY MUCH". (Bennie P.)

"Thank you both for providing such a wonderful painting experience. What a treat to have David Jansen teach practically in my backyard". (Susan V.)

"I had a lovely time. Thank you". (Rickie S.)

"What a blast! I have learned so much in 3 days. Thank you for pampering us with great food and gifts while we learned from the fantabulous David Jansen". (Bobbie B.)

"Greatest seminar ever! Lot of laughs, terrific food, incredible lectures!". (Kristina R.)

"Dear David and Mark, What a great weekend with good friends! Learning painting techniques from David Jansen, eating fabulous food, meeting new people, having a great studio to paint in, and oh, my, the gifts just ...kept coming from Pampered Palette. I particularly love my new painting apron. Now I won't want to get any paint on it! We were certainly pampered! Your Pampered Palette name is so appropriate.

I am so glad I finally was able to attend a seminar in your most welcoming and comfortable environment and look forward to more." (Jackie N)

"Pampered Palette is a "Class Act". Enjoyed the seminar and appreciated David's teaching style. "Pampered Palette" is definitely a well organized and run operation along with making you feel welcome and of course pampered. Thank you," (Nancy G)

I will say, this was one of the best seminars I have ever been to if not the best. Good friends, wonderful food, great teacher, and wonderful hosts. Thank you so much for everything. (Becky B.)

Again, we would like to thank all 23 individuals that joined us for this great seminar making it such a HUGE success.

For those of you that were unable to attend our seminar, then maybe we will see you soon at another seminar sponsored by Pampered Palette. Don't you think you need to be "pampered" at your next seminar? Join us and you will see how Pampered Palette is different.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

David and Mark

http://www.pamperedpalette.com/

Pampered Palette Gear Now Available

2011-09-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

We, at Pampered Palette, have always given to our customers whether with GREAT customer service, expeditious shipping or just pampering them during a seminar. We usually try to have some sort of little item for all attendees to make the their educational experience at our studio just a little more memorable and fun. We have had such a great response to the items that recently individuals have approached us about buying some the items for themselves or to give away to friends.

So, in an effort to satisfy all of the requests we are receiving to purchase items, we have set up a Pampered Palette Gear catagory at our online website store. All items are available at cost so you will pay what we pay for the items. All items pictured above are or will be available at our online store. More items will be added as we move forward. At the present time we have available bumper stickers, coffee mugs, baseball caps, keychains, mousepads, notebooks, aprons and coming soon Pampered Palette Shirts.

Get your Pampered Palette Gear today! Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ to order.

Tatiana Sholokhova 2012 - 3 Day Zhostovo Seminar

2011-09-06T07:33:00.000-04:00

IT'S OFFICIAL - TATIANA SHOLOKHOVA SEMINAR AUGUST 3, 4 & 5, 2012

This is going to be such an exciting seminar. Tatiana, a Master Artist from Russia, will be here in the DC area only for this seminar. This is Tatiana's only East coast seminar all of 2012. What a great seminar. What a beautiful piece and technique. Learn the Zhostovo style of painting. Beautiful lessons and completed surfaces. Learn techniques that you can use on other pieces. You really do not want to miss this seminar.

Seats will be very limited so reserve your space today.

Tatiana Sholokhova Zhostovo Style 3 day Seminar

August 3, 4, 5, 2012

Tatiana will be teaching a piece similar but not exactly like the one pictured here. There will be some changes to the pattern of the piece pictured. We will post additional pictures when we receive them but expect the piece to the like the one posted. The pattern is painted on a LARGE heavy metal tray. We plan to offer a wood and metal surface - students will select their piece prior to the seminar.

Seminar Cost $350.00 for the three days and includes all paints, mediums, patterns and photographs. The surface for this seminar will be available through Pampered Palette (not included in the Seminar costs mentioned above). NOTE: Attendees will have their choice of the metal tray pictured above or a suitable wooden surface.

$100.00 deposit required to reserve seminar seatSeminar will be held at Pampered Palette Gainesville, Virginia

Visit http://store.pamperedpalette.com/ to reserve your seat today or contact us at (703) 754-8141. Any questions concerning this seminar should be directed to me - david@pamperedpalette.com

Do not miss this exciting and beautiful seminar. This is truly Tatiana's only East Coast visit for all of 2012. Do not miss this one. Sign up today and reserve your seat.

Tatiana Sholokhova is one of the leading artists of the Russian craft that is called Zhostovo Decorative Painting.

Tatiana was born in 1967 in the town of Dmitrov, in the Moscow region. She graduated from the Zhostovo faculty of Fedoskino Miniature Painting School. She’s been working in

the craft since 1985. She is a member of the creative board at the Zhostovo factory. Tatiana Sholokhova is a member of the Russian Union of Artists. She teaches at the factory’s Art Lyceum. Tatiana is a participant of the Russian national and international

exhibitions. She became a laureate of the New Names International Charity Program and took part in presentation of the Program at the Vatican. She was awarded with the diploma of the Russian Academy of Arts for her achievements in 1996.

Works by Tatiana Sholokhova are recognized by their high professionalism, individual manner of painting, interesting coloristic and design solutions. The artist creates pieces of high artistic value in the classic style developing and enriching traditions of Zhostovo masters.

Tatiana was given an honorary title of the Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2003. She teaches classes in Russia and abroad. Tatiana’s works are in museums and private collections in many countries around the world.

Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ to reserve your seat.

A Really Busy Time For Us!!! Lots of Stuff Going On!!!!

2011-09-02T10:47:00.001-04:00

We have been so busy lately trying to get everything completed, updated or rearranged. A couple of weeks ago we had to empty our entire training room so that we could install new flooring, which makes the room much nicer and a lot easier for those leather rolling chairs that students sit on to paint. Those chairs work so well on the new floor that we could run races as the chairs just zip along................lol. After the floor was installed we decided that since we had to put everything back into the training room, that we would make a few changes. We have added lots of new items like additional lighting in the ceiling, new surfaces, Lynne Andrews patterns, Arlene Linton books, Scottie Foster books, and we are installing a ceiling mounted sound system so that everyone attending classes can hear the instructor. Lots and lots of changes.

We have also had two seminars recently with Tatiana's Zhostovo Style seminar, Sandy Scales Maureen McNaughton Seminar, my own classes and of course the upcoming David Jansen seminar. Seems like we have very little time to get anything else done but that is not the case. This week I finished two pieces that I have been painting and am working on a third. Really busy.

We are also getting ready for next year. We have seminars booked at our studio all the way through December 2012. We have seminars with Arlene Linton, Sandy Scales, Louis Mueller, Val Cole, Tatiana Sholokhova, Serina Huang and Mark Polomchak, just to name a few. What an exciting year 2012 will be. For conferences, we are expanding that area as well. We will have booths at SDP (Wichita) Conference, HOOT Conference and for the first time we will be exhibiting at the Artist Expo Houston. We are so looking forward to meeting many of our friends and making new friends at the shows. Those are just a few things that we have in the works so it looks like next year will be very busy for us as we continue to grow.

On a final note, we are now a PROUD business sponsor of the National Museum of Decorative Painting. We would like to encourage everyone to support the decorative painting museum in some way, with a generous donation or a visit to the museum. Any support whatsoever is greatly appreciated. Also, watch for the Pampered Palette advertisements in the PaintWorks Magazine.

For information about what is happening at Pampered Palette, email us at david@pamperedpalette.com or visit our website http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ which includes updated information and our online store. See you all soon.........somewhere. Until then, HAPPY PAINTING!

Sandy Scales Blue Folk Art Seminar

2011-08-29T21:06:00.000-04:00

Well what do you do when they are calling for a hurricane in your area? Well we... got together and painted with Sandy Scales. Yes, thankfully the hurricane did not slam the Northern Virginia as we were expecting and when the weather forecasters indicated that we would only get some moderate rain and wind, we decided to go ahead with our Seminar. We had a fantastic time painting a beautiful Blue Folk Art pattern (unpublished) by Maureen McNaughton. This beautiful seminar piece took two solid days to complete and all of us were just a little bit tired when the seminar came to an end. That was a lot of painting in a two day period. Oh I forgot to mention that we did eat a little as we had homemade lazagna, Pampered Palette Slaw, brownies, apple/caramel/spice coffee cake, freshly baked Red Velvet cookies and a glass of Champagne. What a great weekend we had with Sandy. We would like to thank our friends from North Carolina that drove up for the seminar. A good time was had by all.

We wanted to share some seminar pictures with all.

Mark Polomchak Is Coming to Pampered Palette!!!!!!

2011-08-25T11:22:00.002-04:00

The picture above is an example of Mark's great art work. We are so lucky that he will be joining us

next year for a great seminar at our studio.

MARK POLOMCHAK COMING TO PAMPERED PALETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There never seems to be a dull moment at Pampered Palette as we continue to book OUTSTANDING seminars and we have just scheduled another one for next year. We do not have all the information yet, i.e., projects, costs, supplies, etc. but we can tell you that we have scheduled Mark Polomchak to be at our studio October 20 & 21, 2012 f...or a weekend of great watercolor painting.

Now how is that for a heads up? We are giving you a whole year (actually more than a year) to plan for the seminar. As soon as we have all of the lesson/class information finalized, we will post a message here on FB. Hopefully, everyone will want to join us and be pampered during a great weekend of painting with Mark.

You really do not want to miss this weekend. Stay tuned for additional information about Mark's seminar soon.

We will also post information about the seminar on our website so you can watch that site as well. Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ for information on the seminar and to reserve your seat (SOON!). STAY TUNED.

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE MARK COME TO OUR STUDIO. THIS WILL BE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOOT was a HOOT for US!

2011-08-14T17:36:00.000-04:00

Oh goodness what can we say about HOOT 2011. What a great show. I have read some comments about the show here on FaceBook so I thought I would give you my take on what was a very good show. Of course, we (Pampered Palette) was located on the exhibit floor and to make a point, the floor was not smaller this year. In fact, there were several new exhibitors in attendance that was not there over t...he past couple of years. It was great to see Stephs there and our good friends Elizabeth from SDP, Sandy Scales, Maureen McNaughton, Jo Lutness, Darla Foreman, Cindy Moser, Margaret Riley, Cynthia Coleman, Jillybean, Arlene Linton, Andy Jones, Judy Westegaard, and there are just so many, I know I have left out but really do not mean to.............please know that it was great seeing all of you.

We had such a great time as we were kept very busy over the days of the conference meeting new individuals, our Facebook friends, chatting, buying and of course selling. It really was a great show so those that were unable to attend, really did miss something special. The HOOT chapter members were truly a HOOT as they were always there to offer assistance or answer questions when it was needed.

Most of the time before the floor opened, we did a little shopping and ran around to all the booths/artists that painted pieces for the Museum's 100 Angels book getting the signatures of the artists. We did very well as we have over half of the signatures needed to complete my book of Angel artist signatures. Next stop is the New England Traditions (NET) show for signatures. We are flyng up for a day to attend the show (we will have have a booth at the show this year but will be advertising in their program).

There was a lot of BUZZ (had to use a HOOT term) around our booth as we featured Tatiana Sholokhova's Zhosotovo style paintings for all to enjoy. Tatiana was just at our studio two weeks ago teachng to beautiful Zhosotovo style pieces. We will be lucky enough to have Tatiana return next year (2012) to teach an absolutely stunning tray. We had many many people interested in her work and the seminar next year. We became a business sponsor of the National Museum of Decorative Arts and we brought back new wood, books and the 4 different Angels that will be added to our website for ordering.

I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of stuff, but I just wanted everyone to know that this was a great show (even though I have seen some posts that were negative about some parts of the show and SDP, which just are not true) with lots of painting, fun, chatting and of course eating by all those individuals in attendance. We have already reserved our booth space for next year's HOOT and the SDP and plan to be back even bigger and better with lots and lots of new items. Oh, do not tell anyone but we are even thinking of going to the Houston show with a booth (have to see how much driving is involved). We will probably fly out to Vegas to attend that show just to take some classes and shop the floor. In all it promises to be a great year of conferences. Stay tuned for more information or check out our website for conference information as we post it.

The conference ended around 2 pm yesterday and the race was on to pull down all the booths to get on the road home. We pulled everything down, packed and loaded the trailer in 2 hours 15 minutes (a record for us). So, we were on the road by 4:15 pm and pulled into our home around midnight (we tend to stop at all the rest areas for a little pitstop). Today it is unloading all the things from the trailer and restocking our shelves. Which reminds me, I have to place some orders as we sold out of a lot of items. Anyway, I tend to babble, it was a great show. Hopefully, those that could not attend will attend either HOOT, SDP, Houston, Vegas or NET next year. Deocrative painting is very much alive and well so why don't we all do our part to support the industry. Join SDP, visit your local decorative arts studio, encourage a non-painter to join you in painting.

Have a great and happy painting day.

Tatiana Sholokhova 2012 3 Day Zhostovo Seminar

2011-08-08T19:54:00.000-04:00

Get READY as we will have Tatiana Sholokhova back next year (2012) for another 3 day Zhostovo Seminar. The July seminar that we just concluded with Tatiana was so well received and such a success that we have decided to move forward with the next seminar. Next year Tatiana will teach a piece very seminar (but not exactly the same) as the one pictured above. What a beautiful piece of art. This piece will also be on display in our booths at the HOOT Convention/Conference this week (August 08-13). So stop by our booth (123, 125 & 127) and check out this great piece of art. Oh, also say hello and browse all the goodies that we are bringing with us to the show. Dates have not be confirmed yet so please stay tuned for additional information as the terms are finalized.

Also, we are in negotiations with Tatiana to bring her Zhostovo Certification Program to Pampered Palette. As soon as we have additional information about the certification program, we will let everyone know. Great news will be coming from Pampered Palette and Tatiana so stay tuned.

Tatiana Sholokhova Seminar Day One

2011-07-30T15:01:00.000-04:00

WOW am I tired. Yesterday was a lot of work or would that be a lot of concentra...tion. Learning the Zhostovo style of painting with Tatiana. What a great day. This is probably the first seminar I have attended that everyone was so quiet because they were concentrating on their painting. Beautiful pieces were painted. We started the seminar with a tulip pattern painted on a metal surface. Today we move on to the Rooster box. We did speak (so we were not totally quiet.....lol.), we laughed and we ate. It was just a great day of painting and learning.

What is on the agenda for today? HOMEMADE Lazagna, bread, brownies, crum cake (all homemade) and Champagne. We always like to give our attendees a little treat so we will have Champagne during lunch. Looking forward to another great day.

Also, stay tuned as Tatiana Sholokhova will be coming back to Pampered Palette for another seminar next year. We have selected two great pieces that we will post pictures of later but I can tell you that one is a fruit pattern on an metal surface and the other is LARGE metal tray with a beautiful fruit, floral and bird pattern. Absolutely, stunning. More information coming on this seminar later.

I will also post more pictures from today's seminar tomorrow morning. Pictures below are from Day One Seminar with Tatiana. Enjoy!

GETTING READY FOR HOOT!!!!!!

2011-07-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

Well we are really busy with lots of things happening. Our real jobs have kept us extremely busy with travel around the country and many many presentations. In the past two weeks, I have taught two Fusion Blending classes here at our studio, attended the NCC Luncheon and am getting ready for Tatiana's seminar next week. The NCC Luncheon was very nice as we sat with our friends at the Sandy Scales table. Sandy had decorated the table with some very beautiful painted pieces. Carolyn Spencer, also at the table with us, won the centerpiece which was a watering can painted by Sandy Scales with a great Maureen McNaughton pattern. We had a great time and participated in the silent auction and we WON! We received a great piece that I placed a bid painted by (again) Sandy Scales. I have now added that piece too our collection.

So what is next on the agenda for Pampered Palette. First we have Tatiana Sholokhova here next week for her Zhostovo seminar. We cannot wait for that. Then we will be packing furiously, loading the trailer and off to HOOT we go. Our booths this year will be 123, 125 and 127. We will be taking a lot of goodies and plan to have several surprises for our HOOT customers. Be sure to come out and see us. The picture above is of our new rug that we are having made that will be displayed in the center of the booths. We cannot wait for HOOT as we always have a great time there. COME ON OUT AND SEE US!!!

In August other than HOOT we have Sandy Scales at our studio for another great seminar. The piece that Sandy will be teaching a fantastic unpublished pattern from Maureen McNaughton. The piece will be painted on a 16 inch surface. A really nice surface and finished piece. In September we will be off to the Land of the Vikings where we will take a 3 day seminar with Lois Mueller. We have Lois coming to our studio in 2012 for a seminar but decided to make the trip to Pennsylvania for this seminar. We look forward to painting with Lois. She is truly a gifted artist. Next comes our 3 day technique seminar with David Jansen. David will provide lessons on a landscape and two florals. This will definitely be a great seminar.

November rolls around and we will have our second annual "World of Color" event in Virginia with special guest artist David Jansen. The "World of Color" will be held November 5 & 6, 2011 at the Westin Tysons Corner. We will end November by attending the Maureen McNaughton seminar in Annapolis Maryland on November 19 & 20. Maureen will be in Annapolis all week with classes but we will only be attending the weekend sessions. We are expecting to have a great time.

After all of the great events, we expect to take a little rest. We have had an exciting, fun, very busy and sometimes frustrating year. In all a great year so far. Next year will be just as busy with many great seminars planned, new painting surfaces and lots of fun. Join us.

Be sure to come see us at HOOT.

Tatiana Sholokhova 3 Day Zhostovo Seminar

2011-06-24T06:41:00.001-04:00

The Dates are getting really close now........A FEW SEATS STILL AVAILABLE............GET YOURS TODAY!!!!!

Tatiana has designed a new tulip pattern that will be painted during this seminar on an approximately 8" x 7" metal tray. The Rooster will be painted on an oval wooden box.

Visit http://store.pamperedpalette.com/ to reserve your seat today or contact us at (703) 754-8141. Any questions concerning this seminar should be directed to me - david@pamperedpalette.com

Do not miss this exciting and beautiful seminar. This is truly Tatiana's only East Coast visit for all of 2011. Do not miss this one. Sign up today and reserve your seat.

Tatiana Sholokhova is one of the leading artists of the Russian craft that is called Zhostovo Decorative Painting. Tatiana was born in 1967 in the town of Dmitrov, in the Moscow region. She graduated from the Zhostovo faculty of Fedoskino Miniature Painting School. She’s been working in the craft since 1985. She is a member of the creative board at the Zhostovo factory. Tatiana Sholokhova is a member of the Russian Union of Artists. She teaches at the factory’s Art Lyceum. Tatiana is a participant of the Russian national and international exhibitions. She became a laureate of the New Names International Charity Program and took part in presentation of the Program at the Vatican. She was awarded with the diploma of the Russian Academy of Arts for her achievements in 1996.

Works by Tatiana Sholokhova are recognized by their high professionalism, individual manner of painting, interesting coloristic and design solutions. The artist creates pieces of high artistic value in the classic style developing and enriching traditions of Zhostovo masters.

Tatiana was given an honorary title of the Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2003. She teaches classes in Russia and abroad. Tatiana’s works are in museums and private collections in many countries around the world.

New Article In the CeraKanvas Magazine

2011-06-23T17:48:00.001-04:00

Well, we just returned from a week in Florida. Boy was it hot down there and we had a couple of thunderstorms that were unbelievable. It rained so hard I thought everything was going to get washed away. Very interesting experience. This was work related travel but while there, I was able to do a little painting in my off hours. I am working on a Telemark Rosemaling pattern by Lois Mueller. A very pretty little piece that is fun to paint and not really difficult. So, I am continuing with that and hopefully will have it completed soon since we are now back in the studio.

While gone on business travel, the Ceramic Artist Guild released their newest issue of the CeraKanvas online magazine. We have a lesson/article in this issue as well titled "Strawberry and Daisy Delight".

Check out the latest edition of the CeraKanvas magazine. Be sure to check out my article titled "Strawberry and Daisy Delight". Go to:

http://www.facebook.com/l/5d7b19l50tWIfSyIiicLIPYQYgg/issuu.com/agora-dedakalos/docs/cerakanvasv3i2

HOOT is Right Around the Corner

2011-06-14T15:53:00.000-04:00

Are you going to HOOT this year? We are and will have 3 booths there this year. HOOT is a fantastic conference in Columbus Ohio which is not that far from the Washington DC area. I would like to encourage everyone to attend. You will have a great time.

Our booths this year will be 123, 125, and 127. Stop by and say hello to us. Check out our booths.

Scottie Foster's June Seminar - What a Great Time!!!!!!!

2011-06-08T18:29:00.001-04:00

I would like to thank Scottie and everyone that attended her seminar for such a great weekend of eating, joking, laughing and painting. I would also like to share a screen print of Scottie's webpage where she describes the seminar and Pampere Palette. What a great weekend. Thank you Scottie.

TO SEE THIS PICTURE IN A LARGER FORMAT, JUST FLOAT YOUR MOUSE OVER THE PICTURE AND CLICK. THE PICTURE WILL OPEN IN ANOTHER PAGE LARGER.

For all those individuals that were unable to attend this seminar, not to worry as Scottie will be back at our studio June 2012 for another great seminar and who knows maybe a BRAND NEW UNPUBLISH lesson. Stay tuned for additional information coming soon!!!!!!!

JOIN US AT THE SDP CONFERENCE - BOOTHS 313, 315 & 317

2011-05-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

Attend SDP's 39th Annual Conference and Expo...........Less than two weeks away!

Grab your brushes and all your friends (specially those that have never painted) and join us for a week of great painting, fun, chatting, and meeting new friends.

May 16 - 21, 2011
Wichita, Kansas

Visit SDP's hometown in the heart of the Midwest - Served by multiple major airlines - Central location makes driving convenient - Top-notch accommodations at reasonable rates - A wonderful entertainment district with dining, shopping, art galleries, and live entertainment.

Classes: 100 plus at all levels, in watercolor, oils, acrylics, colored pencil and more.

Workshops, demos, and make-it-take-its, plus an outstanding goody bag for registered attendees.

Expo: Purchase hard-to-find painting supplies and enjoy great discounts from your favorite retailers at more than 100 booths. Visit us at the Conference. Pampered Palette will have booths 313, 315 and 317. Be sure to come by to say hello and browse.

Exhibits: See work by artists from around the world and rub elbows with your favorite BIG BRUSHES.

Spend a week painting, playing, and shopping at a fraction of the cost of a pricey workshop.

So, grab your painting supplies, brushes, friends and come on out to Wichita for a FANTASTIC Conference. Help grow our industry by bringing all your friends especially those that have never painted. In fact, BRING EVERYONE.
See you at the Conference.
Pampered Palette is a proud member of the Society of Decorative Painters.
Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ for information and all your artist supplies, DVDs, surfaces, etc.

ONE DAY UNTIL OUR OPEN HOUSE - COME CHECK US OUT!!!!!!!

2011-04-09T06:09:00.000-04:00

THE PREMIERE STUDIO FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTIST!

OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE!

Yes, Pampered Palette is having an OPEN HOUSE

April 10, 2011 from 10 am till 4 pm.

Check out all the new items at Pampered Palette like the NEW Maureen McNaughton brushes, patterns and her DVD just added to our stock. Also, the new Mary Svenson patterns, Rosemary West patterns, Serina Huang brushes and NEW wood surfaces.

Come on out and take a mini-class from Carolyn Spencer, Sandy Scales and myself. We will be teaching several short classes throughout the day. All classes during the Open House are free. Individuals attending should bring their own brushes. We will have some small ornament type surfaces available for the mini-classes.

During the Open House we will be offering a 20% discount on all paints, supplies, brushes, surfaces and patterns. We will also have available some snack type foods, coffee, tea, water, etc.

So come on out, relax, browse, take a class, chat, visit with friends, have some food and just have a great time.

GRAND DOOR PRIZE:

A door prize will be given away to one lucky attendee. We will give away 1 seat to either Sandy's Scales April or August seminar (the winner's choice). This prize will include the seat, pattern, paints used during the seminar. The only thing the winner will need to buy is the surface for the seminar (or any brushes they may want to buy).

DOOR PRIZE #2:

One Copy of David Jansen's Intro to Gouache DVD (DVD 1015)

DOOR PRIZE #3:

One Copy of David Jansen's Garden Parula DVD (DVD 6002)

NOTE: Only those individuals attending the OPEN HOUSE are eligible to enter the door prize drawings.

Individuals do not have to be present to win a door prize. Drawing for the door prizes will be at 4 pm.

The OPEN HOUSE hours will be from 10 am till 4 pm on

For directions and questions, email me at david@pamperedpalette.com

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

David L. Vernon
Gainesville, Virginia
david@pamperedpalette.com
Heritage Teacher,
Academies of Decorative Painting,
Society of Decorative Painters Ambassador,
Ceramic Artist Guild Ambassador,
Member of SDP, HOOT, DAIC, BADFA,
Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters,
Potomac View Decorative Artists and
Old Dominion Decorative Painters
http://www.pamperedpalette.com/
http://pamperedpaletteonline.blogspot.com/
http://dacartists.ning.com/

"The Premiere Studio For The Decorative Artist"

2011-04-07T06:41:00.000-04:00

April 10, 2011.

THE PREMIERE STUDIO FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTIST!
OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE!

Yes, Pampered Palette is having an OPEN HOUSE

April 10, 2011 from 10 am till 4 pm.

Check out all the new items at Pampered Palette like the NEW Maureen McNaughton brushes, patterns and her DVD just added to our stock. Also, the new Mary Svenson patterns, Rosemary West patterns, Serina Huang brushes and NEW wood surfaces.

Come on out and take a mini-class from Carolyn Spencer, Sandy Scales and myself. We will be teaching several short classes throughout the day. All classes during the Open House are free. Individuals attending should bring their own brushes. We will have some small ornament type surfaces available for the mini-classes.

During the Open House we will be offering a 20% discount on all paints, supplies, brushes, surfaces and patterns. We will also have available some snack type foods, coffee, tea, water, etc.

So come on out, relax, browse, take a class, chat, visit with friends, have some food and just have a great time.

GRAND DOOR PRIZE:

A door prize will be given away to one lucky attendee. We will give away 1 seat to either Sandy's Scales April or August seminar (the winner's choice). This prize will include the seat, pattern, paints used during the seminar. The only thing the winner will need to buy is the surface for the seminar (or any brushes they may want to buy).

DOOR PRIZE #2:

One Copy of David Jansen's Intro to Gouache DVD (DVD 1015)

DOOR PRIZE #3:

One Copy of David Jansen's Garden Parula DVD (DVD 6002)

NOTE: Only those individuals attending the OPEN HOUSE are eligible to enter the door prize drawings.
Individuals do not have to be present to win a door prize. Drawing for the door prizes will be at 4 pm.

The OPEN HOUSE hours will be from 10 am till 4 pm

For directions and questions, email me at david@pamperedpalette.com

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
David L. Vernon
Gainesville, Virginia
david@pamperedpalette.com
Heritage Teacher,
Academies of Decorative Painting,
Society of Decorative Painters Ambassador,
Ceramic Artist Guild Ambassador,
Member of SDP, HOOT, DAIC, BADFA,
Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters,
Potomac View Decorative Artists and
Old Dominion Decorative Painters
http://www.pamperedpalette.com/
http://pamperedpaletteonline.blogspot.com/
http://dacartists.ning.com/

"The Premiere Studio For The Decorative Artist"

OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE!

2011-02-10T05:53:00.001-05:00

OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE! OPEN HOUSE!

Yes, Pampered Palette is having an OPEN HOUSE

April 10, 2011 from 10 am till 4 pm.

Come on out and take a mini-class from Carolyn Spencer, Sandy Scales and myself. We will be teaching several short classes throughout the day. All classes during the Open House are free. Individuals attending should bring their own brushes. We will have some small ornament type surfaces available for the mini-classes.

During the Open House we will be offering a 20% discount on all paints, supplies, brushes, surfaces and patterns. We will also have available some snack type foods, coffee, tea, water, etc.

So come on out, relax, browse, take a class, chat, visit with friends, have some food and just have a great time.

GRAND DOOR PRIZE:

A door prize will be given away to one lucky attendee. We will give away 1 seat to either Sandy's Scales April or August seminar (the winner's choice). This prize will include the seat, pattern, paints used during the seminar. The only thing the winner will need to buy is the surface for the seminar (or any brushes they may want to buy).

DOOR PRIZE #2:
One Copy of David Jansen's Intro to Gouache DVD (DVD 1015)

DOOR PRIZE #3:
One Copy of David Jansen's Garden Parula DVD (DVD 6002)

NOTE: Only those individuals attending the OPEN HOUSE are eligible to enter the door prize drawings.
Individuals do not have to be present to win a door prize. Drawing for the door prizes will be at 4 pm.

The OPEN HOUSE hours will be from 10 am till 4 pm on April 10, 2011.

We are working on a few other things for that day, especially for those that live in other parts of the country and/world, but do not have anything finalized yet. We will let you know any additional information soon.

For directions and questions, email me at david@pamperedpalette.com

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Scottie Foster June 2011 September

2011-02-06T07:33:00.002-05:00

DO YOU WANT TO BE "PAMPERED" AT YOUR NEXT SEMINAR? Then come to a seminar at Pampered Palette! The Premiere Studio for the Decorative Artist.

SCOTTIE FOSTER JUNE 2011 SEMINAR

RENAISSANCE JEWELRY BOX
SCOTTIE FOSTER - (c)

June 4 & 5, 2011

Seminar cost $120.00 for both days.

$60.00 Deposit required to reserve a seat.

Seminar includes complete pattern packet with pictures, paints, snacks and lunch - all provided by Pampered Palette. (Surface is an additional purchase, not included in seminar costs and available at Pampered Palette.)(Jewelry Box is 12" x 12" x 5") The surfaces have been professionally crafted specifically for this seminar.

NOTE: Sign up for Scottie Foster's June seminar and attend the seminar and you will receive FREE a Pampered Palette mouse pad with the finish seminar piece pictured on the front.

SIGN UP TODAY AS SEATING IS LIMITED.

NOTE: MUST SIGN UP FOR BOTH DAYS. THIS PROJECT WILL TAKE TWO DAYS TO COMPLETE)

DECORATIVE PAINTING SEMINAR FEATURING SCOTTIE FOSTER

SEMINAR SPONSORED BY PAMPERED PALETTE
SEMINAR WILL BE HELD AT:
PAMPERED PALETTE
GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA

For information or to reserve your seat, visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ or call David at (703) 754-8141.

RESERVE EARLY AS SEATS ARE LIMITED - DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT SEMINAR.

CAG CONVERGENCE Conference - July 2011

2011-01-10T07:52:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that is really 2011 already? Well there is so much planned for this year and I am beginning to wonder if I can add more items to the list that I have already. A big event that we will be a participant will be the CAG (Ceramic Artist Guild) CONVERGENCE Conference July 17-23, 2011. I will be teaching 5 classes during the conference from my new patterns pictured above. We will be painting and sharing the news about the Heritage product family with ceramicists from around the country and maybe from around the world. At the conference I will be teaching teaches the floral designs using the Heritage arcylics/mediums on ceramic bisque. I am really looking forward to participating at this event, which will be held at the Corban University, Salem, Oregon. I have never been to Oregon so this will be an adventure and a little vacation as well. I really cannot wait. The conference should be exciting where we will meet many new ceramicists and painters. The conference will provide lots of classes and activities. I am hoping that I see many of my friends at the conference.

Now on another topic, I would like to remind everyone that we have 3 great seminars planned already for this year. Do not miss Sandy Scales in April, Tatiana Sholohkova in July, and of course the one and only David Jansen in September. Pampered Palette will be providing something special, not just the pampering that we provide during the seminars, but attendees will receive FREE a Pampered Palette notebook (project pictured on the front cover)(suitable for taking class notes) for Sandy's seminar, a FREE tote bag (project pictures on the front and back) for attending Tatiana's seminar and a FREE Pampered Palette apron for attending David Jansen's seminar. Why would we do this? Because "WE ARE THE PREMIERE STUDIO FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTIST" and we want everyone to enjoy the pampering that they will receive at Pampered Palette. So, do not wait, visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ and reserve your seminar seats today! Space is limited.

AND OF COURSE - DO NOT FORGET THE 2011 WASHINGTON DC DECORATIVE ARTS EXHIBIT/EXPO - A WORLD OF COLOR. INFORMATION BELOW:

BRING YOUR FRIENDS, CAMERAS, TAPE RECORDERS, AND QUESTIONS. LEARN DESIGN, TECHNIQUES AND VISIT WITH OUR PROGRAM TEACHERS. MARK YOUR 2011 CALENDARS. Grab your brushes, come on down to paint with Theresa, Georgia, Val, Paul, and Arlene, watch David Jansen paint, meet other artists, browse the available wood surfaces, new products, and.................. just have a great time. Everyone is invited to join us at this FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EVENT.Never painted before? Well come on down to the exhibit and we can show and tell you all about it.

Washington DC Mini-Convention, "A World Of Color"

Westin Tysons Corner (Rt 495 & Rt 7)
7801 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia

November 05 & 06, 2011
(10am till 5pm, both days)

Open to the Public, Admission is FREE

JOIN Special Guest Artist David Jansen as he paints a variety of panel doors with several techniques/styles

There will be make and takes, demonstrations, new products, a decorative art gallery, decorative painting tips/techniques, Heritage Educational information, new products, wood surfaces, etc.

Come visit with artists from the following Studios:

Jansen Art Studio - David and Martha Jansen
Pampered Palette - David Vernon
Dawbon Art Studio - Georgia Dawbon
Creative Legacy Studio - Paul Seymour
Arlene Newman's Designs - Arlene Newman
Dave's Cuts - David Parmer, Wood Products
Val Cole - Heritage Ambassador
Theresa Maxwell, Heritage Teacher

Associations attending to provide chapter information:
Potomac View Decorative Artists
Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters

NOTE: Studio and association listing could change over time.

This is a Pampered Palette Sponsored Event to PROMOTE decorative painting and ceramics.

For more information visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ or email david@pamperedpalette.com.

THIS EVENT IS "FREE" AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ------ EVERYONE IS WELCOME and INVITED.

Sandy Scales 2 Day Seminar - Unpublished Maureen McNaughton Pattern

2010-12-07T16:48:00.004-05:00

GET READY FOR 2011

Do you want to be "PAMPERED" at your next seminar?
Then come to a seminar at Pampered Palette! The Premiere Studio for the Decorative Artist.

Sandy Scales Seminar

SPRING TAPESTRY INSPIRATION - Pattern #801

April 16, 17, 2011

(BRAND NEW Maureen McNaughton Pattern, Never Published and Never taught in the Washington DC area.)

Seminar cost $120.00 for both days.

$60.00 Deposit required to reserve a seat.

Seminar includes complete pattern packet with pictures, paints, snacks and lunch - all provided by Pampered Palette. (Surface is an additional purchase, not included in seminar costs and available at Pampered Palette.)

Sign up today - limited seats available.

NOTE: MUST SIGN UP FOR BOTH DAYS. THIS PROJECT WILL TAKE TWO DAYS TO COMPLETE)

DECORATIVE PAINTING SEMINAR FEATURING SANDY SCALES

SEMINAR SPONSORED BY PAMPERED PALETTE

SEMINAR WILL BE HELD AT:

PAMPERED PALETTE

GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA

For information or to reserve your seat, visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com/ or call David at (703) 754-8141

RESERVE EARLY AS SEATS ARE LIMITED.

Washington DC Area Exposition and Exhibit - November 20 & 21, 2010

2010-10-08T08:56:00.005-04:00

We are just over a month away from our November Washington DC Area Expo/Exhibit. The dates are November 20 & 21, 2010 at the Westin Tysons Corner. The above flyer, which was created by David Jansen for the event, gives all the information needed for the FREE event. Any one needing any additional information or if you have questions, shoot an email to david@pamperedpalette.com. We hope to see everyone there. What a great time to watch David Jansen paint an Armoire. Bring you cameras, tape recorders, camcorders and lots of questions.

Tatiana Sholokhova Zhostovo Style 3 Day Seminar

2010-08-27T08:50:00.003-04:00

COMING TO PAMPERED PALETTE - JULY 2011

TATIANA SHOLOKHOVA ZHOSTOVO STYLE 3 DAY SEMINAR

JULY 29, 30, 31, 2011

SEMINAR COST $300.00 FOR THE THREE DAYS AND INCLUDES ALL PAINTS, MEDIUMS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS.

$100.00 DEPOSIT IS REQUIRED TO RESERVE YOUR SEMINAR SEAT

SEMINAR WILL BE HELD AT PAMPERED PALETTE
GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA 20155
(703) 754-8141

TATIANA WILL BE DESIGNING A NEW TULIP PATTERN THAT WILL BE PAINTED DURING THIS SEMINAR ON AN APPROXIMATELY 8" X 7" METAL TRAY. THE ROOSTER PIECE PICTURED ABOVE WILL BE PAINTED ON AN OVAL WOODEN BOX.

VISIT http://store.pamperedpalette.com/ TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY. ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE SEMINAR SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ME - david@pamperedpalette.com

BOOK NOW AS WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED RECEIVING RESERVATIONS. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS SEMINAR. THIS WILL BE TATIANA'S ONLY VISIT NEXT YEAR TO THE WASHINGTON DC AREA. BOOK NOW.

Another Weekend Seminar

2010-07-03T17:58:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we (Pampered Palette) along with Bev's Ceramics sponsored a Sandy Scales seminar at Bev's studio. We spent the weekend painting several of Maureen McNaughton's patterns pictured above (excuse the flash). Some of the individuals attending the seminar painted on ceramic bisque surfaces while others painted on wood surfaces. We even had some attendees that had never attempted stroke work previously. In all it was a good two days of painting. We are planning the next Sandy Scales seminar for December 4 & 5, 2010. For that seminar we will be painting two pieces, a Cabbage Rose & Holly pattern and a Summer Sweet Pea pattern. We are looking forward to that seminar.

Now next on our list of seminars is a weekend with David Jansen where we will be learning Rosemaling. That should be interesting and hopefully we will be able get through the pieces with our usual excitement and of course patience. We will see. Have to run out. Just wanted to share the pieces we completed this past weekend with everyone. Until next time, Happy Painting.

David Jansen 3 Day Technique Seminar - At Pampered Palette

2010-06-08T22:56:00.005-04:00

What exciting news we have to share with everyone. We have tentative dates for a David Jansen 3 Day Seminar to be held at Pampered Palette in September 23, 24, & 25, 2011. It is really rare that we have such an accomplished artist visit the DC area but it looks like it we are going to make this happen. Above I have included pictures of the projects that we intend to paint during the seminar. One piece will be painted each day of the seminar. The floral piece above has never been taught before by David in a classroom setting so we are very lucky to have that piece as one of our class projects. The second piece will be a Rosemaling technique and the final piece will be the fruit lefse board (everyone loves fruit). I am so looking forward to having David at our place for the seminar. What an honor.

The seminar fee will be $300.00 and includes all of the paints, mediums, color photos and instructions. We will limit the class size to about 15 to 20 people. So since space is limited, we will request a $100.00 deposit to reserve a seat. So, if you are interested in attending this seminar, even though it is a year away, we would recommend that you reserve your seat. The spaces will fill up fast so do not delay, reserve your space today.

For information about the seminar, or to reserve a seat, contact me (David) at (703) 754-8141 or email me at david@pamperedpalette.com. What a fantastic opportunity to attend a 3 day seminar with one of the greatest BIG brushes. Reserve your space today. You do not want to miss this seminar. See you at the seminar.

New Website and Online Store Coming Soon!

2010-06-03T06:51:00.003-04:00

We are really busy trying to get our new website and online store constructed and rolled out. We do not know how long this will take but are hoping to get everything done this month. We are combining a lot of our websites into one very user friendly site. The new site will have a newsletter, a forum, the Pampered Palette website, the Pampered Palette Educational Network and our online store all in one place. Now how cool is that? Now some may ask why we are redoing our website/store? Well, we are trying to bring up a site that is a lot more flexible for us, more user friendly for end user, and more visually pleasing to the customer. We have been busy configuring and pulling data into the new system. Currently, all the products and prices have been included in the system. We now are trying to bring up the website information, forum and newsletter along with TESTING, TESTING, and more TESTING. It seems like we do not have enough hands to get everything done and find the time to paint as well. We expect that once the site is launched then everything will calm down a bit (we hope).

We are rolling out several seminars using one of our local ceramic studios space for the classes. Soon we will have our own class area completed. We have the room almost finished, painted and the flat screens mounted. We are currently waiting for some gadgets we need to pull everything together so that we can display different pictures on the three different screens or all the same picture. We have added a brand new camcorder where we can zoom into to see a flea on a fly's butt..........lol. We are really excited about the classes and the new space.

Do not forget about HOOT. We will be there with two booth spaces, 413-415, so if you are planning a trip to Ohio to attend HOOT, be sure and stop by our booths and say hello. We also would like to remind everyone about the Washington DC area Mini-Conference/Exposition scheduled for November 20/21 with our Special Guest, David Jansen painting an Armoire. What an exciting year we have planned. So, stay tuned for more news. Until next time, HAPPY PAINTING!

2010-05-24T07:56:00.010-04:00

Well the SDP conference is over for this year. I think it was a lot of hard work for our tiny little booth but we had a great time. We met a lot of our friends from England, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Bolivia and the US that all stopped by to browse because they know us from Facebook. I thought that was really great. We sold all of the Heritage colorsets that we had stocked to sell and some of the new 19 colorsets. The Garden Parula DVD and Pattern Packet was a big hit as well with over 20 of those items sold............We also moved a lot of other DVDs, lots of mediums (sold out of some of them) and other goodies that we had. Now the show itself was a little small attendance wise but we still were very pleased with the overall results. We made a lot of new friends and hopefully now have a lot of new customers.......yeah!!!!!!

So, now we are home, what do we do next? Well we will be getting ready for HOOT. We have two booths at HOOT (will have two booths at SDP next year as well) so I need to get busy deciding what the booth will look like, what products will be in the booth, and the most important, what we will wear (I have an idea).

I have included some pictures of the event (our booth) above so that you can take a look. All went well. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

New Booth Backdrop For the SDP Conference

2010-04-27T10:26:00.002-04:00

As always, times have been a little rough around here lately. We are getting ready for the SDP and HOOT Conferences so that means we need to determine what we are taking to the show. We have a booth at both shows so I decided last week that I would have a professional backdrop made for the booth. Above is a picture of the backdrop which we received yesterday via FEDEX. So it looks like we will be using the booth backdrop at the SDP show. YAHOOOOOO!!!! The backdrop is actually 8 feet by 8 feet so it should fill the booth very well. Now all we have to do is get ourselves and everything else to Wichita.

I am trying to get some painting done however with everything going on right now, it has been a little difficult to get into my painting area. We are having the classroom constructed which is taking a little longer than I expected. Well we now have walls and they are painted........now that is a start. This past weekend we had 18 cans (lights) installed in the ceiling for lighting and two 42" flat screen TVs. The TVs will assist the student during class to see brushstrokes, blending, or whatever as they are hooked to the camcorder. We are getting there.

For those that do not know, we two seminars scheduled already for June. I will be the instructor for the Fusion Blending seminar and we are bringing Sandy Scales for a two day seminar. Sandy will be providing instruction for two of Maureen McNaughton's patterns. So as you can see, we are a little busy and excited at the same time.

Along with all this excitement, we had our first decorative painted piece on ceramic bisque published in the Ceramic Artist Guild's e-magazine (Cerakanvas) which is read by over 66,000 individuals worldwide. The magazine is very professional and is packed full of fun ideas and projects. Check it out at www.ceramicartistguild.com . About a month ago, I was made the Ceramic Artist Guild's Special Ambassador for Decorative Painting. Well this month, I became a SDP Ambassador as well so now I promote both decorative painting and ceramics to both organizations. What an exciting time but very busy. Which reminds me. I have got to run so I can get some things completed. Who knows, maybe I will be able to paint some today......one can only hope. Until the next post, Happy Painting!

November Event Plans Moving Right Along - Everyone is Invited

2010-04-14T07:47:00.004-04:00

We are planning a great event this November with Special Guest David Jansen. Above is our current advertisement with all the information. Individuals can also check out our website for new information. Go to http://www.pamperedpalette.com and look under the Tab "Washington Mini-Convention. We hope to see everyone there. Do not miss this event. When is the last time David Jansen visited the Washington DC area not to mention we have very talented artists like Georgia Dawbon, Arlene Newman, Bev Scarborough that you do not want to miss. See you there!

SDP Wichita Conference - May 2010

2010-04-09T11:12:00.004-04:00

This will be just a short post to invite everyone to stop by our booth (317) at the SDP Conference, in Wichita this May. Above is a picture of our advertisement that will run in the SDP Conference Program. Only one month to go!!!!!!! See ya there.

Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Washington DC Mini-Convention - A World of Color

2010-03-24T08:30:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know about the event that we are planning. Details are not totally finalized but this is what I have confirmed thus far. Now put this on your calendars............

Washington DC Mini-Convention - "A World Of Color"
Westin Tysons Corner (Rt 495 & Rt 7)
November 20 & 21, 2010 (10 am to 5 pm, both days)
Open to the Public, Admission is FREE

With Special Guest David Jansen

There will be make it and take its, demonstrations, new products, a decorative art gallery, wood and more.

Studio that I can announce right now that will be there are:

Jansen Art Studio
Pampered Palette
Dawbon Art Studio
Arlene Newman Designs
Dave's Cuts
Bev's Ceramics

Other studios and guest will be announced soon.

This is a Pampered Palette Sponsored Event - "Bringing Decorative Arts and Ceramics Back to the Mainstream"

Visit http://dacartists.ning.com/ for the latest information.

Launching of a New Social Network

2010-03-20T07:24:00.002-04:00

I just seem to be constantly trying new things. Everyone, by now, knows of my little run in with FaceBook as they apparently have a problem with the speed that you grow your friends list. Well, this week I also realized that on FaceBook all you have to do is have some of your competitors complain against you and guess what? You are booted off their site losing all of your friends and fans. So I have decided to keep a very small presence on FaceBook which I have done by establishing a new page. However, that is not where I will place all my eggs as I have learned you cannot control or trust people (competitors) on FaceBook.

Well, after a day of thinking that I had been defeated in my attempts to grow our decorative painting and ceramics industries and trying to figure out my next steps, I had a realization. Yep, I am not going to let FaceBook get me down, not one bit. I started to search the internet on social networks and networking ideas. I thought there had to be another FaceBook type application out there on the internet world. Well I found a few like MySpace, which I still have not figured that one out. The problem I had was that the other sites did not offer me the flexibility or functionality that I wanted. Which brought me to another realization of idea. I will build my own social network. A site that is open to all artists no matter what art or craft industry they participate or what paint they use. All artists are welcome (see my reasoning here?) as you may have a person join the site that is in to scrapbooking that may decide to try painting or a person that is using a different paint line that may try Heritage. The site has to serve the communities to educate, encourage, and promote decorative painting and ceramics. So, after kicking this around a little we launched the Decorative Arts and Ceramics soical network. So far we have over 175 members located in the US, Canada, UK, Taiwan, Argentina and Australia. We have a varied membership of ceramcists, decorative artists and even members that paint on gourds and eggs. We are getting great response and lots of participation. So far our members have posted over 115 pictures of their finished pieces and 5 how to videos. For only being up for a couple of days that is great participation. The best part about this is that it is all FREE to all members and groups. Now just watch us grow.

The site is specifically for decorativing painting and ceramics. So it is those individuals that work, teach, paint, create, design or are just interested in the arts. We can even set up groups areas for SDP chapters so they can post the information, pictures, events, videos or whatever specific their organizations. I am pleased as punch at the progress we have made this week. So please that we will have a computer set up at the SDP Conference where attendees will be able to navigate the site and actually become a member right there - LIVE. The picture posted above will be a postcard that we will be handing out at the conference. We have even expanded our tables for the booth. One table will have a table throw that say "Pampered Palette" and the other will say "Decorative Arts and Ceramics". Just never a dull moment in at Pampered Palette.

Well that is the news this week. Until next time..........HAPPY PAINTING!

A Really Strange Week Indeed

2010-03-16T15:10:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered why some people find it necessary to be nasty, intrusive, or just plain backstabbing? They seem to feel justified in getting into your business. It is like they are afraid of fair competition or something. Well, that is just what happened to me this week. We had grown our FaceBook friends to over 2450 people and had over 1450 people following Pampered Palette page. Out of the blue last Monday, FaceBook turned off my account (disabled it with no reason given). I know some people would not tell that little tidbit but I really do not care nor do I have anything to hide so I will publicly discuss it. I had no idea why they account was disabled when I received their email so I shot an email to the powers to be at FaceBook. You know, it took FaceBook over a week to respond to my message and their response kind of surprised me. As a person and a businessman, I always operate in everything that I do with respect to all individuals. I am not harsh with people (however, do not get on my bad side....lol.), I do not slam people, point fingers or call names. I just try to be rah rah, uplifting, and responsive to encourage existing painters and painters that would like to try painting for the first time to pick up a brush and just paint something. I do not care what they paint, just paint something. So what happened?

Well, FaceBook finally responded yesterday to tell me that they had received a complaint about me concerning what they called harassing behavior (translated, I requested friends too fast or something). So the complaint centered around me requesting people to be friends or fans too fast. Well isn't that a crock? I thought that was the whole purpose of FaceBook to find friends to build your social network. I evidently became too RAH RAH, grew too fast, and my take on the whole subject is that it appears I have ruffled the feathers of some of our competition. I now know that competitors can lodge a complaint, get your account disabled and their is absolutely nothing you can do about it. In fact, FaceBook will not even tell you who complained, what the complaints was or any other information besides a general "your account has been disabled". Oh, they do tell you their decision is FINAL!

So in response to the whole situation, this week we launched the Decorative Arts and Ceramics social network which actually provides us more functionality than FaceBook. In a matter of days we have grown the site to about 135 people with more people joining everyday. So we are on our way to BIG things. The good part about the DAC Artists network is that it is FREE to all artists. I do not care what you paint or what field you are in, all artists are welcome. We can even set up groups for local decorative painting associations so they can post their own information, events, news, etc. Also, each individual that joins can establish their own page to promote their business, post pictures, provide news, or whatever. It is very flexible. And the good part? FaceBook cannot shut it down. As the site grows, I can expand the storage capacity and increase our bandwidth (that part will cost some money but not a lot, which I fund). So I am very pleased with the progress thus far.

As of this morning, we have members in Canada, US, Taiwan, Australia, Argentina, and a few others that are posting their own pictures on their personal/business pages. The system picks up those pictures and runs a slide show on the main DAC page. We have some great art pictures running through the slide show with about 95 pictures randomly being displayed. Now we are working on providing content so that the site becomes, not only informative but educational. In fact, Georgia Dawbon has already posted 3 videos. Way to go Georgia.

Finally, I would like to thank our very supportive friends at CAG (Ceramic Artist Guild) who have supported me as their Ambassador to Decorative Painting/SDP as well as the establishment of the new DAC Artist site 200%. What a great group of people. If you have not visited their website, go over to http://www.ceramicartistguild.com/ and take a look.

As you can see there is never a dull moment in the lives of Pampered Palette or myself. So until the next post, HAPPY PAINTING!!!!!!! And do not get too many friends as the unsocial network FACEBOOK will not like that.......................hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

SDP Wichita Seminar

2010-03-10T09:06:00.009-05:00

The other weekend (February 26, 27, & 28), Mark and I hopped on a plane flying to Wichita Kansas to attend the SDP Maureen McNaughton seminar. We painted three different Maureen McNaughton patterns over the three day period. We did not get them completely finished but we gave it our best shot. I think this time the hardest part of the seminar for most of us was sitting in the same chair for three solid days. By the time the seminar was over, there was not one part of my body that did not hurt (from the chairs) While there we met a lot very nice people, exchange ideas, tips, jokes, laughter, etc. and of course I did some shameless marketing. I handed out business cards and Pampered Palette ink pens. Well, we made til the end of the seminar and was very pleased with our projects. The pictures above are from the seminar and of course one of the pictures is my completed piece. The other two pieces I have not completed yet............mainly because since the seminar, I have been on travel to Germany and Santa Fe. Seems a little hectic at the moment.

Now let's talk about Germany a little. We woke up Saturday morning (in Germany) to SNOW. I just about dropped my teeth as the weather was not calling for any snow. Evidently, it was an unexpected snowfall that caused many accidents throughout the area. After having over 42 inches of snow this year in DC, snow was not something that I wanted to see. Once we got over the shock of snow falling, we spent the day walking around Frankfurt, shopping, and of course eating. We returned just in time for me to hop my next flight (for work) to Santa Fe. What a busy few weeks.........to much travel for me as I am feeling a little exhausted not knowing what time zone I am in..................................

Well, now I am home and my plans are to paint one of Maureen's patterns on a ceramic bisque (a plate). I think this will really look quite nice on the plate......hopefully I can stay off of planes long enough to paint.........lol.

Looking for information on decorative painting or ceramics? Need to apply for membership? Need to renew your membership? You can join either organization today!!!!!! Visit http://www.ceramicartistguild.com/ for ceramics and http://www.decorativepainters.org/ for decorative painting. JOIN TODAY!!!!!!

See us at the Wichita SDP Conference in May 2010 at booth #317..........See ya there. Until Next Time, Happy Painting.

Reaching Out To Others

2010-02-21T06:17:00.005-05:00

This week, after David J. announced the pending release of the new DVD 6002, I was sitting thinking of ways to market decorative painting. I remembered when I use to do ceramics many years ago that the ceramic industry was kind of divided up into groups. One group did stoneware, one did porcelain, one did slip poured ceramics, others did hand thrown works, and so on. It is kind of like decorative painting where some use wood, some use tin/metal, others canvas, glass or some other surface. Well, I got to thinking, and I do know that is rare. What if we try to combine some parts of the two industries in an attempt to reach out to other artists. So, I grabbed my keys and off to the local ceramics shop I drove. The owner and I had a brief discussion about our industry, about teaching some decorative painting classes at her shop and about using ceramic bisque pieces as a decorative painting surface. What was next? Well I purchased 4 pieces of ceramic bisque from the shop owner. What plan did I have? I had decided that I would take a few of the Heritage lessons from the manual and paint those lessons on the ceramic bisque.

And that is just what I started to do. The next step was how to I reach other artists? I decided to use FaceBook. I currently have 1830 people following me on FaceBook (David Vernon page) and 1086 following Pampered Palette. That would be a perfect place to throw out my idea, reaching lots of people and getting their response. So, I posted what I was doing on both the Pampered Palette page and David Vernon page, how we, as artists, could use different surfaces paint crossing over boundaries/industries to learn new things. So, ceramists could learn some decorative painting techniques painting them on ceramic bisque, wood or other surfaces. I even posted a picture. Next, as a member of the Ceramic Artist Guild, I posted the same information and another picture. I have been absolutely blown away with the responses. Many people thought it was a great idea to cross industries and expand the boundaries of both industries. Let's share our art........................I was even asked if I would consider submitting my finished piece for inclusion in their CAG magazine.

So, I am working on a deal to teach decorative painting at the local ceramic studio, will include ceramic bisque as a surface in my studio lessons, and possibly add ceramic bisque to my online store (the bisque will be purchased from the local studio, I am not cleaning and firing greenware). So a little idea that was circulating in my head (lots of room for that) on reaching out to fellow artists no matter what industry has created an opportunity for me to expand my involvement in decorative painting and hopefully bring new people to the Heritage family. A good week if I must say so myself............lol.

Well that is it from Pampered Palette for right now. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Snow, Snow, and more Snow!!!!!!!

2010-02-07T08:12:00.006-05:00

I am sorry but this is just a little too much snow for me. We ended up with 32 inches of the white stuff (other areas got as much as 40 inches). I am really not a Snow Bunny so all this snow is just an annoyance for me. Normally, I tend to spend my time traveling or just running to a store if I need something. Well with all this snow, we could go no where. We were stuck in the house. This morning things are a little better as the snow plow finally came down our street but from reports on the TV, it does not appear that it is that safe to venture out today. We will see how things go. Actually, the TV weather forecast for this coming Tuesday is for another 6+ inches of snow. Come on SPRING!

What else has happened this week? Thanks for asking. I released my very first pattern packet titled "Strawberry and Daisy Fusion" and now am working on my second one. Putting together the design, selecting the colors and finally putting the total pattern packet together was really kind of fun. I learned a lot. I would really like to thank Georgia Dawbon and David Jansen for the use of their eyes to review the materials, their suggestions, assistance, and overall help with this project. Their help is soooooooo appreciated.

Since it snowed all day Friday and yesterday, I painted a little on my next pattern piece. I wanted to work on my DVD pieces (that I have started) but the power kept flickering off and on. Then there were times it went out totally so TVs, DVDs, and computers do not work well without electricity. Go figure. It is funny because that is one thing I never really thought about. When we heard that we had the potential of getting hammered with snow, we went out to the grocery store to buy what we thought we needed (CAKE). Well, we absolutely did not think of things that we may have really needed. I never realized how dependent we are on electricity. We woke up yesterday morning around 4:30 am (as usual) with no power. Well that meant no heat (we have two electrical units and one gas unit) we could not could use the stove or oven as both happen to be electric, no lights, no telephone (we at least had cellphone for backup), no TV, no Radio, no computer, etc. The gas heating unit is the main unit for the lower portion house but does not work without electricity (hmmmmmmmmmmm). The two electrical units heat the rest of house (of they did not work). We do have a gas fireplace which, I was surprised, actually works without power. We figured we could huddle around that if the power stayed out for an extending time and we needed some sort of heat. Well, we were very lucky as the power came back on after only being out for about 2 hours. However, there are people in our area that have been without electricity since Friday night. I can feel for them. Ours stayed on most of the day just flickered off and on throughout the day.

What did this teach us? That we are not prepared for an emergency. All the food we had basically required a stove and ours was electric. We did at least have candles and flashlights but nothing to cook on or even a battery powered radio. Everything is electric. So I now have a new goal. Buy items for the house that will assist us in the future in the event of some sort of emergency. It is really funny because you would think that we could have just gone to a hotel if necessary but in this case we could dig out the driveway with no problems but we could not go anywhere from the driveway. The streets were and are just impassable. We seemed to be stuck...........so now we will be prepared for future snow, rain storms or other emergencies. We learned a valuable lesson.

We do hope that all our friends are fine and please stay warm and safe. Happy Painting!

Another Hectic Week - New Computer/New System/New Shelves

2010-01-25T17:09:00.007-05:00

Well this has been another very hectic week as I, for some odd reason, decided to purchase a new point of sale software solution for Pampered Palette. Well, that was a little bigger item to carry off than I was expecting. Just the whole integration with our financial system was enough to send me straight for therapy. Now that we have everything installed, the system provides a lot of interesting features including barcoding and scanning, cash drawer, receipt printing, credit card processing and much much more. If a new point of sale system was not enough, I decided to purchase and install a new computer with 1 TB hard drive and 8 gigs of memory running the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. That required the moving of all my files and software off of the old machine and onto the new machine. Another big headache as nothing seems to be as easy as everyone says it should be. It is a good thing that I have my own personal computer genius (Mark) who handles all my computer problems. With his help everything is up and running.

The pictures above are of my supply room that I am putting together. We have been busy putting together shelves, stocking the shelves and running an inventory for the new POS system. As you can see, I try to utilize every inch of space so that I can pack as many items on my shelves as possible. I still need to add some additional shelves especially where I stock plates giving me more room to stock more items without having to install a complete new set of shelves. I just add a shelf where needed. So far, so good.

Well working on all the computer stuff and shelving has left very little time for painting. However, I did get a few things started like my new pattern packet (number 2) that I a painting before scripting. I paint, take pictures, paint, take pictures and then finally I will script out the instructions. I really do not have enough hands to get everything completed. There are times that I feel overwhelmed. Well actually I think that is most of the time recently.

This week I fly to Los Angeles for the weekend and then back to Santa Fe on Monday. Well that cuts the time I would have to paint this weekend. I am home for a weekend (February 6) and then the following weekend we are off to Delaware for another painting seminar. Actually, during February we have two seminars. The second one is the weekend of February 26th with Maureen McNaughton in Wichita (SDP Headquarter). Oh well, maybe next month.

I really have tons to do so I will get off my box temporarily. Until the next post, HAPPY PAINTING!

New Sandy Scales Seminar Pieces

2010-01-14T10:40:00.004-05:00

After a week of business travel where I returned from Santa Fe late Friday afternoon, Mark and I got out of bed Saturday morning at 4:30 am to drive to Delaware. We were attending another Sandy Scales seminar at Painter's Paradise and need to arrive no later than 8:30 am. Well, we did great on the road as the traffic was pretty light which helped us arrive at Starbucks by 8:00 am. Wow, we had time to spare. After picking up our drinks and drinks for Sandy, we headed to Painter's Paradise arriving with plenty of time to set everything up. The first piece we painted was the green plaque picture above. For that piece we did a lot of shaded, floated some color, highlighted some flowers with a little extender and a mop brush and marbleized the outer edge. In all the Saturday class went very well and even though I consider myself a slow painter, I was able to keep up with everybody.

On Sunday we worked on the plate pictured above. I just love fan strokes which the piece has a lot of those strokes. I find them fun and easy to do. I think I have that technique down pat. When I returned home, I still needed to finish the plate's outer edges. So, I took two of the colors from the palette, made a purple mix, and then antiqued the piece with a gray wash. I am pleased with the results. The next Sandy Scales seminar is scheduled for February 13 & 14 at Painter's Paradise. Again, Mark and I have booked our places for that seminar then then end of the month we will be attending Maureen's Seminar in Wichita. We have so many classes scheduled that I am having a little hard time keeping track of them. I know I have two classes scheduled with David Jansen as well later this year. Boy, I should hire an assistant.

Still lots going on at Pampered Palette as we have received lots of new wood, metal and canvas painting surfaces along with many new supplies. Rapidly our shelves are becoming completely stock, which is good. But it has definitely kept me busy along with all the seminar painting and the Heritage lesson pieces I am painting. Maybe I can clone myself so I can have another set of hands..........lol. Anyway, there is never a dull moment. This is about it for the news right now. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Making Changes - Very Busy - Somewhat Tired

2009-12-30T06:57:00.011-05:00

This week, again, has been very busy here at the ole homestead. We are currently having our painting (studio) room sheetrocked and finished so we can provide a space for classes. Just having that done has put me out of my painting area for the past two weeks. So I have been painting at my desk where all my computers are located. I have to keep getting up going to my room to pick up paints, tracing paper, varnish, etc. What a pain but I know in the end the room will be much nicer after completion. Then I will do all my painting there. Talk about painting. Even though the room is a mess because of all the construction, I have spent most of the time this week painting as you can see from the pictures above. I did not include pictures of two other pieces that I have started. One is a David Jansen seminar floral piece (just have the piece basecoated) and my pattern that I have designed and am painting on a surface. I am just surprised that I have completed as many pieces that I did over the past week. I am now working on the floral piece from the training manual where I have marbelized the surface (pictured above). I know that my piece appears to be more marbelized than the instructional photos but I preferred a darker/stronger marbelizing. Now, when I am finished with the project, lets see if I still think the same as now. But for now, I like the stronger look.

Now on top of all the construction mess, we have been very busy with all the new supplies and surfaces that are arriving daily. I have had Mark busy putting together new shelving to hold all the new goodies. We are getting some very different items for our area. We are looking to be more of a boutique where we will bring in those surfaces that painters would not normally find in our area. As of this morning, we have over 305 different items in stocke that we carry a minimum of 3 each. Many of the items we carry at least 6 and have each item systematically displayed. We are very orderly and neat when it comes to displaying our stock and of course this takes time to maintain. It is exciting to watch our inventory grow along with our other items of our business like our FaceBook friends. Now that is an area that has just taking off. As of this morning we have over 1032 friends that are connected to us on FaceBook. We post finished pieces, progression pictures, new product news, decorative painting techniques and news, etc. on FaceBook and are getting very positive comments back. We are really quite surprised at how quickly that part of our outreach program has grown. So FaceBook, Twitter, Pampered Palette Blog, Website and Store, keeps us very busy. In the future months, when we get most of our inventory in place (and we definitely expect that to grow quickly) we think things will calm down a little so that we can focus on the business and our classes. But for now, it is busy, busy, busy. Which reminds me, I need to get back to work. I have to paint today on two pieces that I would like to have completed by the weekend. So, back to work for me. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Shirts Arrive - Very Busy Getting Ready For Next Year!

2009-12-24T06:50:00.006-05:00

Again this week has been very busy as we have consistently received supply orders from all over the country. It has been daily that we have had FEDEX and UPS delivering boxes at our place so that has really kept me very busy. With all the boxes comes things like setting up new storage shelving, which we did, entering all the items into the computer (my job), pricing the items, updating the online store and the list just seems to go on. In between unpacking all the boxes, I did a little painting this week. I worked some more on my pattern that I will be releasing after the first of year, painted two Heritage lessons, started a third lesson and when I was painting, I was chatting on Skype with someone from the Heritage team. In all a very busy but exciting week.

Most of you guys know that Mark and I will be having a Pampered Palette booth at the SDP convention next year. Well we ordered shirts for the booth which was delivered this week as well. The pictures above are of Mark modeling one of the new shirts and a close up of the left pocket area. I think they turned out great. Now just in case someone could not figure it out from all the pictures I have posted, our booth colors will be a combination of Red, Black and White. The shirts and table cover will be red and black while all the signage will be red and white. We are really trying to have a very consistent look throughout the booth. We still have not figured out what we will display in the booth but at the moment it looks like we have have items from the Global Art and Jansen Art. We know for sure the Heritage paints will be in the booth and probably Jansen patterns, brushes, books, etc. Anyway, we are still working on the contents of the booth. Right now we are pleased that we have settled on the look and feel.

Now if you have not visited the Pampered Palette website or the online store in a while, stop by, and take a look at all the changes. We have made some major changes to both the website and the store. Visit http://www.pamperedpalette.com and http://store.pamperedpalette.com. Lots of changes and lots of items added to both sites.

Well it is Christmas Eve and we have lots of things to do before tomorrow. We will actually be having Christmas dinner with my daughter and grandson so have to finish all my items wrapped today. So, I guess I best get off the computer and get with it. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Snow Finally Stopped - Waiting For Spring

2009-12-20T08:51:00.004-05:00

Well the snow finally stopped and I could not have been happy that it did. You see, I am not a cold weather type of person. I much prefer the warm or hot weather but have always lived in the DC area so here I sit, still. I spent yesterday working on my computer (order more supplies), baking bread, and I actually painted. I am working on four (4) pieces currently at the same time. Two of the pieces are from the Heritage Educational Program and the other two pieces are of my pattern packet that I will be releasing (using the Heritage paints and Fusion brushes). You may ask how I can work on four pieces at the same time. Well, I work a little on one piece and the switch to the next when I want to do something else. While I am painting the pieces used in the photos for my pattern packet, I paint a little, document, and then I take photos of the progress of the piece. I am hoping to get some of the pieces completed today (Sunday) as I need to move on to the next pieces. There just does not seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done that I would like to accomplish. Well, I should have plenty of time now because of the snow because I will not leave the house until it melts.............lol.

I bet you are wondering about the pictures posted above? Well, those are more of my shameless marketing of the David Jansen Empire, just kidding David. The pictures are actually oversized postcards that I had printed to promote David's new DVD (4011). I scanned them into my computer so I could post the pictures. That is why the card with the shelf is sideways. You actually look at that l card lengthwise (top to bottom) not left to right. I think the cards turned out very sharp. I now have tons or so it seems of marketing material. I think I am all ready for the trade shows or local association meetings.

It has been really busy here this week. Not only have I been fighting with FEDEX for losing a box of wood/metal surfaces, which they have never found, I have had multiple boxes arriving each day. I am getting my shelves stocked and ready for the new year. Need a new brush? Well I now stock the complete Global Art brush line, along with almost all of David Jansen's pattern packets, new wood, new metal/tin, and artist supplies. I could probably outfit a complete college art department............lol. With all of those items arriving, that meant I needed to spend lots of time of time on the computer updating inventory and the online store. Hey, check it out. To bypass the website and go directly to the store to view everything new, navigate to http://store.pamperedpalette.com. I am just stunned at all the new things we have added and guess what? There is more on the way. Take a look. I think you will be surprised.

Well, I guess I should get my act together as I have lots to do. Today we are putting together additional shelving to hold all the new items and I want to paint. I cannot get things done if I continue to sit here typing on the computer. So, I am off to paint and work. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

David Wins Big!!!!!

2009-12-15T11:05:00.003-05:00

We have had a lot happening here at Pampered Palette (and our house) this past week. The weekend we had contractors in hanging sheetrock in the only unfinished space in the house. That space is where I usually paint as I have it set up as my painting studio. Well, next year we will move into teaching classes from here so I am having that area of the house finished. Not only the walls but we are having additional lighting and we plan to hang monitors (at least 42") from the ceiling to assist students with viewing demonstrations. So, there is a lot of work going on at the moment.

Now I am sure everyone is wondering about the above picture? Well, the Potomac View Decorative Artists were having a raffle as part of the year end Christmas party to raise funds. Well, I bought some tickets to support the organization and received an email Saturday evening from the organization's President letting me know that I had won the piece. It is a seasons trunk and the front panel can be changed as the seasons change. I have five panels to choose from and each panel was painted by a member of the organization. Now how lucky was that? A very pleasant surprise.

The rest of the week as not been that great as I am dealing with a lost shipment of metalware that has been misplaced by FEDEX (a 34lb. box). It is kind of funny, as their website tracking says the box has been delivered but I do not know where they left it because they certainly did not leave it at our shop. So, I am waiting for FEDEX to try and determine where they have left the box and hopefully I will get it delivered some time this week. I have two additional shipments coming this week and they are both being delivered by FEDEX. Now ask me if I am concerned whether or not they will show up? We will see.

Even with all the excitement of winning the trunk and the disappointment of FEDEX losing my shipment, I have been upbeat enough to paint. I did a little bit on 4 of the pieces that I am painting. I am hoping to get one of them completed today. I guess we will she how things go today. If I get one of the pieces completed, I will definitely post pictures. Until then, Happy Painting.

New Table Cover Received

2009-12-10T19:56:00.002-05:00

You know, there are days I feel like I just do not have enough hands to get everything done. I painted a little last even but I am receiving so many items for the online store that it requires me to lay down my brushes and do some data entry. I have been receiving brushes, paints, patterns, wood surfaces, tinware, and supplies. So, I have to enter each item into the inventory system then enter it into my online store so customers can view the information and hopefully order. All of this computer stuff can get a little overwhelming at times but so far I have able to keep up with all the data entry.
Today was a very good day as I received an order from Jansen Art Studio and I received my table cover that we will be using next year at the SDP convention. I think the cover looks great. Mark and I will have a booth at the convention so we had the above table cover made which will make our booth look more professional. We plan to have the Heritage Acrylics in the booth for display and sale along with some other goodies. All of that (booth displays/products) is in the planning stages. It is going to be really exciting as I have not had a booth at a convention in about 10-15 years. The last time I had a booth was when I ran my ceramics business. So, this could be really fun.
Anyway, lots of things going on here at Pampered Palette. I have another order of tinware arriving tomorrow and then I think I will sit down to paint a little. So, I should probably stop gabbing and get back to work. Until the next post, Happy Painting.

Sandy Scales Seminar this Past Weekend

2009-12-07T11:23:00.006-05:00

This past weekend Mark and I traveled to Painter's Paradise in Delaware to attend the Sandy Scales seminar. Sandy provides seminars using Maureen McNaughton's patterns. We had an absolutely great time even though the first day we had to deal with rain and snow while traveling. The first day of seminar there was about 24 people in the class as we worked on the rose plaque pictured above. I did not get my piece finished but really made some great progress towards its completion. I found the design fun, somewhat easy, but a little time consuming. I guess that is why I did not get the project finished but it gives me something to do at home along with all the other projects I am painting. The second day was the round metal plate pictured above. That particular pattern I had selected and suggested for the seminar (surprised they picked it.......lol). Now that complete piece is totally painted using flat brushes and one little tiny philbert brush (#4). That was just a little challenging but fun and believe it or not, I almost completed that piece (the pattern portion). I now can add that piece to my project list as well. Mark and I are currently scheduled to go back to another Sandy Scales seminar the second week of January and the second week of February. The end of February we will be attending the Maureen McNaughton seminar at SDP headquarters in Wichita. Three days of painting with Maureen...............I bet it will be cold there..........

Since I am not on travel this week, I plan to do a little painting. I have to get back on all my projects and get some of them completed. Anyway, I just thought I would share this with everyone. I have to run so until the next post, HAPPY PAINTING>

Pampered Palette Adds the New Global Art Brushes To Their Online Store

2009-12-04T06:33:00.007-05:00

We are very proud to announce that we have added the new Global Art Brush line to our online store along with many other items for the decorative artist. We seem to be growing by leaps and bounds. We have added wood surfaces, books, patterns, DVDs, etc. When you are typing all the items into the computer for inventory purposes, it seems like an endless list.......ha. Visit our online store at store.pamperedpalette.com (takes you directly to the store, no need to go through the website) and take a look at all the new items that we have added. Until the next time, Happy Painting.

Back From All The Travel

2009-12-01T20:46:00.005-05:00

Well finally I have completed all my travel for a while so this evening I started the Heritage Core A & B lessons in the new program. I am beginning my journey to paint every project in the manual so have ordered lots of wood. I did not get a lot completed this evening but I did get at least something done as I am painting both projects at the same time. My plan is to paint a little more of both pieces tomorrow evening after work. Who knows, I may even get them finished.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL COLORS USED ARE THE NEW HERITAGE MULTIMEDIA ACRYLICS.

This weekend I have a seminar scheduled for Painter's Paradise in Delaware to complete two pieces over the weekend. I think both projects will be fun and really informative. I will tell everyone about it and post pictures.

You know, I just realized something. I am getting as bad as Paul. I have 5 unfinished projects that I am working on at the moment. I work on one of the for a while then lay it aside and pick up the next one. I feel that is giving me a little variety so I do not get bored with any one piece. I know, it does sound a little weird but it is working for me. Well that is it from the home front for this evening. I will post more, with pictures, after tomorrow evening. Until the next time, Happy Painting.

Our Trip to the Jansen Art Studio

2009-11-25T11:24:00.004-05:00

Just a short note to update everyone on what has been happening here at Pampered Palette. Well, this past weekend Mark and I drove up to David Jansen's (Jansen Art Studio) to pick up the new Heritage Acrylics (supplies for the online store) and other supplies. I guess we spent about 3 hours there at the Jansens talking, laughing, looking at paintings and taking pictures. I the above pictures we took with an iPhone which really turned out great. The first picture is David J and myself displaying the new Heritage 12 color set and we brought back a bunch of those to stock our shelves. The next picture is of me standing next to David's door that he just finished painting. I was stunned at how big the door actually is and how stunning it is in person. Thus the purpose of the picture. Everyone can get an idea how big the door is with me standing right next to it (or does it show just how big I am........hmmmm). The final picture is of Mark, David J and myself standing in David and Martha's new studio which is under construction. We we returned home, we realized that Martha is not in any of the pictures. In fact, she took most of the pictures. How could we have let that happen. Martha the next trip up we need to make sure you are in all the pictures.

Anyway, this week I am in Las Vegas and get home on Sunday. NO TRAVEL SCHEDULED AFTER THIS TRIP. And you know what that means? I will have more time to paint. I used the plane trip to read the Heritage Educational Manual as I will be offering classes after the first of the year. I actually loaded the complete manual on my Sony eBook reader and was able to read through the manual while flying. The only thin I could not do was paint. It was perfect. I will post more when I return to the DC area. Until then, Happy Painting.

Busy, Busy, Busy - New Supplies and New Paints

2009-11-21T03:50:00.007-05:00

Well the above pictures are as far as I have gone with my Dewey Roses project. I have been on travel now for two weeks to Pasadena CA and San Antonio Texas. I am only home for a short time as next week I leave for Las Vegas. So I have not had a lot of time to paint. This weekend, before the next airplane trip, I want to do a little painting. However, it will not be today as I will be getting in the car for a trip up to the Jansen Art Studio to pick up the New Heritage Acrylics. Yeppers, they have finally arrived so I am making a beeline to Pennsylvania to pick them up.

Along with the new paints, I have been really busy receiving new supplies, brushes, patterns, and wood surfaces into my inventory and updating all the computer stuff. It seems like there is never a dull moment when it comes to updating all the computer things that I have to do. My FaceBook site now has 761 friends so I really try to type something on that page everyday. The blog takes me a little longer to get that updated as I like to have at least painted on one of my projects so I can include progression pictures.

I wanted to give you an idea where I do all my computer stuff and yes there are five computers on my desk. Each computer is used for different portions of my work demo builds, paint and supply tracking and accounting. HEY! I think I know the person who painted those plaques on the wall (David Jansen painted the plaques). Maybe the next pictures I will post will be of my supply storage area that I have established. I am very well organized if I must say so myself........lol. As I have to get off this computer and get ready for my drive to David and Martha's, I will have to make this post a little short. Therefore, hopefully I will be able to post more pictures tomorrow after I do a little painting. So until then, happy painting...............

Another Strawberry Plaque Completed

2009-11-07T16:15:00.004-05:00

Well, this Tuesday I have to get on an airplane for Pasadena so this will probably be the last piece completed for at least a couple of weeks. As this week I am in Pasadena, the following week I am in San Antonio and then the third week I will be in Las Vegas. I guees painting during that time is a little out of the question. Therefore, I am been trying to get some pieces finished or at least to the point they are almost finished. The above piece I completed this morning with the final antiquing and the varnishing. I am actually pleased with how it turned out. As usual the strawberries look pretty good. I joke with Georgia that I will be known worldwide for my strawberries.......lol. I seem to do a lot of strawberries. Anyway, I heard yesterday that the new Heritage paints will be here by next week, which is really exciting. This week again I spent a lot of time, when I was not painting, stocking my shelves with new items like patterns, books, brushes, and wood surfaces. I also received what seems to be tons of marketing materials for the new paints so I had to get all of that put away or as they say on the airplanes, stowed. So I guess you get the point that setting up a business takes a little bit of time. Hmmmmmmm.......it sounded so easy when I watched Paul and Cathy's DVD on how to start a business. I guess I missed the part about how much time it consumes.......lol.

So, what is next? Other than working on my accounting system today a little, I have started the Dewey Roses piece. At the moment I only have the piece basecoated so will need to transfer the rose pattern and then basecoat that in white per David's instructions. Let's see if the roses look like strawberries when I get finished..........lol. Anyway, have to run as time is just ticking away. I have to get a lot of things completed or done before I leave for Pasadena. Until the time time, Happy Painting.

NEW!!!! DOMED TRUNK - NEVER A DULL MOMENT!!!

2009-11-03T08:50:00.005-05:00

It is never a dull moment here at my place. I am almost finished with my strawberry basket. Well at least the lid has been completed and the basket is base coated. I am still working on the blue coffee, the Ompir Fruit Tray and the Ompir Strawberry Plaque (Disc 3) but now I have another piece to start. Above are the pictures of the new Domed Trunk that I just received yesterday from Hall's Woodcrafts. It was delivered all crated in a wooden box. What a sight to see, me lugging this box to the garage. Anyway, my initial thought is to paint the Ompire Fruit Tray pattern on the top and maybe the front. The pattern is certainly big enough and I think would look super on the piece. I think this piece will take a lot of paint to basecoat it........lol. YA!! THINK!! I took the pictures under a 6 foot long table just so everyone could get an idea of its size. This trunk is fairly large and will take a little bit of time to complete. I guess the hardest part or better said the most time consuming part will be the basecoating. That is a lot of territory to cover with a basecoat. Going back to my ceramic days, this would be a perfect piece for airbrushing. Hey, has anyone ever tried to airbrush pieces? I was told it would not work but if anyone has succeeded in airbrushing a piece and it worked, then please drop me a line. Have to get back to painting, I just wanted to share this piece with everyone. Until next time.....Happy Painting.......

OH! Visit www.pamperedpalette.com online store and take a look at all the new stuff I have added. That is another time consuming activity, entering data into the online store........not enough time in a day.

A Very Busy Week in Virginia

2009-11-01T07:56:00.012-05:00

Wow! What a busy week here in Virginia. I am currently painting four different pieces. The above piece is my adaptation of David's Ompir strawberry plaque. The picture is actually the lid of a wicker basket. I have decided to not put anything around the edges of this piece so last night I went ahead and varnished the lid. I still have to finish the basket part and hopefully that will be done soon. Believe it or not, I am actually going to do this piece one more time. Of course, that will not occur until after the first of the year. There will be three weeks in November that I will be on business travel, so it is a little hard to paint when traveling. I am still working on the Coffee Pot, the Fruit Tray, and I started a new piece. Another strawberry plaque but this one is from Disc 3 of David's Ompir DVD set. So far I have basecoated the plaque, the strawberries and have antiqued the complete piece. Now I am ready to move to the next steps.

The week also brought some changes with Pampered Palette. I worked on the online store adding new products, updated the FaceBook page (currently have about 585 people connected on FaceBook), of course, I updated my blog. So there seemed to be a lot of typing this week. I have received a lot of comments from the FaceBook page. Comments concerning classes, about the pieces that I am painting (post pictures on FaceBook) and about promoting decorative painting. Seems some of the people stopped painting years ago and they are feeling inspired (by me?) to pick up the brushes again. Now isn't that scary......lol. Along with all the work, I had some excitement as well. I started receiving the promotional materials that I ordered including some mouse pads, new business cards, and vinyl booth banners. All of the items have the picture of the Heritage Acrylics and look absolutely great, if I must say so myself.

Well today will be no different than the rest of the week. I will be working in my store room installing some new shelving. I have to be ready when everything starts to show up (hint......paint). I hear we should be seeing the paint soon so am getting ready. As I am just about typed out for the week, I think I best get off this computer. Until next time, Happy Painting..........

Pampered Palette will be at SDP Convention Next Year - Will You?

2009-10-27T06:22:00.006-04:00

Well, other than working on my blue coffee pot a little yesterday, I spent a major portion of the day coming up with marketing ideas for the new Heritage Multi-Media Acrylics. Pictured above are some of the ideas I came up with. The first item is a banner to be used at shows/conventions (banner size is 4'x2.5'), next we have a Heritage mouse pad, then a Heritage postcard, and finally a went ahead and purchased another set of business cards with Heritage paint jar/tube pictures to hand out at shows and conventions. There were many other items as well but I do not believe I need any of those at this point.

Now here is the big news for the week. Pampered Palette will have a booth at next year's SDP convention in Wichita. We have not decided yet what we will demonstrate or what products other than the Heritage Multi-Media Acrylics that we will display but we have made the decision to at least have a presence. This will be my very first convention show with a booth since the 80's when I ran my ceramic business. Some people may ask why we would do a booth and I can only answer that we are doing it to promote the Heritage paint line. Anyway, we will see how that goes.

Anyway, have to run and paint (the blue coffee pot, the fruit tray, and the basket are waiting). Until next time, Happy Painting.

Silver to Blue - How About You?

2009-10-26T07:33:00.006-04:00

I am just so excited. Above is a banner 4'x2.5' that I created this morning on the net (ordered it to) for use at upcoming shows. I did not even have to leave the house.

Well here we go again. Currently, I have three projects that I am working and trying to complete. I am working on my fruit tray, a wicker basket with the Ompir Strawberry and Daisy pattern on it and now I am working on the coffec pot. What I am doing other than spending a lot of time on eBay buying coffee pots is applying a very nice pattern by Rosemary West on this piece but using Traditions paints verses what the pattern calls. I would be using the new Heritage Multi-Media but as we all know, only HAZEL has those right now.......lol. Hi Hazel.

Anyway, I am now working all the pieces and really need to get my butt in order so that I can get some of the completed. November looks bad as I will be on business travel the first three weeks of the month. It is kind of hard to drag everything with you to paint especially when some of the pieces are so large but I know eventually I will get them done. Well, I have to as I have purchased 5 coffee pots..........lol. I guess I got a little carried away but you just could not beat the prices........ha. So this week I have to get my website updated to include this project.

Many of you know that I have a presence on FaceBook and as of this morning I have 361 people (friends) connected to my site. I have been posting video clips from Veronique and now I am posting my own projects with very good feedback/comments. In fact, I posted this blue coffee pot last night and already have 12 people that have made comments. I think I might be on to something here, a way to reach out to others and share decorative painting. Anyway, all these postings and the new online store (getting everything set up) is certainly keeping me busy. That is another reason why it is taking me so long to finish my projects. Oh well, hopefully soon I will at least complete one of them.

Have to run............exercises are waiting for me...........until the next post, Happy Painting..........

Fruit Tray Next Steps

2009-10-20T15:22:00.003-04:00

Well believe it or not, I worked on my fruit tray a little over the weekend. I added a little bit of color in between working on my new accounting system, setting up a FaceBook page, a Twitter page, updating the blog and going shopping. I never realized how much work it is putting everything together for my online business. It just seems that there is not enough time to get everything done. I am still waiting for the paints to arrive, which I am sure most of are but it has not stopped me for marketing the new Heritage classes and the paints. I am hoping that when the paints finally arrive, then I will have all the setup stuff behind me and then I can focus on actually building the business. I have run advertisements in two of the local association news letters and will place an advertisement in two additional associations next month. Those ads and the FaceBook presence, with over 275 followers, has increased dramatically the traffic to my website. I have over 5000 hits on my website with a recent 130 hits to the new store. I take that as a good sign as it is at least exposing individuals to the new paint line and the new classes. I also did an email blast across the country to various organization members announcing the online store along with the paints and supplies available. It just takes so much time. And remember, I have a full time job that keeps me travelling around the country. Boy, I am pooped.

Anyway, I want to work on the fruit tray again some more today as I am trying to get it finished before I receive the walnut trunk that I am having made to paint. I plan to do fruit on the trunk so want to get this one completed and out of the way before the delivery (October 31) of the new trunk. I guess if I set my mind to it, I can do it. Well, if I don't get off this computer, I will never do any painting. Therefore, until the next time, Happy Painting.

Working On My Fruit Tray

2009-10-18T07:09:00.004-04:00

What an interesting week. I spent a lot of time working on my business, trying to get everything in order so when the paints arrive I will be ready to go. I have worked on marketing my website by running advertisements in the NCC of SDP and Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters newsletters, as well as building a web presence on FaceBook and Twitter. All of this typing and updating of the different sites certainly will keep me busy.

Because of travel for work and getting all of the busy stuff in order, I have had very little time to sit down and paint. Yesterday I made it a priority working on my fruit tray pictured above. I did not get much done but I did work on it. Today I have to apply the all purpose sealer so that I can start working with a little color as all of the white base coating has finally been completed. You may notice a little difference in the pictures that I have posted. They appear to be a little sharper and they are missing the glare. I purchased a new professional camera and a photo tent. The camera I am just learning all the little clicks needed to make a decent photo shot, so hopefully you will patient with me while the learning takes place. I have not used the photo tent yet but will give that a try in soon. The tent is suppose to eliminate the flash glare on your pieces and provide you a more professional photo for posting. We will see about that as I am sure I can screw that up as well.....lol.

Anyway, I cannot stay on the computer this morning as I need to paint. That is my priority for today - sit down and paint. So, until next time, Happy Painting.

Pampered Palette Now on Facebook

2009-10-17T03:45:00.004-04:00

BE SURE AND VISIT WWW.PAMPEREDPALETTE.COM TO PRE-ORDER ALL YOU HERITAGE MULTIMEDIA ACRYLICS AND SUPPLIES...................................................

What a hectic week. I returned from New Orleans last weekend (90 degree weather down there) and had to start getting things done on the website and the new store. I have added some new products to the online store and then I have utilized the rest of my time working on my accounting system. I received notification that a new upgrade release was available so of course I had to bring that down to install. Hopefully, I will get everything together so that I can get back to painting a little. Oh, I did get to paint just a little bit on Wednesday. I am working on David's Ompir Fruit Tray. All I have completed to date is the white base coating of the fruit. I am hoping to find the time to paint a little this weekend so that I can move forward on the tray and work on my wicker basket piece as well. I just do not seem to find the time to get everything done.

Well this week I spent a lot of time building my Facebook presence. I do not know if I really understand all the ins and outs of Facebook yet but I do have a presence. As of this morning I have about 145 decorative painting friends. Some have sent some very nice comments about my website and my painting projects. Hopefully, we can use Facebook to promote decorative painting which in turn may bring new interested artist into the decorative art community. Well anyway that is the plan hopefully it works.

This week also included the new Pampered Palette advertisements in the NCC of SDP and the Shenandoah Valley Decorative Painters newsletters. This is my first time at advertising the online store in local newletters so hopefully that will pay off with lots of interest. The ad basically announces that Pampered Palette has established the online store providing the new Heritage MultiMedia Acrylics and assorted painting supplies for the Washington DC area decorative arts community. I have plans also to run the ad in the Old Dominion Decorative Painters association as well as the Potomac View Decorative Painters. I am just trying to get the word out there about the arcylics.

Upcoming events include the many seminars and classes. I am waiting for the New Heritage Educational Program (want to take all those classes), I have a seminar in December at Painter's Paradise with Sandy Scales, a three day seminar with Maureen McNaughton at SDP in February 2010, and David's Rosemaling seminar in July 2010. Now add to that seminars at the SDP Convention and HOOT, I would have say that I now have a very busy year. I guess that will keep me busy and out of trouble for a while. Other than everything going on with the new business (business cards, checking account, accounting system, etc) that is about it for this week. Until next time, Happy Painting.

ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN

2009-10-11T07:43:00.005-04:00

Well we are off and running. As of yesterday, Pampered Palette's online store is open for business. We can now accept pre-orders for the new Heritage MultiMedia Acrylics. So visit the Pampered Palette online store and take a look. We are still adding items to the site and will continue to do so over the next few weeks/months so make sure you come back often. The more you visit the more items (new items) you will see. Anyway, this is the first steps to bigger and better things. We are so excited to be offering the new Heriatage MultiMedia Acrylics for all the artists in the Washington DC area to use and enjoy. So please pay us a visit at http://www.pamperedpalette.com/. The excitement is at fever pitch so won't you join us in this new venture for the Decorative Artist? Until next time, HAPPY PAINTING.

BIG NEWS IN VIRGINIA!!!!!! ONLINE STORE COMING SOON!!!!

2009-09-27T14:56:00.003-04:00

We have been really busy this past week preparing for the opening of our new online store. The whole week has centered around getting tax numbers, establishing a computer/accounting system, entering data, developing advertisements, entering more data, changing the website, and on and on and on. It seems to never end as there is always something to do. You may be asking yourself, "What is with the new online store"? Well, we are very proud to announce that we, Pampered Palette, will be offering online for sale the complete Heritage MultiMedia Acrylics product line. Now how cool is that? For further information and updates, please visit our website at www.pamperedpalette.com. Until the next post, happy painting.

COMING SOON TO PAMPERED PALETTE - HERITAGE ACRYLICS

2009-09-24T12:07:00.003-04:00

Above is a picture of Hazel Anythony's Heritage Mulitmedia Acrylics display. I just loved the picture and since I did not have another one I thought I would showcase hers. Way to go Hazel!!!!!

Now for the really big news. Pampered Palette (Washington DC area) will be providing an online store and will be carrying the new Heritage Multimedia Acrylics. It has been very busy since we returned from our trip overseas as I am rapidly trying to get my business established so when the acrylics arrive I will be ready. I do not know if you realize how many things you have to do just to get things going. There is the Federal Employer Number, the Sales & Use number, accounting system, paint orders, shelving, website prep and on and on and on. I doing fairly okay with getting things set up however the biggest issue is getting the website ready. That comes next. I will have the Heritage Multimedia Acrylics available to order online through our new Online Store (still needs to be set up) and customers will be able to use credits to pay via PayPal. Now how cool is that. As it stands right now, we will just be offering the acrylics line. I am sure we will add more items in the near future. I guess we need to crawl before we can walk as they say. I am just trying to get as much done as possible now before the color line arrives. Hopefully, that will be soon. So spread the word and WATCH for the NEW Online Store at www.pamperedpalette.com.

Until I have a little more time to jot down things that are rapidly changing here in Virginia, take care and keep painting.

Back from London and Paris

2009-09-18T15:31:00.009-04:00

Hi all, we are finally back from our trip to London and Paris. Most of our time was spent in London were we past the days walking, eating and shopping. For some reason we spend a lot of time at Harrods and Harvey Nichols trying to find items that we cannot get here in the states. This trip really centered around getting away from everything and just trying to relax. I think we accomplished that except that we did so much walking, my feet were killing me. The first night we purchased tickets for the West End muscial Oliver. That show was ok but we left at intermission as we just were not getting into music or the play for that matter. The next night we had tickets for Wicked. We have already seen Wicked 4 times in New York so we were very interested in seeing how the two compared. Believe it or not the London show was excellent. Some of the joke lines were changed to have more of a UK slant (we did not get them) but for the most part, the show was the same. We had a very good evening. The next two days were big shopping days for us as Mark found two sports jackets he liked. One was a very nice Paul Smith and the other was Gucci (velvet). I purchased smaller items where I picked up two pair of Armani jeans, Paul Smith sneakers, Zegna shirt (in Paris) and a pair of Yves Saint Laurent shoes. That was it for our shopping spree.

Monday we catch the train in London and off to Paris we went. We have never been to Paris before so we really did not know what to expect. Our hotel was the Westin which just happened to sit right outside the Louvre. From our hotel room window we had a perfect view of the Louvre to the left and the Eiffel tower on the right. A spectacular view for sure. We were only in Paris for one day and one night but we walked all over that city. By chance we were in the upscale section of Paris which included all the big name shops like Guccu, Zegna, Louis Vuitton, Paul Smith, Valentino, Etro, etc. Notice I only mention men's stores.......ha. We walked constantly from 10 am til around 9 pm. From the hotel to the Eiffel tower, back to the hotel, to the shops for shopping, to the Louvre (did not have time to go in, next trip), to dinner, to shop, and then finally to a little restaurant that only served Souffles where we had a late night snack. The next morning we ran to the train station and traveled back to London. I know it does not sound exciting but we are not your typical tourist. We walk, shop and eat. Now it is behind us and our next trip is Las Vegas in November............Until the next time, happy painting.

FINISHED CLASS AND HOME PROJECTS!

2009-09-01T08:04:00.010-04:00

The above piece is the second project we completed in Sandy Scales class this past weekend.................

The leaf window hanger above is the first project we completed in Sandy Scales class.

This project is from David Jansen's DVD 4007 (Ompir)

Well, above are the pictures that I promised to post. The first two pictures are from the Sandy Scales class that we participate in this past weekend at Painter's Paradise. I don't think they are bad at all. In fact, I am very pleased. I can see progress from the very first piece that I painted about 7 months ago. I am really pleased with the line work. I kind of think that I am getting the hang of the liner brushes. I thought is weekend's classes/projects were great. I had a really good time even though I found some of the class a little hectic. As I have said before, I do not paint as fast as the really experienced painters in the class so I get just a little flustered trying to keep up but I think that will change over time. I am so pleased with Sandy's class that I signed up her classes that will be held in December at Painter's Paradise.

Now the third piece (the strawberry plaque) was a real challenge for me. I started this piece approximately 6 months ago when I was a true beginner. I think I knew what a brush was and that was about it. Anyway, the piece is somewhat advanced (for me it was) which kind of pushed me to step outside my comfort zone. I did this piece watching David Jansen's Ompir DVD 4007. You don't know how many times I stopped that DVD and restarted to get parts of the project finished. Again with this piece I am not dissatisfied at all. I think I did a good job, especially my strawberries. I made some mistakes, I know. There are parts that I do not like that I feel I could do a better job, but I finished it. I FINISHED IT AND IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE CRAP (well to me it doesn't). Now what I plan to do is paint the project again on a new piece. It was a learning experience for me so when I finished the next painting I will be able to compare the two.

My very next piece is an Ompir Fruit Tray off of the same David Jansen DVD set. The plaque is like 11" x 14" which is a fairly big piece for me. This project will be another challenge for me so if you hear anyone screaming, it will be me. The only parts I have completed so far is base coat the piece and transfer the pattern to the piece. I will keep everyone posted on my progress. Until the next post, keep painting.

Painter's Paradise Class

2009-08-31T06:30:00.010-04:00

Sandy Scales assist class member as Mark speaks with John.

A class member paints while Jo Lutness checks her wet palette..............

One of the pieces I was painting (yes, this is my piece).........................

We painted some and then we SHOPPED FOR GOODIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, then I SHOPPED some more.....................................

Good Monday morning everyone! We returned from our Sandy Scales classes held at Painter's Paradise in Delaware last night arriving back home around 7:30 pm. We made excellent time even though the traffic was somewhat heavy all the way down the road. I don't have a lot of time this morning to post so I thought I would at least get some of the pictures I taken up on the blog. All the pictures above where taken this weekend at Jo and Johns (Painter's Paradise). It was a little hectic as we were trying to complete three McNaughton pieces but we all seemed to survive to live another day...................ha. Jo made sure that Mark and I behaved and did not disrupt the class as she sat right behind us, we assume to keep us in line. All kidding aside, we had a great time. There were times that I felt a little frantic mainly because since I am a BBiT (Big Brush in Training), I just do not paint as fast as some of the more experienced painters (Mark paints faster than I do............show off). However, I was able to hang in there and finished two pieces with very good progress on the third. I guess I have to drag out the paints to finish the third piece. Anyway, all was great. We painted, and laughed, we painted and laughed some more. Sandy is a great teacher (lots of patience with all of us.......ha) we feel that we learned a lot in the class. The place, Painter's Paradise, was very comfortable and a very nice training facility. Now for those of you that missed Sandy's classes this weekend, I understand from Jo that Sandy will be back at Painter's Paradise in December of this year (I think the first weekend). Mark and I have already made plans to be there................Until I have a little more time to blog, post my finished pieces (need to take photos) and Mark's finished pieces also, keep painting...................................Have a great day, I am off to work............................

We are off to Painter's Paradise for Classes!

2009-08-27T18:13:00.008-04:00

Well tomorrow we have to get packed, load the vehicle, and get ready for an early departure Saturday morning as we are driving up to Painter's Paradise in Delaware for classes. I don't know if you are aware of Painter's Paradise (Jo) but I started placing orders with them I guess about 8 months ago. We were doing a search on the internet for paints, supplies and magazines and their link showed up in the results. We could not be happier with the service we have received from Painter's Paradise. I have been able to place orders one day and actually receive the merchandise the very next day. We would recommend their business to any one needing supplies, patterns, brushes, paints, etc. Now that we are finished with the advertisement.....ha. Let's move on. This weekend, at Painter's Paradise, Sandy Scales will be teaching some of Maureen McNaughton's techniques/patterns (pictures above). We have never taking a class from Sandy so we are really looking forward to the experience. We met Sandy originally in Peoria (SDP convention) where she assisted Maureen with her classes and then saw her in the classes at HOOT. So we kind of feel like we already know her. It should be fun and of course we are learning. We have adopted this new attitude to take as many classes and work on as many pieces as possible so that we can continue our learning. Well even though we have been registering and sitting in several classes already, we have now turned up the heat, so to speak. We registered for the Maureen McNaughton seminar to be held in February 2010 at the SDP Headquarters in Wichita. We already have our flights, car, and hotel booked. We are all ready to go!!!!!!!!!

Now what else do we have planned. Other than the SDP (plan to take Hazel Anthony's class next year) and HOOT conventions next year, we have to work into our schedule to get into one of David Jansen's classes. We, or maybe I should say I, just don't feel I know enough or have painted enough to sit in one of his classes. Maybe I am wrong but it is a confidence thing with me. I know I have a lot more confidence now than I had about 6 or 7 months ago. So that is a big goal on our list, to take on of his classes or more. We also need to get up to Pennsylvania to take a class with Paul and Cathy Seymour. Of course that will not occur until the Pennsylvania goes through its thaw (all kinds of snow during the winter months). We (again me) do not do well with snow or the cold. And, we have to get up to Canada to take a class with Georgia Dawbon. We have so many things on our plate right now, we do not know how we will accomplish everything. I guess only time will tell. It is probably a good thing that we work for a computer company as we can maintain a calendar of events.........................ha.

Anyway, we are looking forward to the classes this weekend. We will write and post pictures next week so you can see whether or not we made it through the class. Finally, I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEW HERITAGE PAINTS AND CLASSES. This is like Christmas..........will it ever get here? Yes............and really soon. Happy Painting. See you next week.

I FINISHED ONE OF DAVID's PIECES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-22T17:44:00.004-04:00

I know that I am not a real pro when it comes to decorative painting but I am really pleased with my progress so far. This week I came home from HOOT all energized and decided that I wanted to get with the program, so to speak, and paint more. So, I did one Maureen McNaughton piece this week, posted earlier, and today I did David's fusion blending technique from his website. I don't believe the piece looks bad at all for a beginner but I am not so arrogant to not realize that I still have loads to learn. I am just so pleased that I am able to do this much. Mark is working on the same piece so I will post a picture of his version later when completed.

This week in an effort to improve my little studio where I paint my projects, I went out and purchased another computer. I already had a Sony flat screen TV in my work area with a DVD player attached but I needed something that I could actually get to the internet to watch David's online training classes. Thus the purchase of the computer. The computer plugs directly into the TV so I use the TV as my monitor. Now I no longer need the DVD player as the computer plays DVDs and provides for internet self pace training classes. Paul get the hint?????? I am ready for the new online Heritage classes........ha. Anyway, it has been a very busy week for me when it comes to painting. Tomorrow I will go back to working on the David's Ompir Strawberry plaque (started that ages ago). I think it is time to get that one finished as well.

What do I scheduled for painting? Next weekend Mark and I will be traveling to Painter's Paradise in Delaware to take two days of classes from Sandy Scales. I will post some pictures and all the scoop for the classes. Until the next time I post, keep painting.

New Piece Just Finished

2009-08-18T20:27:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to share with everyone (or those reading my blog) the piece that I finished this evening. I actually did this all by myself, alone, in my home, not in a class just using a DVD. I don't think it is bad. I think it shows that I am gaining some confidence when it comes to brush control. Of course others may not think so but I am happy. I guess I will have to take a class on taking photos.......these are not that great. Keep Painting.

I guess it is not bad for a beginner. I figure that I have now been painting for about 8 months. Have a great evening.

HOOT Comments and Pictures

2009-08-18T08:13:00.006-04:00

Good morning to everyone. We returned from HOOT on Sunday a little tired from the 7 hour drive but still energized from what we had experienced. We had a great time painting with Paul and Cathy Seymour at the Global Arts booth on Saturday morning. I think we stayed long enough that Paul and Cathy just about threw us out of the booth. Nothing like over staying your welcome..........right Paul? Ha. We had a great class with Maureen McNaughton on Friday, which was actually more of an intermediate class but we hung in there and did fine. SEE!!!!! Even beginners should never be afraid to attempt something new!

I did make one big mistake though. In the past when I ran my own Ceramics business, I had booth space at many of the east coast conventions/shows and while there I took all kinds of photos. We were allowed to take pictures of the booths and the pieces. Which I did. Well at HOOT that is evidently a No, No. I did not realize that so on Thursday when we arrived, I am snapping pictures like crazy. No one said a word so I certainly did not think I was doing anything wrong. That night at the hotel, I was reading the HOOT program and there in big letters it said "ABSOLUTELY NO PHOTOGRAPH TAKING IS ALLOWED" (probably not the exact words but I got the point). You better believe that I did not take the camera to the show floor on Friday or Saturday. All day Saturday the HOOT organization made announcements that photograph taking would not be allowed if if the offender did not stop, they would be escorting from the show floor. AND NO IT WAS NOT ME! I learn from my mistakes. Anyway, I did snap a view pictures on Thursday so for those that could not attend, see below:

Global Arts Booth - Cathy Seymour teaching
(A lot of people participated in the make it/take it classes)

Cathy teaching - Paul watching..............hmmmm.

Maureen McNaughton's class - I was there in this class!

Sally McAloon and Sandy Scales hard at work in Maureen McNaughton's class.

No pictures of the Jansen Art booth this time as David was painting and I did not want to disturb him with flashes. Not that David would probably mind but I try to be respectful of others at times. For those that could not make it to the convention, you really missed a nice, very well organized show. I have met many people that for some reason always seem to recognize me from the picture on my website (www.pamperedpalette.com). This has now happen to me in Peoria and in Columbus, how odd. Anyway, I have already booked my hotel room for next year's convention.

That is it for this time. Hopefully, we will see everyone next year!

HOOT - DAY TWO

2009-08-15T06:47:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the big day for us. We jumped out of bed (well not really jumped), pulled ourselves together and off we drove to the convention center. We were on a mission to BUY wood so upon arriving at the show, we went straight to the Unique Woods booth. They are based out of Arlington Texas and have some absolutely great pieces. I usually order online for wood from Unique and have to have all the pieces shipped but this time I drove to HOOT so I was set to BUY, BUY, BUY. And I did. I bought some great pieces of wood and several great patterns from Rosemary West. If you have not purchased from Unique Woods, I wood recommend their pieces. They are definitely very nice. You can find them on the internet at www.uniquewoods.com. After the wood purchase, we walked around the show room floor taking in all the goodies (supplies, paints, brushes, patterns, etc.). There is so much there to see so we took our time to take a looksee at everything. Of course, no trip to a convention would be complete without stopping by the Global Art Supply and Jansen Art booths. Again we spent time with Martha, David, Georgia, Blake, Paul and Cathy just chatting and laughing. And again we made fun of Paul........it is just so easy to make fun of Paul. We do not mean any disrespect towards Paul, we just have a great time with him joking and laughing. Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be sitting down with Paul for some painting instructions on stroke roses and leaves. Hopefully, I won't look like a beginner.........ha.

After spending time at the show floor talking to everyone, we were off to our class. The class for the day was a beautiful Stroke Rose and Tulip pattern by Maureen McNaughton. We just love taking Maureen's classes as she is a great artist and a great instructor. This was my third with Maureen. We feel that we learn so much from her classes. Every time we take a class there is so much to obsorb (at least I think so) but we are certainly willing to give it a good try. As a beginner, we were a little hesitent and very concerned about taking a "BIG BRUSH" class, but have been pleasantly surprised with each class, as we have been able to hold our own during the class. Maureen and her assistances have made us feel so welcome and are always right there to provide help when needed. We have a great time during the class talking, laughing, learning and painting. Now don't get me wrong, there are times in the class that we get a little flustered but for some reason it does not seem to last long. We have purchased extra pieces of all the class materials we completed to work on when we get home. Who knows maybe we will buy some more wood at Unique to paint................hmmmmm.....now that is an idea.

We have to get started to pull ourselves together so have to run for now. We have scheduled class with Paul this morning and are really looking for to that time so we do not want to be late. Ohhhhh, here is something different. Jami Foxx was staying at our hotel yesterday as he was performing last night in Columbus. Of course, we did not see him but he was there. Take care and happy painting........................................

Hoot's a Hoot!!!!!!!!

2009-08-14T08:42:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, it has been a long time since I posted anything to my blog but I have just been so busy with work and travel that I really have not done much with Decorative Painting. Well, here we go! Yesterday morning Mark and I got on the road for the long, and I do mean long, trip to Hoot (Ohio). We decided that we would drive verses flying so we could see some of the country. Anyway, it takes just as long to fly when you think about how early you have to get to the airport, go through security, wait for the plane, fly, land, get the rental car, etc. Get the picture. It takes time. Anyway, we arrived in Columbus around 12:30 pm and immediately decided to find theConvention Center (of course after lunch). We had a class scheduled for 1:00 pm but decided that we just did not have the time to get everything done and to the class in time for the beginning. Anyway, we have another class scheduled for Friday, so we will attend that one.

We decided to grab lunch and check into our hotel. We are staying at the Westin right down the street from the Convention Center. We threw our bags into the hotel, jumped into the car and off to the HOOT we drove. We finally found parking after taking what seemed to be the scenic tour of the city and headed for the center, not knowing what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. HOOT is a very well run show and is actually bigger than the SDP convention, at least I think it is. We started off just walking around the show floor looking at all the goodies. I bet we had not walked 50 feet (so it felt) when we ran right into Paul Seymour and Georgia at the Global Arts booth. Across from that booth was David Jansen (yes he was painting, like always). We stood there talking, laughing, talking some more, laughing some more, and then we made fun of Paul. I think that is requirement in attending these shows and working and knowing with the Heritage Team is giving Paul a hard time. Well, I think it is fun..........he is a great guy.

Today we are heading to the show to spend some money. I have my eye on some wood products and since we drove, I save money as I do not have to ship anything home. Therefore, I can spend some more...........ha. We have our class today at 1 pm with Maureen McNaughton, which I really am looking forward to attending. I have taken two previous classes with Maureen and had a great time. Those were my first BIG BRUSH classes. I will let you know how the class goes................................

Well, I have to run as it takes a lot to pull myself together. Will post more, with pictures, later. In the mean time, KEEP PAINTING.

What a Week!!!!!!! Getting Ready for Travel!!!! OFF TO HAWAII

2009-07-02T06:17:00.011-04:00

Well this week has been just a little bit hectic as I am working on several work related demos which require a lot of my time. However, I have had some time to relax which included another trip to New York City. Last Saturday Mark and I drove up to New York City for the day. We did a little bit of showing (I bought new Louis Vuitton shoes......nice), had dinner and saw two Broadway shows. We went to see "Next to Normal" and "Hair". Next to Normal is a new musical that opened this year. I personally think this show had a lot of punch. We liked the show and the music so much that we are going back July 25 to see it again. The show won three Tony awards this year. We also saw Hair which I have seen several times before (in the past years) but since I grew up with that show and saw it for the first time when I was 19, I had to see it again. I still like it and probably will see it again especially if they take it on tour and it stops in DC.

The rest of the week has been all work related until today (Thursday). I have to start packing my bags because I am off to Hawaii. I love Hawaii and have been there about 8 times. I try to go at least every other year. I am really looking forward to this trip as I just want to relax a little. You know, get away from all the hustle and bustle of work. So what will be do in Hawaii? Eat, Shop and RELAX! When I return, I will need to get back on a healthy eating plan and lose some of the weight I have put on recently especially during the past year. All the stress from selling a house and building a new one was a little much as I guess I put my weight aside and just ate..................hmmmmm. Not a good thing. But I will get back on track when I return.

Talk about returning. When we get back, we will only have a short couple of weeks until time to go to HOOT. We are registered for HOOT and have even signed up for a couple classes. This will be my first time at HOOT so I do not know what to expect but I am going with a really open mind and really looking to have a great time.

Well I have to get off this computer and continue with my packing. I hope everyone has a great July 4th. Happy painting.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS!!!!! NEW CLASS PICTURES RELEASED

2009-06-29T08:01:00.001-04:00

Core 1-7b class

Core 1-5b class

Core 1-6 class

Just a quick update note to include the new pictures above that have been released. These are pictures of some of the classes from the New Heritage Educational Program. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Painting, now back to work.

ORDER YOUR HERITAGE 12 COLOR SET NOW!!!!!!!!! SHIPS IN AUGUST

2009-06-24T06:57:00.005-04:00

BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now this is really BIG news from Global Art Supply. It was recently announced that those waiting and wanting to order the NEW Heritage MultiMedia Arcylics do not have to wait any longer. You can now visit Global Arts Supply or one of the Heritage Team member's websites to order the 12 Color set. Order now for shipping in August. NOW THAT IS BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visit Global Art Supply for further information and ordering at the following link:

http://globalartsupply.com/

I have already placed my order so do not hesitate, Order Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Painting.................................................

More Pictures From the SDP Convention

2009-06-23T06:21:00.015-04:00

David Jansen painting a floral design

Bobbi Koelsch working in the Jansen Art booth

Paul Seymour teaches stroke roses (make and take project)

Members of the Heritage Team

Jessica mans the Jansen Art booth

The Jansen Art booth

Happy Painting.........................................

WHAT HAPPENED IN PEORIA???????

2009-06-21T20:33:00.015-04:00

Mark's Roses (did not remove the lines)

Hi all. I just got home from the Society of Decorative Painters convention in Peoria and thought I would write a little about my trip. This was my very first decorative painting convention so I really did not know what to expect so let's see if I can give you a little run down on what actually occurred.

David's Roses (Paul Seymour's Class)

We (Mark and I) arrived in Peoria on Thursday, June 18th after a fairly uneventful flight from Washington Dulles through Chicago and on to Peoria. We grabbed our luggage, picked up the rental car, and off to the hotel we drove. I guess we arrived at the hotel in about half an hour as it was only about 7 miles from the airport to the hotel. After parking the car and dragging the luggage to the room, we where off to the convention center. The first stop was the registration booth where we picked up our conference badges and other associated goody bag materials.

Now here comes the strange part. We left the registration booth and walked into the the convention expo floor where all the vendors were located. I bet I did not walk 50 feet when I heard someone say "DAVID"? When I turned around it was Paul Seymour and his wife Cathy. Here we were about 2 1/2 hours from DC and someone knows me. The funny part was that Paul recognized me from my picture on my Pampered Palette blog. We had never met. We chatted a while and the we were off to find the Jansen Art booth. There, after many hours of communicating with the Heritage members via email and blog, I finally met David and Martha Jansen, Georgia and Blake Dawbon, Hazel Anthony (from Australia), and Bobbie Koelsch. What a great group of artists. I feel very honored to have met each artist and they made Mark and I feel so welcome. Trying not to wear out our welcome or come across like groupies.......ha., Mark and I hung out at the booth for a while talking about the NEW HERITAGE TRAINING PROGRAM, which will be released some time, we are told, around the fall. We even got to look at pictures of the training manual. I CAN'T WAIT.......................................BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW, let's look at day two of the convention. Early in the morning we headed over to the expo floor and actually participated in a "Make and Take" stroke roses project with the one and only PAUL SEYMOUR. We had a great time there and our roses did not look bad at all. I was shocked..................that they actually looked like roses. Paul was a great instructor but I have to tell you that Mark and I gave him such a hard time during the lesson that I he may actually consider retirement................just kidding Paul. We had a great time.

From the stroke roses class we were off for our very first ever SDP course. Mark and I had signed up for a class with Maureen McNaughton. I was a little uneasy entering the class as we both had only completed maybe 4 to 5 pieces since beginning decorative painting a few months ago. We walked into the class and we were two in a class of 60................A little scary I must say. In fact, we were the only two men in the class. I walked up to Maureen and mentioned to her that Mark and I were newbies and we had a few concerns about taking the class. Maureen and her staff immediately made us feel very welcome and in fact Maureen said we would do fine, not to worry. And you know what? She was right. We are very pleased with the pieces that we painted. Everyone one in the class was very helpful and made us feel so welcome. WE LOVED IT!!!!! The class ended around 5 pm so that was it for the day.

David's Tulips (Maureen's Class)

Saturday morning right off the bat we were off to take another Maureen McNaughton class (different piece/technique). This time we are much more relaxed so the class was somewhat easier or we were just a lot more at ease. Both days we were the only two men in the class but we did our best. We met some great people like Sandy Scales, Sally McAloon, and four other great artist that unfortunately I do not remember their names. I know, that is bad for me not to remember someone's name but I met so many impressive individuals this weekend that I am feeling a little overwhelmed. However, I am going to HOOT and have signed up with several Maureen classes so hopefully I see them all there (and remember the names this time.....).

David's (Maureen's Class)

Well, we had two great classes with Maureen (neither piece is completed yet). We would recommend a Maureen class to anyone. Now I don't want to leave Paul out as we had a great time with him. In fact, Mark and I are planning to the new HERITAGE classes from Paul and get ready Georgia as we plan to pay you a visit as well.

I guess I should stop babbling and just say that we had a great time. We would like to thank everyone for making us feel so welcome. It was really great meeting each of you. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

PS................I was in AWE watching David paint.

Thanks everyone, HAPPY PAINTING.....................................

David and Mark

PEORIA -- HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-17T15:22:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been a really long time since I added any information to my blog. That is mainly because I have been absolutely swamped at work with many really big software demos to some very important customers. In order for me to get ready for my demos, it requires many hours of research, demo software configuration and build, and finally just prepping for the demo itself. In the past few weeks I have been so busy with demo build/prep that I have not even been able to pick up a brush. However, that is all going to change tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning I get on a plane for Peoria where I will attend the Society of Decorative Painters conference. This is a big deal for me as I have never ever attended a decorative painting conference and many of the people that I communicate via email quiet frequently like David and Martha Jansen, Paul Seymour, Georgia, etc. I have never met. This will be the time that I get to meet all those people and hopefully more. So guys -- get ready because I am on my way.

I wanted mainly to see what goes on at the conference especially on the Expo floor. I am a shopper from way back so I hope they have lots of "stuff" to buy. In an effort to take advantage of my time there, I decided to book two classes. Friday and Saturday I have a class with Maureen McNaughton so I am hoping that I do not feel totally lost. That feeling could be because I am still very new to decordative painting and the fact that for the last few weeks I am been unable to paint (like 4 weeks). Even though I am new, I plan to sit in the back of the room and obsorb as much information as I can during the class.

Today I am have taken a vacation day from work so that I can get ready for the big plane ride tomorrow. That is why I am able to take the time to post something today.............no work to worry about today. Hopefully, I can get back into the swing to painting and continue to move forward with my training.

HEY PAUL......Mark and I are planning to come up to your place one day for a class. Hopefully, that will be really soon. The next few months will be a little rough though as we will be in Peoria this week, then off to Hawaii in July, London in September and Las Vegas in November. Even though it will be a little hectic, I intend to find time to get to Paul's for a class especially for the NEW training program.

Anyway, I am going to run as I do need to start pulling things together for tomorrow. I am looking forward to the convention/conference and meeting all kinds of people..............have a great day and keep painting..................I guess I should take my own advice and keep painting.........

Very Stressful Times At Work - I Need Air

2009-05-07T05:54:00.013-04:00

This is the end of my employers 4th quarter, which means that there is a push to close all product demos and sales opportunities. I have been so busy that I have been really unable to concentrate on painting anything. I just completed large projects for the Veterans Administration and the US Senate, which has commanded a large amount of my time. However, there is some blue sky ahead as the quarter ends May 31. Hopefully, after that time things will get back to normal.

Just recently I had to travel to New York City for business and decided while there to take advantage of everything they had to offer. Now in my book that means shopping and going to Broadway musicals. So I did. I hit Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Etro, Saks, etc. I came back with new clothes for sure. I also purchased tickets for the Broadway musicals Wicked and Hair. I have seen Wicked before but decided to go again since I was able to purchase a ticket. Now for Hair, there is a little story behind that show. In 1969, I saw Hair on Broadway and danced on stage with cast at the end of the show (you are invited up to dance with the cast during the closing number). That show was a major part of my life so when I saw that it was on Broadway again as a new Revival, I had to go. Both shows I enjoyed tremendously and am now really looking forward to my London trip in September as I plan to attend a couple shows in the West End. Ok, Ok, my feet are now killing me from all the walking and shopping, but it was a little relaxing and a lot of fun.

I noticed on the Heritage forum site yesterday that David had posted some pictures of additional lessons that will be featured in the new Heritage Educational System. I just had to post them here as I really like the finished results and am really looking forward to when the courses will be available to the general public. I keep bugging poor Paul about taking his classes knowing full well that they are not available just yet. I am just ready to get involved and from the pictures that David is posting, I like what I see and can't wait to get involved. I am kind of a strange individual, I think, as things have to grab my eye for me to want to get involved. In this case, it is pieces from the new modules. They are very visually pleasing to the eye, at least my eye. Anyway, take a look at the pictures of the pieces above. I think anyone would like to learn to paint these pieces. I think the artists a putting together an great new program. The only program that I see, at the moment, is the wait. But the fall will be here before we know it and we can all pull out the brushes for participation in the new program. I am definitely looking forward to starting.

Anyway, back to my original thought, these are very busy times at the moment and I am hoping to get back in the painting mode really soon. In the meantime, I will try to keep everyone informed as to what is going on with my painting and with the new Heritage products and educational system, as news becomes available. Until the next time, HAPPY PAINTING!!!!!

2009-04-25T14:39:00.006-04:00

I know, I know, it is taking me forever to get this piece finished however, I my work is being very demanding at the present time. I have a really important software demo coming up so I have had to spend a lot of time getting ready for this demo. I am hoping that after my demo, which is Monday, April 27th, that things will calm down a little bit and I can get back to painting. As you can see, I have gotten a little further on this piece than the last time I posted, which was about a week ago. I need to get in there, sit my butt down and get started.

I have not been to class in about 3 weeks because of the demo prep. I just hate it when work gets in the way of what I want to do. We have been having some beautiful weather so I am also trying to get the yard in order so it does not look like a jungle. Last August the construction finished building our home so we have a beginning lawn and landscaping package that we hope will take hold. We have a landscape company coming out next Tuesday to plant some new things and give us a little color in the front of the house. We also have a decking company coming on Monday to build our new deck. It will be nice to go out the back door, sit on the deck and look at the horses. Anyway, that is it for now.

PS. Picture of the new house below:

A little flower arrangement we saw today and decided to buy it for the family room.

Have You Seen This Video? Absolutely Outstanding!

2009-04-17T17:49:00.003-04:00

I was flipping through the news the other day when ABC came on with a story about a Britsh television show called Britian's Got Talent. The news article featured Susan Boyle a contestant on the show. If you have not seen this video please take a look. This is an outstanding performance. What a voice!

A New Day in Decorative Art - The Heck With Work

2009-04-11T17:23:00.007-04:00

This morning I decided to get up and do something different than just do work stuff. So I pulled out the old brushes and started this Fusion piece from David's website. I have never done any type of fusion blending but I thought what the heck, let's give it a try. So after the mailman stopped by and left me this little package of plaques from Martha, I thought what better time than now to do something I have never done before. All I have done so far is basecoat the plaque, trace on the design, and basecoated the berries. That is a lot for me as I am usually busy getting ready for BIG demos for work but this weekend, I am going make the time to paint.

Last night I decided to get rid of the little flat screen TV that I had purchased to watch David's DVDs as I was painting. Even though the set included a built in DVD player, I thought it was just too small and not to mention I just could not get enough volume. So I went out and bought a new 32" flat screen TV and a separate DVD player to go along with it. Now I CAN SEE. I have included a picture below.

In case you do not recognize the hand, it is David Jansen, just painting away. Now I have no excuse for not getting things done. I better get back to it. Happy Painting!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-09T07:32:00.003-04:00

This week as been a bust when it comes to painting. I work for a very large software company and my real job has demanded a lot of my time the past couple of weeks. By background is Human Resources so my job includes that I take customer requirements and build those requirements in my demo HR system the present back to the customer in a very formal setting. This week I had a dryrun which is where I go through my demo for, in this case, about 16 people. They comment on the demo and give me pointers as to what I should say and what I should not say (I don't deal with that too well). Anyway yesterday was the BIG DEMO day. My customer was a very large Federal government Agency with over 250,000 employees. Everything went great in the demo and the customer was very satisfied with the configurations that I had completed in order to show them their requirements live. That takes a lot of pressure off of me now so maybe I can sit down and do a little painting this week. I am still working on the strawberry plate from David's Ompir DVD. Hopefully, I can make some headway on that piece. I have also started a really nice tin storage bin piece with a pattern from JoSonja. The pattern and piece I like a lot but so far I only have the piece basecoated. As I move along on these pieces I will post some pictures. Now off to do exercises........Everyone......Happy Painting.............

2009-04-06T16:56:00.008-04:00

Have you seen the NEW beginner's training samples posted on Jansen Art? Don't they look GREAT?

I don't know about you but I cannot wait until the new training classes are available. I know, I know, I have to wait just like everyone else. But as soon as Module 1 is available, I am there for the classes. I think as a beginner these will be great pieces to paint especially since they are so visually pleasing to the eye. That is very important to any newbie when they take some sort of classes. They want to learn but they also want to have a completed piece that they can be proud to tell their friends it was a piece they painted. I learned that from teaching Ceramic classes many years ago. Students want to see success. If their see success somewhat quickly then they are more apt to continue painting. If they classes are too confusing or difficult, it can turn off students. As you know, I am no PRO when it comes to Decorative Painting but I am so willing to learn and these pieces say "PAINT ME". The pieces look fun to paint, somewhat not difficult (to a beginner) and appear offer an absolutely great entry way into the field of learning decorative art. I see shading, comma strokes, floating (oh no), S-strokes, liner work, and much much more. I have to give the Heritage Designers credit as I am definitely liking what I am seeing.

Anyway, these are just ramblings on my part. I am just ready to get started.

2009-04-05T07:51:00.002-04:00

Well, until the new paint line arrives, here is a little tease for you:

I have to get use to this blogging thing as it means I actually have to make the time to type something. Unfortunately, there has been a lot going on this past month that has been eating up my time. My work has me jumping through hoops daily and even on the weekends. I work for a very large software company and my job requires that I take customer requirements, configure those requirements in our Human Resources software, and then demo the software's capabilities to the customer using their provided requirements. That in itself takes a lot of time just to prep the system and the demo. On top of that, we had a death in the family so we have been coping with that, which has left very little time for painting. That brings to the plate that I have posted on this site. That is a piece that I am trying to do using David's OMPIR DVD. What you see is as far as I have gotten so far. As I am a beginner, I am finding the piece a little challenging especially when David makes it look so easy on his DVD......ha. Sometimes I feel like I have two left hands and neither hand can hold the brush correctly. I am hoping to work on it a little bit today. If I do and there seems to be notable progress, then I will post a new pic.

Now............I am just a little on edge waiting for the new paint and educational system to arrive so that I can get my hands dirty, so to speak. I am sure that everyone else is feeling the same uneasiness of waiting. Doesn't it remind you of waiting for Santa Claus to arrive on Christmas. I don't know about you but my mother use to chase us back to bed all night long as we were just too excited waiting. I don't know if I can contain myself much longer................ha.

2009-04-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

THE WORLD OF DECORATIVE ART

FROM A BEGINNER'S POINT OF VIEW

Here I go again, jumping into an area that is just not me as I have never ever blogged. But what the heck, lets get started. Last year after returning from the Harper's Ferry Craft Show with my first purchased decorative arts piece, I started a journey to learn as much as I could about Decorative painting.

I jumped on the internet and did tons of searches or so it seemed seeking any information concerning learning Decorative Art. I actually found so much information I did not know where to begin and found it an enormous challenge just to get everything read. The information that I pulled from the web was priceless, at least I think so. I found weblinks for Jansen Art Studio, JoSonja, Maureen McNaughton and lots of other sites too numerous to mention. All of that information gave me my initial entrance into the field.

I started to order books, supplies, brushes, DVD's, pattern packets, wood and even more supplies, books, brushes, DVD's, pattern packets etc. I was ordering so much stuff that the UPS, I thought, was going to set up a depot at my home. I ended up with lots of materials but still did not know how to begin painting.

That is when I started to shoot emails to artists like David and Martha Jansen. From their encouragement and recommendation to Susan Johnson, a Traditions Teacher in Virginia, I started my first classes. I have now been painting for about two months and even though I sometimes get a little frustrated, I am really enjoying my experience.

Join me for my journey. I will post information concerning all my classes with photos, the conferences I attend, product reviews and much much more.

WON'T YOU JOIN ME?

BLOG WITH US ABOUT DECORATIVE ART?

TELL US YOUR EXPERIENCES