Page 14 - The Decorative Painter Summer 2018

Show & Tell
Improving Painting Skills
Cactus Wren Decorative Artists - Phoenix, Arizona
Cactus Wren Decorative Artists is a chapter of 80+ members. Each year they have classes that focus on improv- ing their painting skills. Last year their focus was the SDP’s Certification Program. The chapter is fortunate to have a Master of Decorative Artist (MDA), Dolores Lennon mda, and three Certified Decorative Artists (CDA)s Jeannie Biever cda, Sharon Carlson cda, and Lois Erickson cda.
Jeannie Biever cda drew up a still life and a strokework design measuring 8" x 8". The poor guy at Lowe’s, in the wood section, cut 25 pieces of masonite for their use. He was tipped for a job well done!
They started this project at their meeting with an expla- nation of the Certification Program and a description of the three levels: Accredited Decorative Painter (ADP), CDA, and MDA. It was presented as a personal test of their skills and not a comparison with others. The goal was to see the areas they were accomplished in and those needing more study and practice.
Our CDAs and MDA brought all their passing and non-passing boards and critiques. These were shared with the members and discussed. Even members who had tried and not yet passed shared their stories–the consensus being it was a “learning experience” meant to be helpful. Copies of the ADP evaluation form were passed out and discussed.
If a member was interested in trying out the test, the ma- sonite panels with a line drawing were sold for $2 and each person was given a number to attach to the finished board when it was returned. Four months were allowed for comple- tion following the guidelines for the ADP level.
Thirteen boards were returned for the big reveal, although a few weren’t quite finished. One at a time each board was projected onto a large screen and the critique process began. It started slowly with members hesitant to say anything but
Dolores encouraged the group with questions such as: What stands out to you? Is this color too bright? Should the color be placed in a few areas instead of just one? and Why does it look like it doesn’t belong with everything else?
As the questions were answered the members began to re- lax and realize, “We know this! Our past teachers have been going over and over the same things!” It didn’t take long for the members to begin participating in the process. Areas showing accomplishment and skill were pointed out as well as those needing more work.
With the confidence this exercise built, several members tried for their ADP Certification who had not previously considered it. As a result they have two new ADPs in the chapter: Karen Goergen adp and Karen Smith adp! What a celebration we had for them after the last SDP conference!
I hope your chapter will give this a try to encourage your members to be challenged and take the test!
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TheDecorativePainter • SUMMER 2018
DECORATIVEPAINTERS.ORG
New Strokework video by Barbara Bunsey adp
“I find doing strokes very relaxing. The rhythm of the brush in my hand is very meditative. Loading the brush, the fluidity of the stroke, concentrat-
ing on the “pulling” of the stroke, especially in a group, makes all of my problems disappear.
Strokes not only create beautiful designs; but practicing strokes also helps with all your painting – basecoating, floating, florals, etc.
“Simply lay a sheet of tracing paper over your pattern and paint your strokes. Remember to turn your surface if you’re having trouble pulling a stroke. Maybe you need to “push” it instead. People dread practice, but that's the name of the game with creating beautiful art!”
To use the QR code to view Barbara Bunsey adp Strokework video lesson, you must have a smartphone equipped with a camera and a QR code reader/scanner application feature. If you don’t have a QR application, visit your phone’s app store and download a QR code reader/scanner app.
To view Barbara Bunsey a d p
Strokework video.
Barbara Bunsey, ADP