Explains in detail about mixing colors, applying paint, brushes and equipment required. Easy to follow instructions and step by step photographys.

The only difficult thing about decorative painting is really believing in one's ability to do it. with this book and some practice, readers can become competent decorative painters--even if they have never picked up a brush before. By taking a structured approach to brushwork, designs can be mastered and embellished as skills are acquired. Readers will learn how to master a variety of techniques, including masking, sideloading, mopped shading, smoking, stenciling, tinting, crackling and decoupage. Over 50 step-by-step techniques, suitable for novice and advanced painters alike, ensure that any project can be tackled with success. Di Singleton became hooked on painting as a hobby and years later decided to turn it into a business. She runs a decorative painting studio in South Somerset, England where she also teaches classes for beginners and intermediate painters. She also runs an Internet magazine for decorative painters and travels to the U.S. once a year to take classes, improve her abilities and get new ideas.

Priscilla Hauser, the queen of decorative painting, and Boris Grafov, a Russian-born painter whose native village is world-renowned for its art, have produced a luminous follow-up to their Russian Folk Art Painting. This radiant new volume features bright arrangements of flowers, fruits, and leaves, bordered in gold or silver filigree, and set off by a black lacquered surface. It’s a style with a timeless appeal, and Hauser and Grafov provide comprehensive instructions for creating ten beautiful patterns on furniture and other objects. All the necessary skills are explained, with plenty of advice on preparing the surface, wielding the brush, and mixing colors. Start by painting the intricate borders of wreath and linked motifs, then, make the designs more luscious with every colorful layer.

Best known for her graceful roses and loved by thousands of student painters for her clear and enthusiastic style of teaching, Priscilla Hauser has earned a reputation as "America's First Lady of Decorative Painting." &break;&break;In this complete guide, Priscilla shows you how to paint your own beautiful roses - along with daises, lilacs, violets, poppies, irises, tulips and other lovely flowers. &break;&break;You'll find everything you need to get started: &break;Supplies. A handy guide to all the supplies you'll need for a decorative painting in oils and acrylics, including which brushes to use and how to care for them. &break;Surface Preparations and Finishes. Learn how to properly prepare wood, metal, fabric and other surfaces for your decorative painting. Plus, you'll find easy techniques for creating fabulous finishes such as antiquing and crackling. &break;The Basics. Practice these fundamental skills - from basic brushstrokes to blending - and you'll be painting flowers in no time! &break;&break;Watch your brushstrokes bloom in 22 flower painting projects! Starting with simple patterns and techniques and progressing to more challenging ones, these projects will show you how to paint an assortment of leaves and flowers. Priscilla includes paint-along worksheets for practice; patterns for you to copy; step-by-step photos and instructions; photos of the finishes pieces' and lots of ideas for using your painted flowers to decorate an endless variety of surfaces. &break;&break;Whether you're a total beginner or an experienced painting, Priscilla's techniques and patters will help you fill your home (and friends' homes!) with the ever-fresh beauty of painted flowers.

"The Contributions of Artists Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, and Ker Xavier Roussel to the French avant-garde of the 1890s, as members of the Nabis, are widely recognized. What is less known about these artists' careers is their extraordinary work in decorative painting - work on a large or unusual scale for private interiors. This illustrated book focuses on the many decorative works carried out by the four artists between 1890 and 1930. During these years, they moved beyond the narrow parameters of easel painting and applied their wholly untraditional aesthetic of decoration to a wide range of works for domestic interiors, from wall-size ensembles to folding screens. The cosmopolitan group of patrons who made this work possible ranged from the avant-garde circle of La Revue Blanche to prominent members of the French establishment. An examination of their role and tastes is another fascinating feature of this publication." "The book and accompanying exhibition reunite paintings that have long been dispersed, introducing contemporary viewers to a group of bold and evocative works, which had a wide-ranging, though little-recognized, influence on modern art. As the book's authors argue, the aesthetic embodied by these works indeed helped set the stage for the large, non-narrative paintings by artists as diverse as Rothko and Lichtenstein that came to dominate the avant-garde after World War II."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This all-new edition of one of Sunsets perennial best sellers is back and better than ever with loads of ready-made color combinations, tips on choosing the right painting effects, advice from the pros, and information on specialty tools. It has tons of photos to get your creative juices flowing and confidence-building instruction on techniques and materials to see you through to the successful completion of your masterpiece. Features n This comprehensive decorative painting guide is the second edition of a Sunset best seller n Provides instruction on thirty decorative paint techniques with step-by-step photography and color combining recommendations n Includes newer techniques as well as tried-and-true favorites that will inspire novice and experienced painters alike n Completely updated resource and materials guide

This book features new projects from Brenda Stewart, a favorite designer among today's decorative painting audience. Aimed at the "advanced beginner," this book features delicate Victorian designs and soft, pretty colors: elegant florals (roses, violets, daffodils), graceful still lifes, and old-fashioned Santas and angels. The projects are painted in acrylics and alkyds on wood, china plates, trays, boxes and other surfaces. Every project includes step-by-step illustrations, complete instructions, pattern, material list, color mixing recipes, and a gorgeous shot of the final project.

A comprehensive guide to decorative painting with tips on choosing supplies, preparing paint surfaces, mastering brush strokes and control, and developing individual style.

'Annie Sloan's Complete Book of Decorative Paint Finishes' explores all the decorative techniques you will ever need to decorate your home creatively, innovatively, and with professional results. Techniques from ragging and sponging to woodgraining and marbling, stencilling with brushes, rollers or spray paints, traditional and modern decoupage, staining wood, and distressing metal leaf are explained with step-by-step instructions and illustrated on walls, furniture, and accessories. Examples of how the effects look using different colours are also included, so that you can choose the perfect combinations for your project.