# New to Faux...



## andy1015 (Apr 28, 2011)

One thing i know about life, and the labor market…it is important to make yourself stand out from everyone else. With that in mind..I like to add skills to my hustle. I learned wallpaper on my own, and now I would like to learn some faux techniques. What is popular these days?…whats easy to start with?…what sells?….


----------



## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

don't you know?


----------



## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

We don't get much call for it. Ask Fauxlynn


----------



## michael tust (Mar 6, 2009)

andy1015 said:


> One thing i know about life, and the labor market&#133;it is important to make yourself stand out from everyone else. With that in mind..I like to add skills to my hustle. I learned wallpaper on my own, and now I would like to learn some faux techniques. What is popular these days?&#133;whats easy to start with?&#133;what sells?&#133;.


If you really want to learn Decorative Painting.... Getting Trained Professionally can point you in the Right Direction to Start. Most Homeowners understand Wall Finishes and that is a Good area to begin with. As with All Decorative Painting.... Knowledge of Color is at the Top of the List ..... You need to be prepared to invest Thousands of Dollars in this field. If you think that your going to read a book or attend some Sherwin Williams / Home Depot seminar and have Professional Results... Not Likely... Decorative Painting is Not Easy Period.... 


Michael Tust


----------



## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

michael tust said:


> If you really want to learn Decorative Painting.... Getting Trained Professionally can point you in the Right Direction to Start. Most Homeowners understand Wall Finishes and that is a Good area to begin with. As with All Decorative Painting.... Knowledge of Color is at the Top of the List ..... You need to be prepared to invest Thousands of Dollars in this field. If you think that your going to read a book or attend some Sherwin Williams / Home Depot seminar and have Professional Results... Not Likely... Decorative Painting is Not Easy Period....
> 
> 
> Michael Tust


I've seen the real ones and I've seen the others, they are worlds apart.

Great post.:thumbup:


----------



## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

To your original question about what's in- In my experience it depends on where you live and who your clients are. In my area that 'Tuscan texture' look is pretty much over, but out west it still is going strong. In my opinion, what is in is whatever the designer or client tells me is in.

So here is a different point of view about learning the trade.

I think it is great that you want to learn faux. 
If you have any artistic bones in your body,I would not invest thousands of dollars on schools. Schools are about teaching you their method and selling you the brand of glaze they carry. If you are good with color and have good brush control, you can learn this. Yes with books, yes,take a class or two, videos. Just get some sample boards and practice. Set up a piece of homasote on a wall, get yourself some tagboard or whatever(I use Crescent boards), prime them with bin, get some extra long thumb tacks to secure them to the board and voila! You're ready to practice.

Faux or decorative painting is about how colors layered on top of each other look as a finished product. If I used a purple basecoat for a woodgrain, it will look very different than if I used a medium range orange/yellow.(Man, I miss my Duron colors).
One thing I was taught from the beginning is it doesn't really matter how you apply the glaze, it matters how you manipulate once on the surface and that applicator marks are not evident. If I do a parchment on a wall, I should not be able to tell that I rolled it onto the wall.

Anyway, the company I used to work for hired kids right out of art college that didn't know anything about anything and trained everyone on the job. Ha, and charged thousands for it. In those days I could spend two,three,four hours mixing a color. But hey, maybe your clients are okay with the color in a can. That's okay,too.
Forgot- there is a school outside of Chicago that has been around awhile- Faux by Kathy , I think. I do not know her, but IDK, maybe an intro class??


----------



## michael tust (Mar 6, 2009)

fauxlynn said:


> To your original question about what's in- In my experience it depends on where you live and who your clients are. In my area that 'Tuscan texture' look is pretty much over, but out west it still is going strong. In my opinion, what is in is whatever the designer or client tells me is in. So here is a different point of view about learning the trade. I think it is great that you want to learn faux. If you have any artistic bones in your body,I would not invest thousands of dollars on schools. Schools are about teaching you their method and selling you the brand of glaze they carry. If you are good with color and have good brush control, you can learn this. Yes with books, yes,take a class or two, videos. Just get some sample boards and practice. Set up a piece of homasote on a wall, get yourself some tagboard or whatever(I use Crescent boards), prime them with bin, get some extra long thumb tacks to secure them to the board and voila! You're ready to practice. Faux or decorative painting is about how colors layered on top of each other look as a finished product. If I used a purple basecoat for a woodgrain, it will look very different than if I used a medium range orange/yellow.(Man, I miss my Duron colors). One thing I was taught from the beginning is it doesn't really matter how you apply the glaze, it matters how you manipulate once on the surface and that applicator marks are not evident. If I do a parchment on a wall, I should not be able to tell that I rolled it onto the wall. Anyway, the company I used to work for hired kids right out of art college that didn't know anything about anything and trained everyone on the job. Ha, and charged thousands for it. In those days I could spend two,three,four hours mixing a color. But hey, maybe your clients are okay with the color in a can. That's okay,too. Forgot- there is a school outside of Chicago that has been around awhile- Faux by Kathy , I think. I do not know her, but IDK, maybe an intro class??


I agree with some of the points Lynn makes but when the subject of getting a book and trying to practice does I usually disagree.....first of all ,taking a Class from a School that doesn't push their own Glazes Etc. May be tough today to find.... But not impossible.... Second... Getting Trained Properly can save one the wasted time and learning Bad Techniques or just incorrect ways of accomplishing a Beautiful Finish.... Colors and Layering them are Extremely Complex and Learning how to figure that in a book is usually not Successful .... A class can be $1500 for just 5 days.... Food.... Lodging.... Travel.... = Thousands of Dollars.... One Decorative Painting Job....possibly Thousands of Dollars.... Depends on your Area of Course.... In other words if you are motivated and serious,You can Easily make your money back.... When we started Decorative Painting in the early 90s .... We were fortunate to have Real Teachers... Not pushing Product.... Now.. It's Students of Students of our Teacher.... Pushing Product.... You need to get Trained... You can't Practice something you Don't Know How to Do ! When you do learn some things, then a book is much more helpful to you.... Sometimes it does matter how the Glaze is Applied depending on the desired finish....


Michael Tust


----------



## BrushstrokesInc. (Jun 15, 2009)

I hate to say it but, I think wall paper is making a come back...
You stated that you know that skill already, so I would look into some books as Lynn mentioned and play around with the colors, glazes, and various tool(brushes,rags,etc). Doing some boards to start off with, then look into some classes or even look on Google for some videos, but be careful there. 

If the finished product does not look good to you, then move on to another video. Use them as a reference mainly..


----------



## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

fauxlynn said:


> So here is a different point of view about learning the trade.


I respect your point of view MT, that is why I said ^^^^.

Last time I was in Chicago, they still had a good library system, so if you can find these two books, check 'em out before you buy them. Every 'faux' painter I know owns these.

Professional Painted Finishes by Ina Brosseau Marx, Robert Marx and Allen Marx

The Art of Faux by Pierre Finkelstein

You could also look at Fauxforum,but don't expect much help there.
Muralsplus used to be okay, but I see their archives are down.


----------



## michael tust (Mar 6, 2009)

fauxlynn said:


> I respect your point of view MT, that is why I said ^^^^. Last time I was in Chicago, they still had a good library system, so if you can find these two books, check 'em out before you buy them. Every 'faux' painter I know owns these. Professional Painted Finishes by Ina Brosseau Marx, Robert Marx and Allen Marx The Art of Faux by Pierre Finkelstein, but don't expect too much help there. You could also look at Fauxforum,but don't expect much help there. Muralsplus used to be okay, but I see their archives are down.


Yes Two very Fun Books to look at ! But......... And I Absolutely Agree to get those... But..... If you read say the Ina Marx Book... The Graining section is Very Cool But after Every Layer Isolate with Shellac ! 4 layers of Shellac ! Try Brushing out Shellac on a Door... 4 times.... Not Necessary.... Stuff like that doesn't make sense... I like the Results but you can't make Money..... Some of their Marbles they Tear Paper to make the shape of Rocks..... It does work but a Brush to me is Better.... I think that do be able to accomplish a Successful Wall Finish it is better to be Trained and be Trained on an Actual Wall.... If one just does this on a Small Board it's not Enough. Also a Good Teacher will be Able to Guide the Student to Ensure that He or She is Executing Correctly .... A Book or Even a Video Can't . I'm All for Books... In fact I think I Own Around 30 Books on Graining and Marbling.... Love em.... We get many calls saying... I had my Painter Faux my Living Room... He said he could do it... He showed me a Sample..... Can you fix this ? Do a Good Job and Mrs. Smith may Tell some of Her Friends.... Do a Bad Job and Mrs. Smith Will Tell Everyone ! 


I'm not Posting this to Argue with Lynn.... But just to Scare off Any Possible Competition as Lynn and I are Really the same person Posting under different names...

Just Kidding...


Michael Tust


----------

