Welcome to the forum Steve, nice to have you joining in. If you browse through our gallery section as well as on the discussion side, you will see that we have members who do all types/levels of painting.

We love to see pics of each other projects, so hope you will share some of your work. I'd especially love to see some of your painted slates.

For myself, I call my style just "crafty" painting. I mostly enjoy making garden stakes and signs that are cute or whimsical. Some members here use their painting skills to decorate cabinets and shelves for their home, some paint items to sell, some do very detailed painting. So whatever your style or skill level, you are most welcome to join in.

I am in Calif. by the way, so a bit further "from the pond" than some of the others. Would be nice to hear about what is popular in England, so hope you will come back to chat with us.

Luvs

Hi Steve....welcome to the forum! Very glad to have you join and can't wait to see your painted items. I'm self taught too. I've never sold anything, just paint for myself and gifts. Don't know if I have a particular style, I just paint what I like at the moment. ha Probably lean toward the cutesy/whimsical because of my kids. Hope you'll chat with us too. Just jump in whenever you feel like it and if you need help posting pictures, just ask. :) ~Anj

hi there thanks for replying
cant wait to upload images but im having difficulty to say the least to do this simple task. just spent the last 20mins tryin to upload on test forum but the images are being rejected saying the picture file is to big. i dont get it.iv tried some other images and there not having it either. it either must be this pc. im using in internet cafe or im a bit numpty . can i take you up on some help anjabee...

Hi Steve....if you go back and look above your post you will see 3 instruction posts that I bumped up for you. Luvs and I had to kind of trial and error ourselves to learn to post pics. So read those thru and see if they help you at all. If you decide to use Photobucket it will help you size your pics down. If you need more help please ask. We are excited to see your pics. :) ~Anj

Sorry, since I posted again the instructions are now below your post! :) ~Anj

hi everyone. thanks very much for taking the time to reply. much appreciate. so here goes another attempt. hope you like the pics...

i look forward to your comments

regards
steve

Sa-Weet Steve!! So glad you got the pics to work. I'm in love with that castle!! ha Love all the details. And your lettering looks so good. My SIL would be all over those sunflowers. ha Everything looks awesome!!

So where do you find the pieces you paint?
~Anj

Yes, I agree, the castle is awesome, and I also really love the watering cans. In fact it all looks great. Are you using acrylic paints?

Can you tell me how you got the pictures to post side by side instead of all in a row? I haven't learned to do that yet, and it would keep us from having old posts drop off so quickly if we could post and not take up so much space maybe.

Luvs

that is beautiful steve,you are very talented!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks everyone for your nice comments.firstley the pieces i used to get from my dad when worked he in a refuse station. basically it was a dump.lol.but he is retired now and keeps doves in the garden and makes lead toy soldiers which i paint for him now and again . but thats another story altogether.so i go to carboots like garage sales i suppose but on a bigger scale.i dont pay to much for items really .the barrel was actually for a women that wanted me to paint it 4 her in an english folk type way. and i added the painting on top as a surprise. she was gobsmacked when she saw it.im in the process of painting a milk churn for the same lady.i do use acrylics. i find them easy to use and dry easily as using oils is to slow.but give a nice rounded colour. will post some more images soon if thats ok. as for the images side by side i got some help from my brother.who works in i.t. and he said it was difficult as work out how to post on here. but pressed some buttons and it happpened. its getting very sharp the weather here now. i went out last night and saw a fox in the garden with ear muffs on so thats a sure sign of autumn coming. its good 2 chat with like minded talented people on here. cant wait to hear from you guys and a bit about yourselfs.

Hi Steve, I'll bet that lady was just thrilled with the additional painting you did on the item.

Some of my favorite items to paint on are found at Thrift stores and yard sales. And some are things my neighbors were going to throw away! LOL

Do you have some favorite web sites. Maybe you would share a couple so we could get an idea of what is popular in England.

Painted pieces here were really popular a few years back, but now the jewelry making and scrapbooking crafts seem to be more popular. Those of us who enjoy painting still do it. I love painting seasonal items and things for my garden. Downsized to a smaller home, so don't have much wall space inside for much.

Where do you buy your paints and supplies? Do you have craft stores in England? Or actual paint shops? There used to be lots of painting shops here, but many have closed out now so I mostly buy my supplies at Walmart or Michael's stores. I really miss the little shops, it was always motivational to go in and see all the new books and the floor samples and chat with other painters. Loved the atmosphere as well as the items. ;o)

Nice to hear from you. Have you already browsed through the projects on here and in our gallery. Hopefully, you will find something that interests you.

Luvs

hi there luvs
its good to chat.i dont have any paticular webs sites as such that i visit. as the web is so vast there is so much going on . i flit from one to another its a good source to get inspiration and ideas. i like to look at something and think oh i will change the layout and colouring and put a neat twist on it. ever since i was young i loved to draw and paint and been creative when maybe i should of studied more. i was terrible at school i used to copy the boy in front of me until i realised i was looking in a mirror. lol but seriously .i wished i learnt more and got into teaching or something simular like my brother did b 4 he got into computer consulting .sharing what i can do rather than being frowned apon sometimes. being 6ft and broad shouldered. does look a bit weard when your at a craft stall painting a tiny vase . lol. i dont do that much now. i tend to sell stuff over the web and word of mouth through friends and family.as for the paint i used to get mine from a place called hobby craft in town which was like a walmart for crafts people but it shut down but they still have other outlets but miles away . but i do use the little shops that sell books mostley and have a little section at the back where you can by the little pots.inscribe i use but they come under loads of diffrent names like folk art paint and briannas . oh thats a ranch sauce over here. lol . but can vary so much in price from 99p a pot upto 175p a pot i used to buy canvas and boards then buy a frame and it worked out to expensive when you sell it on so now i find pieces of wood thrown out and my dad is good with timber as he as all the tools.so he makes them up and i give him some money when i sell it on. its funny when your in the paint shops hoping to just have a conversation with another person who enjoys painting.without coming across as nosey or intrusive. which im glad to say im not lol. lastly i haven really looked in great depth in this forum yet. but will do and look at some artwork and projects othrs have done and posted. talk again soon i hope and you can tell me more about your self. steve.

Steve~ I think I'd be more interested in watching a 6ft and broad shouldered man paint a tiny vase than I would a woman. ha Bit of an oddity (in a good way). :)

If you are interested in teaching, do you think you could teach others to paint like you do? If so, paintingfool (otherwise known as PF or Bebe to us here) might have some good tips for you since she teaches.

I feel the same way about wanting to start up a conversation with people at the TS. Like hey! What are you gonna do with that cause I have some ideas. ha I'm nowhere near your league with painting, but it is fun to talk to other people who are interested in the same things. ~Anj

hi there anj
i have thought of starting something up where i live. as there are plenty of halls lying vacant that could be hired. its just sitting down and structuring the format in topics starting with preporation on to first steps of lay out of colours and spacing onto all the other aspects of the various projects it involves without getting them bored in the process. i do have many ideas of stuff that i have done in the past that would work infront of a small group of crafters. i work for a large company that have a notice board andthere are a number of women that work there that i think would like to learn and enjoy taking part in a painting group . i might just test the waters by putting up a notice to see if there would warrant a group by the responce i might get. at the moment im still trying to upload just one image without the help of my brother. i feel so stupid. i am surprised i can even type this withoutmessing up.i do have images on flickr. but transfering them single images on to here is that how it works im not sure.

Here is a link that might be useful: lighthouse

How charming!! I tried to see your lighthouse, but the link wouldn't work for me. But your other pieces are just lovely.

awesome!!! your work is beautiful!!

been looking at some of the art on here.you guys are very talented and creative.i have been blown away by some of the high detail that goes into the work thats shown on here.the colours are so vibrant. and the way everyone is so welcoming and generous with there complimants and also giving encouragement. i think we all all need some of that in our lives i know i do. lol. its funny how where ether we are in the world we can all share our thoughts and opinions and friendship to each other. i know im only a newbie. but have been treated so well by you guys. and hope to share some tips if asked in the future. and by looking at some of the old posts about how to cut and shape slates i have a neat simple way of doing this. let me know and i will spilll the beans lol .

spill spill!! :) ~Anj

hi there glad you all liked the artwork i have done. i was asked by a member what i meant by distressing the sign. basically some sometimes i have a little nock about with a chisel and hammer lightly on the piece. not enough to send it to sign heaven .lol but just to give it a worn look like its not brand new off a conveyer belt .thats the last thing i do. but choosing the colours and being subdued with them and not looking to bright. i some times use a light wash of dilluted dark acrylic and sort of run around some of the releif patterns that i might have on it to give a dusty old look .to which i make by using air dried putty. thats shaped when hardened and painted lookes like it was carved out of the piece. as for the paint sometimes i use enamel paint on the pots. but like acrylic mostley as you can stain wood well. if its a good mix not to thick or to glupey.also lately when i have done lettering i miss little parts of the letters as if they have worn off over time. or alternatley i sometimes match the colours to the base coat and lightly stipple over the latters too.and scuff with a piece of sandpaper. as for the slate thing i did have a go at shaping with pliers and chisels not to much joy and by sheer chance i thought well lets try with just a claw hammer. first i got a large thermalite block i had in the garden. but any large block of concrete will suffice were not talking massive only 17inc x8 roughly. well i found if you angle itso the edge is pointing up you can place the slate on the pointed side and lightley tap as if nibbling on the edges a bit like a panel beater would work on a piece of metal shaping it but your crushin the edges so they give a nice natural edge. with no cut marks. its worth trying out. but would like to know more you guys come from how long you all been on here.whats life like in small town america from when i visited . i have visited the states a while back i was totally taken by the welcome i got and the friendlyeness of the people there. it was only 2 weeks. its funny my girlfriend said she didnt like the room as it was small smelly no windows and covered in litter. i said hold on were still in the lift. lol. she was always moaning but she had a good head for money out there, she had a slot right above the hair line ... but seriousley tell me about yourselfs. steve

Steve~ thanks for the slate tips. I'm gonna give it a try next spring.
What part of the states did you visit? I'm from the rural South, Mississippi, so I know small town! ha Moved quite a few years ago out to the western state of Utah when my dad went thru his midlife crisis and uprooted us all. ha Mississippi is warm and humid and has lots of forested land. You throw a seed on the ground and it will pretty much grow on it's own. The people are super friendly at least where I grew up. Of course there are cities too, but if you drove thru the main street of my small town you'd see, the courthouse,the sherrifs office, the florist, a stop light, the grocery store, the library, the barber shop, tastee freeze, the bank,stop light,the school, the funeral home, and the ball park, throw in between about 5 gas stations and 8-10 churches and your out of town. ha Blink and you'd miss it. ha It's very country and people don't live right on top of each other. Usually a couple of acres separating each house. Had to drive 25 miles of country road with surrounding pasture and wooded land to get to the next town in any direction to go to a movie, eat at a restaurant or shop at a mall. We eat weird foods like grits and chittlins. :) Everybody knows everbody elses business. If you sneeze someone across town will call and bless you. ha If you could hear me talk you would immediately notice my Southern drawl. I miss my small town.
Where I live now, the cities all run into each other and you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. The houses are close together and we luckily have one of the bigger back yards since I have 4 kids. The only thing I like about it is the convenience of having everything you need close by. The summers are nice, but it snows here a bunch in the winter and I'm not a fan of the cold. Lots of people come here for the skiing in the mountains. I'm not a skiier.
I've been a member of Gardenweb since 2005. I started out on the Garden Junk forum. This painting forum was pretty much dead until Luvs and I struck up a friendship and started chatting and painting together online. Now it's one of my first stops in the mornings and gives me the incentive I need to get my projects completed since I only do them for my own enjoyment. :)
I have sadly never been outside the USA, but when my kids get a little older I'd love to do a bit of traveling....maybe even to your neck of the woods! :) ~Anj

hi anj
thanks so much for giving me a small but interesting insight of where you live. it all tallies with what a imagined.the small white picket fences apple pie on the porch and sipping lemonade. sound so romantic like a thomas kinkade painting. but not ott. lol when i visited a few years back it was only a package holiday to florida and miami. well miami was a bit intimidating in places but the people in general was really nice and warm. i only saw a small bit of rural life inbetween orlando and miami on the greyhound bus.i did the disney mgm bit was nice but fairytail.my girlfriend liked it. and so did i . i loved how laid back people was. what amazed me how vast the states is in general. you could drop the uk in someones back yard there and no one would blink an eye.lol not where i live its a rat race where i live and the rats are winning. lol i live actually about 8 miles south of london in a small town called croyden. its so small the village idiot and the town mayor are the same person.. its so small the local fire dept is a 5 year old bed wetter. lol. no it more like a city really population 400 thousand. thats big but ilive with my dad at the moment with my girl. its a long story really had my own house but lost it. so in the process of picking up the pieces and trying to get another place in the meantime. its funny when your dad tells you to go to yur room and you think hold on im 40 years old. lol. but he has been good to us, its funny when your childhood memories come back to you like the smell of sawdust in the yard when your dad was cutting lumber, i remember when i was about 8 asking my dad what he was making and him replying that he was making a helicopter and me beleiving him and having visions of me and my brother lifting over the rooftops. lol how silly when you look back. so i help around the home and work and make stuff to sell. it pays for some paint and the od bill that comes in. talk soon again i hope

Both of you have written such entertaining things! Had me laughing out loud at your descriptions--which I know were much exaggerated! LOL I grew up in small towns too, in fact I graduated from a class of 13 in a rural Missouri school! The whole high school hung out together and there was no competition to be on any of the teams--in fact they begged you to play! Like where Anj grew up, we couldn't get away with anything because everyone knew everyone else. We lived on a farm outside of town and rode a yellow school bus. Had chores to do before and after school no matter what the weather was like. Could hardly wait to graduate and get a job in the big city--now sometimes I think I'd like to be back there to enjoy the long walks across the pastures, the baby animals, and fishing in the pond. I met my DH during the summer of my junior year while working in the city to earn extra money. He joined the navy and we got married shortly after graduation. We have one grown son who is married and lives close by with his wife and our 3 yr. old GD. We lived in Rhode Island, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. Finally DH got stationed in So. Calif. and we have lived here ever since. I worked in banks, so it was easy to find work each time we moved. I finally got tired of buyouts and mergers and retired a few years ago. DH is a railroad engineer, he gets to retire next year. We hope to do some traveling in our motor home, want to see more of this interesting country--each area is so different, and we've only seen a fraction of it. But we can't be gone too long at a time, since we have that little GD that we love to spend time with. I have always wanted to see England and Ireland. My ancestor's and my DH's ancestors came here from Ireland waaay back when, and I have always loved reading stories about England's Kings, Queens, and the Knights. So romantic in the books, and who wouldn't want to see a castle? LOL So hard for us to imagine that those countries are as small as some of our states! My DS and DIL went to both places on their honeymoon and loved it. Said people were very friendly to them, and the scenery away from the cities was so pretty. Such a sense of history too. DH says that we can go after he retires, but now I don't feel too secure about traveling overseas. We'll see. I think every country has great places to visit and nice people to meet--unfortunately, of course, we all have places and people that we are not so proud of too! I started on Gardenweb on the Garden junk forum too, then starting looking to see what other forums there were and came here. I was so thrilled when Anj responded to one of my posts! Then she gave me directions on how to post pics on here and we've had a great time sharing all our projects with each other and any one else who stopped in. We always enjoy chatting with new people, and love seeing pics of their painting. Each person seems to have their own special style, so that makes it really interesting. Glad you found us, Steve. We have enjoyed seeing all your creations and hearing about where you live. You have a nice sense of humor too. Best of luck with selling your painted items, and with "picking up the pieces" again. ;o) Luvs

Luvs~ Wow, class of 13! And I thought my graduating class of 27 was small! ha Yes, we all went from Kindergarten thru college together so we were almost like family. Our favorite past-time growing up was chasing armadillos in the pasture, hunting for arrowheads and Indian beads, eating wild blackberries and swimming in the creek. ha Shoot I learned to drive in my g-pa's pasture. ha Only difference is, I never wanted to leave. I love small towns. :)

Steve, I'm enjoying your sense of humor as well. You had me laughing. And the South, including Florida, is very laid back and apple pie-ish, IMO. ha
Guess we don't think much about how small your area is. When I think about it it's more with that romanticism of the romance novels. Silly. Doubt you meet many Earls or Dukes strolling down the street in their top hats and tails in this age. ha And I'm guessing not too many people live in castles either. What it would take just to heat those monsters. ha And does it really rain all the time?
Both my parents live with me so we have that in common. And they do tend to treat you as if you are still 2 and in your nappies (isn't that what you call them?) and have checked your brain at the door. ha I've bitten my tongue so much with my parents I'm surprised I'm not left with a bloody stump. ha I like your helicopter story and you are only a year older than me so still plenty of time to turn your fortunes around. In the mean time we can enjoy your work from home labours! Keep sharing! :) ~Anj

hi ladies
thank you both for your kind comments.its funny how life in london where i live can be so fast that no one really has time to sit back and just talk thay just have so much going on with every day stuff you feel unsure just to smile at people sometimes on the bus without being misconstrude, god thats a long word for a monday and its spellt wrong too lol. the rents are so high here just for a lousy 2 bed flat a month can set you back 800pounds a month thats criminal .thats over 1600 dollars in your currency no wonder no one can spare the time to chat too busy earning thats without food or other bills. asda is cheap for food its part of the walmart chain. but they have been bought out by ikea that cheap swedish furniture outlet i read in our newspaper. i thought they had because as i went to defrost a chicken last week the leg fell off. ha.but seriously so living at home has its benefits.my dads got cable and thats a plus. but them home shopping channels do my crust in. its like you said with all this card making and picture stuff thats popular now well its big here too. they sell on there.like 20 pounds for 12 sheets of coloured card and some beads. and another 8 pounds to send it to you. the cheek of them they should wear balaclavas whilst presenting the show the robbers.lol but they must sell it by the lorry load.i know im going off on tangents its because im in an internet cafe im not on line at my dads yet so i have to sqeeze everything in a condensed hour.you should see the array of people in here kids playing on line xbox games shouting.and men trying to find russian brides. lol. funny but true. my dad at home does not understand about the pc.but so i wont let him have the remote for the tv. and he is the same age as ronnie reagen was. your president. and he had his finger on the nuclear button lol. i love him really my dad he is a good person.you do bite your tongue its true. i cook mostley im pretty good and i like trying many different types of food. even chittlins lol thats chicken feet yum yum. lol. we have pigs feet here that you boil up 4 many hours my dad likes them its the toe nails that put me off poking out the top of the pot. lol. bless him i brought some rhubarb home the other night and told him it would be nice to bake a pie for the following evening well i came home the following night and to my horror i went into the kitchen lifted the tea towel and the pie was 27 inches long and 2inches wide i told my dad why did you not cut it up first. lol. now the weather it is cold and miserable here most of the year and it does rain a lot. it did when i was in the states for a few days and the guide said it never rains in florida. so i pointed up to a cloud in the sky and said well what the hell is that then to which he said oh thats an empty comming back from jamaica. will talk again soon about cabbages and kings also castles and a bit more about englands history .oh and some more projects lined up. my fingers are bleeding now and my times up . s

Wow! Sounds pretty expensive to live there. It's more expensive to live here in the western states than say the southern states except since Hurricane Katrina it's gotten pretty expensive to own real estate there too.
Ok you are cracking me up with your dad's cooking. ha Our chitlins are not chicken feet they are small pig intestines. ha They are cooked many different ways, but mostly fried where I'm from. (We fry everything!) I don't eat them myself cause they smell gosh aweful. ha Smells like there might be some little leftover goodies in those intestines. Gah. (There really isn't, but it's a bad bad smell)
I've never tried rhubarb yet, but there is a nummy looking rhubarb and strawberry pie in one of my cooking mags that I want to have a go at one of these days. I'll be sure to cut it up first!! ha
Take care of those bleeding fingers or there will be no more nifty projects for you to show us! Unless of course you have mastered the art of painting with your toes???ha