Tips on Painting & a bit about me

We all have things we're "into" and I've loved to draw since I was 5, began my business with advice and tips from established local artists in 1976 and have been painting ever since in Arizona, Alabama, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and recently, Utah.  After completing college in 2012, finally, I continue to paint and draw, but also taught English in Korea for a year and a semester at Soldier Hollow Charter School.  Once I'm certified, I'll teach more consistently, along with publishing a private line of international stationary, cards, and children's books.  

This page will contains a list of "do's" & "don'ts" and fun facts!  Please feel free to join in and add your ideas, ask questions, complain, or just say "hi" or こんにちは! You can also email:
  • Blue tape is over priced, so I avoid using it.  Why pay as much for a roll of tape as a quart of paint???  All professional painters know that painting grade masking tape works best for protecting molding, including base boards, chair rail molding, around doors and windows and so forth.  Some off brands of "blue tape" make decent substitutions for the pricey "real" blue tape.  
  • Glaze is a product, not just a technique.  Glaze can be added with water to small amounts of paint or pigment to create your own custom finishes.  So, if you don't see what you like in pre-mixed glazes, with a little coaching, you can make your own!
  • If you've never faux finished before, or even if you have, try the technique you're planning on covering your walls with out on clean white poster board.  You can buy this at Walmart, a craft store, or...well, lots of places for under a $1.  I'd tape it off into 4 sections (low tack scotch tape for architects works best) and try several times until you create something you like.  Walk around the space you're planning on painting so you can see its effect in different lighting, at various times of day or night when you would normally use that space.  You can avoid a ton of disappointment this way!


  1. Joanna! you're murals are so great!
    I especially love the door in the tree. Very clever!

    ((This is Diana from Rick's writing class, by the way!))

  2. Thanks, Diana! That means a lot to me, especially coming from you! Looking forward to your next book idea!

  3. I'm involved in toooooo many things, but since I'm painting every day this summer, I remembered another painting tip: before you pay for your paint, make certain it's the color you want! How to do this: have them put a decent amount on the lid--something you can SEE--blow it dry and compare it with the color sample you asked for. Don't allow them to apply it over that sample bc. the original color will distort what you're actually getting. Also, good in-store lighting or sunlight is necessary to really see what you're getting. If it doesn't look right, it isn't right. They could be using the wrong base (I had to get a store manager once, much to the chagrin of the guy trying to convince me I was wrong) or the formula may have changed...the bottom line is, check before you purchase so you don't bring home something you don't want ;-)