If you happen to be like I was before I began painting, you might wonder exactly how to begin and how to make the journey to the end result. I went to a seminar on Tole and Decorative painting taught by Priscilla Hauser.

Tole painting (for short) is basically an evolution of Early American Folk Art. When our ancestors came from the Old World, there was little money and little time for decorations for their homes. Unless you happened to be among the very few wealthy, of course. The average to poor could not afford such luxuries. But they brought the memories and skills of folk arts learned in their native countries which had been passed down from parent to child for generations.

These folk arts could be reproduced on items that they used or which were no longer useful for their intended purpose with materials that were at hand. Paints which could be mixed from the rocks, soil and plants in their environment.

We will cover other historical roots of our unique American Folk Art Heritage in the future, but right now we are going to focus on a truly American form which is one of the building blocks for present day Tole and Decorative painting: Theorum Painting.

Theorum Painting was popular in the early to mid 1800's for women of all ages, but was very prized as an art form for young ladies in school. Theorum paintings are beautifully colored, often in pastels and enabled the non-professional artist to produce a piece of art that would be a beautiful decoration. The painters were taught to reproduce paintings, usually still lifes, on white or cream colored velvet.

They started with a drawing which was numbered to indicate the painting order. From this, a set of stencils, precisely produced so that no two forms in the picture were next to each other on the same stencil. Thus, each work took at least two stencils, but might involve many more. Still life creations were the most popular, but occasionally a landscape would be done.

There are a very few artists who have studied this art form and are working to preserve it and to revive it's popularity.

One is Lynn Napoli who has produced many beautiful works and is producing new pieces based on this old art form. You can read more history here and see her work:
Lynn Napoli's website

Nancy Rosier is another dedicated Theorem Painter who has put in countless hours of study and produces both reproductions of old pieces and original work with strict faithfulness to the original standards. Her work can be seen here:
Nancy Rosier

Jean Hansen tells not just history, but the strides and updated materials available for this art form on her website:
Jean Hansen

This American art form, along with many others, has evolved, not only in it's own right, but has joined with others to contribute to the wonderful learning experience of Tole and Decorative painting.

Priscilla Hauser has an updated version of her instructional book available on Amazon. You can find it here:
Priscilla Hauser's Book of Decorative Painting

And if you are wanting to get started marketing your artwork, you should definitely read this one:Art Marketing E-Book

Please stop by our forum and check out the current topics or make one for yourself. We welcome all art forms and questions!

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Happy Painting!
Paula Devore
Painting Editor