I was thirty-six years old when my Father passed away. He had been sick for about five years. I had made many trips to the hospital while I looked after him and my Mother.

After my Father died, my Mother started showing all the symptoms of depression. I did not understand what was happening to her. She developed sleeping problems, eating problems and slowly, all the things she did easily became impossible for her to do. She couldn't even balance her checkbook. She could not make any decisions. Eventually, she went to a Doctor at a mental health facility and started taking medications for her depression. She continued on the medication for the rest of her life.

All the time, I took care of my parents, I was raising two daughters with asthma. Life was a series of emergency room visits and trips to the Doctor. I was very busy and extremely stressed.

When I retired and we only kept one car to drive, my life became very small and more isolated. My family was gone and I felt like life was passing me by as age was creeping up on me. I felt depression and realized for the first time to be aware and careful.

Over the years when I am depressed, I remind myself that if I sit down and give up, someone else will be taking care of me. I try to look around and see the people that are so much worse off than me. I have never used drugs of any kind to medicate myself from the problems life brings to me. I know that many people, like my Mother need them, but I am doing okay.

When I wake up and don't want to get out of bed, I realize that lying in bed all day, ruins my body. Crying wears me out and I can only do it for so long. It takes so much energy to sit around and cry and there is nothing I can do about some of my problems. I take a walk or go out and work in my garden. I listen to the birds when it is silent. I am an artist and I paint or write when I feel like it. I have always painted when I can't cope with life. It gives me peace.

I try to remind myself how fragile life is and I never take it for granted. I remember family members in nursing homes not able to take a walk, and I try really hard to make every day count. We only get to live this life once, and every day wasted is gone forever.…

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So you have just finished painting your home, and everything looks almost perfect. The colors are brilliant, they match your personality and you are eagerly awaiting the moment you are ready to start decorating. However, where do you even start with decorating? Should you just run to the store and start buying items, or do you just rummage around your home looking for items to use for decorating?

The majority of people tend to do a mixture of buying and pulling from what they already have. However, if you are trying to pull something together that looks perfect there is something you need to do before you start gathering supplies and that is look at the overall tone that you have set with the paint that you selected. For example, if you decorate a room in classical stylish colors you would want to avoid anything more than simple accent pieces that are bright and colorful. However, choosing a few accent pieces that are colorful yet tasteful can also help you add a splash of creative color, while still maintaining a clean flow around the home.

Not everyone has the same ideas for decorating. This is something that is certain, and unless you are sharing your home with someone else, it is important that you pick out something that you enjoy, rather than someone else to ensure that you will be ultimately happy. Because of this, it is important to choose your furniture, accessories, rugs and even pictures after you have selected your wall colors. This will allow you to select pieces that tie in well together, either by blending seamlessly or by providing a bit of contrast to your overall decorating scheme.

Regardless of how you start, the end result should always be the same, a good and well thought out room that makes you happy to be there. If you feel a sense of dread as you walk into the room then it is time to change some things around. Your home should be a happy place, and while most people consider light and bright colors to be closely associated with being happy, it is possible to take some darker or even brighter colors and incorporate them into your overall decorating scheme.

If you are decorating a large room, you may want to consider using some darker colors to help provide a cozy atmosphere. This should include choosing some dark colors for your accents and accessories as well. However, in a light room those same dark colors can make it feel constricted and cave like, to avoid this choosing light colors will help you to open up the room. One of the biggest places that this rule should be followed is in choosing a rug. You do not want to select the wrong rug for the room size, or you will be fighting trying to create the best decorating scheme possible. However, a great rug selection can emphasize a wonderful color selection in paint and really help pull the room together nicely.…

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Chinese President Hu Jintao was in Chicago – his first visit to the city – and the only city he toured other than Washington D.C. on his recent state visit to the United States. While primarily a business relations trip, a boon for outgoing Mayor Daley, the visit shed some light onto Chicago's international art scene as well.

Two collaborative artists, the Zhou brothers, completed a painting which honored the Chinese president 's visit. The painting features depictions 8 U.S. presidents since 1972 and the Great Wall of China.

Strong, yet delicate lines form colorful portraits of the U.S. presidents while a brown-hued outline of the Great Wall moves up from the bottom left of the canvas. The formidable wall leads the eye towards the center of the canvas, as well as to the mountainous shoulder of President Obama.

Amidst the natural colors, a thick, powerful black brushstroke lurches horizontally from the lower-left, moving centrally across the painting until it jerks back and terminates at the Obama form.

The painting is done on a large scale, 68 x 86 inches – a size which is not an accident. These numbers were chosen because they are considered to be lucky in Chinese culture.

In a recent White House interview posted on whitehouse.gov, the Zhou brothers explain that the painting highlights the relationship between China and the United States – the Great Wall is a symbol of China's 5,000 year history and is juxtaposed with the youthful energy of America.

The Zhou brothers themselves were successful artists in China until 1986 when they received an invitation to exhibit their work at the East-West Contemporary Art Gallery in Chicago. On their web site, zhoub.com, the artists describe the invitation as a "timely opportunity to make the transition onto an international stage." The brothers have lived in Chicago ever since, and maintain a studio in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood.

Their work in includes large scale paintings and sculptures, predominately abstract pieces that incorporate calligraphic forms through mixed media.

The Zhou brother's commission – a politically cheerful piece (with the possible exception of the dark, cutting brushstroke) – is a gleaming badge for Daley's successful bid to court Chinese business on behalf of Chicago – with broader implications for U.S. Chinese relations overall.

Sources:

Zhou, Shan and DaHuang. Zhou Brothers Biography. http://zhoub.com

Modi, Kalpen. Behind-the-Scenes Video: President Barack Obama's Gift to President Hu Jintao of China. White House Blog, whitehouse.gov…

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Painting the inside of your home may be a fairly simple DIY task as a homeowner, but it can still take a lot of time and effort to accomplish on your own. This is why so many homeowners opt to hire a professional painter to get the job done. If you have always handled painting on your own, but think this time you would rather let a professional take care of it, it is likely you will have a few questions as a first-time customer. This is especially true when it comes to preparing your home for the job.

Do you have to remove all of the furniture from the rooms that are going to be painted?

You will not typically be expected to move the furniture out of the room during painting unless you are working with a really small space. In most cases, the contractors will just move everything to the center of the room and cover it with plastic. However, if you would prefer that everything be taken out of the space, the contractors will take care of this on your behalf as well.

Is there anything else I should do to get a room ready for painting?

The best thing to do to make the process easier on the painting contractors before they arrive is to remove clutter from the room. If you have bedrooms that will be painted, for example, it is best to remove everything from the room except for the furniture, unless the items are small enough to be tucked away in drawers and cabinets. As mentioned, the painters will likely move the furniture for you, but having to clear the room of additional clutter can be more time consuming than necessary. Additionally, you should make sure to keep your pets either contained inside of a crate or outdoors during the project.

Do professional painting contractors do custom painting techniques?

The types of painting techniques that will be offered by a specific contractor will depend on the professional individual. Each painter has their own skill set and tools, and therefore, what one painter offers another may not. However, some of the most basic custom interior painting techniques, such as striping or texture painting, will likely be offered by just about every contractor.

When all is said and done and the painters have finished the project at your home, you will be very pleased that you chose to have your home professionally painted. If you have additional questions before a painting project begins at your home, be sure to ask a contractor, like Thompson Painting, for more information.…

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Many people struggle each day with the debate about whether they should do their next painting job themselves or just hire a painter. The problem with this struggle is that everyone is different and the optimal solution for one person may be grossly inappropriate for someone else. However, if you take the time to carefully consider all of your options as well as the pros and cons for each, you are certain to make the correct decision for your needs.

You are first going to need to decide how well you can honestly paint. There are some people who are fabulous with a paintbrush the first time they pick it up and others who cannot paint well at all. If you are someone who is skilled at painting and have the time to paint, then by all means feel free to have fun. However, if you are one of the many who is unable to paint decently and you are looking for clean and professional results you are going to have to accept that a professional may be your best option.

While the idea of allowing a professional to do the painting may seem best overall, it is important to understand that it is a very expensive process. Another disadvantage is the fact that you are having to work around someone else's schedule and also need to look into references and carefully screen potential painting crews to ensure you hire someone who is able to deliver the results that you want. Quickly hiring the first crew that can breathe is a bad decision and your painting job will reflect that.

If you are looking to have a project over a weekend and you enjoy painting then you may find that you are going to miss out on a lot of fun if you hire someone to do the painting for you. Many families even decide to take it up a few notches and turn painting into a family project that everyone is able to help with. If this is something that you are interested in it can be a lot of fun with some music, and a fun attitude right from the start. However, if you are working with very small children those painters may come in handy after all.

One of the biggest reasons in recent years for using a professional is not even so much the quality of the painting, but the amount of time that you can save by having someone else do the work. The majority of people know and understand that they simply cannot do everything that they want to do themselves, so the job is then to select someone to handle the painting while you take care of other aspects of your life. Choosing a good quality painter can save you a lot of time and allow you to enjoy spending time with your family, or even taking a bit of time just for yourself. As you can see, the decision over whether to hire a professional painter tends to be very personal with each family reaching a different decision.…

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Spring has sprung and everyone is looking to spruce up their landscaping and do a little work to the exterior of their home. While contemplating a fresh spring look for our home, my husband and I discovered that our trim is in need of a fresh coat of paint. We live in Michigan and the winters can wreak havoc on a paint job.

Now the question is what color to paint the trim, and what color to paint the door and entrance area since we are sure to stick with the same color for the body. I don’t want to go with the same colors from last time, I want to do something new. So once again, we have to make color decisions. Here are some steps to follow when trying to decide on exterior paint colors.

1. What color is your roof and/or brick or mortar? These items are pretty much permanent parts of your home; consequently, you’ll need to choose house colors that compliment other colors in your exterior. For example, my yard is enclosed by a black rod iron fence. Any colors I choose need to compliment not just the black, but the rod iron style as well. My roof is a warm brown, again, the colors will need to compliment the roof.
2. What is the architectural design and/or style of your home? I live in a neighborhood of historical homes and it seems that the trend is now to go with multiple colors. The three story homes especially look fabulous with 3-5 complimentary accent colors. I’ve seen some of the smaller homes try to go with this trend, and it doesn’t work as well. With a smaller home you should stick with fewer colors. It’s not a must, or a rule, but it might be helpful to consider the style of home and the period in which the home was built. Victorian homes tend to carry more vibrant colors, while cottage style homes usually fare better with more soft/natural colors. Again, you can break this rule, but you are probably safer sticking with it.
3. Where do you live? To be honest, when I picked the body paint of my home it was springtime. I didn’t think about how the house would look in the snow. In the spring/summer the lavender hue is very soft and subtle. At times in the snow, it can look a little more purple then I want it to look. You also need to consider the community in which you live. Let’s face it, every region of the country, and every part of the world for that matter has a design style. Some neighborhoods are really conservative and others more fun and risque. Although it’s okay to “dare to be different”, you don’t want to clash with the rest of the neighborhood, or stick out like a sore thumb.
4. What color is your home now? This is not a big factor when it comes to the trim, but it can be for the body of the house. Remember, drastic changes will mean more preparation. If you don’t mind – go for it, but you can be sure that going from a dark green house to a white house is going to take a lot more prep work then going from a dark green to a dark grey house.
5. Look at color samples outside, not inside. Try and look at them at different times of the day and on sunny as well as cloudy days.
6. Use on-line computer software to take a look at what your home might look like with your paint selections. Many different sites offer this service including – Benjamin Moore Paints, American Traditions and Sherwin-Williams. They are fun to work with. Unfortunately, they give you only six or so home styles to choose from, but you’ll get the idea.
7. Consider the inside of your home. Can you imagine visiting a home that is white, trimmed in grey, then going on the inside of that home and seeing rooms in hues of orange, yellow, purple, green and blues? Be sure to complete the theme in and outside of your home.
8. Get inspiration. I like to let nature help me, because it is absolutely beautiful. Do you live in a cottage? Well gain inspiration from the beach or from the lake. If you live in a more woodsy area, gain inspiration from the trees, or even from the animals that lurk around. Look at the color of a beautiful fawn, the fawn color with the soft white might be a beautiful color scheme for the exterior of your home. Or consider flowers and gain inspiration from them. You might also want to go through magazines and gain inspiration from homes you see that you like.

It used to be that everyone had a white, off-white or grey home with colorful trim. Those days are gone and as our personality is seen in the interior of our home, it should also be reflective in the exterior of our homes.…

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The idea of painting with Earthworms may sound gross, but it's actually very cool. Obviously, this project is not for the squeamish, but your children will absolutely love it. I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no, the worms won't get hurt.

The idea came to me one evening when I was digging in my back yard trying to plant a Rose bush. I stumbled upon a host of Earthworms just wiggling around. "Hum," I thought to myself, I wonder if my preschool class would enjoy painting with them?

Since I am not one of those people who gets freaked out by the sight of worms, I got a clean jar, punched a few small holes in the top and scooped up the worms, dirt included and took them to class the next day.

I was a little concerned at first. I was sure that bringing the worms into the classroom would send the children into a frenzy. To my surprise, They were actually intrigued and very receptive to the idea of painting with the wiggly little creatures.

This is a great project for parents to do with their kids at home. It's a fun and creative way to spend quality time with your little ones.

Before you begin this project, make sure that you talk to the kids about gentle handling of the worms. You might feel awful if you look at their paper and they have smashed worms mixed in with their paint.

Materials needed:

Earthworms (maybe two per child. More if you like.)
White art paper
Non-toxic washable paint of any color. (Make sure that you choose paint that is designed with children in mind.)

Steps:

1. Rinse the dirt off of the worms with cool water. (Not too cold.)
2. Let the children blob the paint color(s) of their choice on the paper. (Not too much.)
3. Place the Earthworms in the center of the paint.
4. Let the worms wiggle and crawl around the paper. As the worms move across the paper, the paint will drag and create wonderful works of art. Steps two and three can be repeated as often as you would like to create the desired effect.

After this project is complete, you can rinse the Earthworms off with cool water and release them outside in a nice cool, dirty spot.

Your children will get a sense of pride when they see their painting displayed on the refrigerator, or framed and hanging on the wall of their room.…

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DIY Decorating with an Artistic Touch

Using special effects for a unique and creative wall treatment is a truly rewarding design project. Following are a couple of examples of what you can do. Both are interesting, and give a touch of drama and excitement to a room.

Depending on the look, each project has a few different required tools or materials. Another requirement is patience.

DIY Texturing

If you like a rich texture, there are a few different ways to do it. You can include sawdust as an aggregate for a coarse grain. For a finer texture, adding a little play sand does the trick. Mix the texture material with flat latex paint, and roller it on as usual.

For adding dimension to a textured look, a few tubes of burnt umber acrylic paint will help give dimension to the finished work.

After the textured layer is dry, go into it with a burnt umber, tinted paint wash. Water down the acrylic using one tube of acrylic paint to a quart of water. For this project, find a softer brush designed for holding a wet mix, or simply use a sponge.

Apply lightly confining the work area to three-foot sections at a time. Keep a large rag handy so you can reduce the intensity of the tint if necessary. This step is a detail of the finished design, so make the most of your desired lightening and highlighting effects.

DIY Rubbed Back Plaster

Go for quaint and charming with this look. This is an easy method that involves the layering of paint washes on top of white latex. The technique for this feature involves waiting for each phase to dry, then doing a light sanding between the layers.

To get the desired effect, this project usually works best with colors in the soft pastel range. Sophisticated green, blue, gray, or yellow are the best color choices for this method. By the time the layers are applied, dried, and sanded the finish is full of interesting and rich color variations.

Repeat the paint wash, let it dry, then alternate between each application of the color wash with the sanding. Once you have the desired look, you may wish to apply a sealer.

Slightly more advanced techniques are at this address:

DIY Ready, Set, go

Creative wall treatments and artistic DIY painting effects reward you with a home interior of your own personal touch while providing a most enjoyable environment expressed through color and design.…

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Finger painting with preschoolers can be a very fun thing to do, but when these little ones eat the paint, it becomes a very big problem. Even though preschool paints are not toxic, a parent normally wonders about this often. I know of a preschool paint which is entirely toxic and it will not matter how much these preschoolers eat.

Pudding, which can easily be made and is certainly non- toxic, makes a wonderful paint for preschoolers, look at all the colors of paint you have when you use a box of Jell-o instant pudding. Finger painting with preschoolers will an excellent activity, to encourage their minds and allows them to have natural fun.

Go ahead and mix up a box or two of Jell-o instant pudding, and lay a piece of white printer paper in front of your child. Finger painting with preschoolers can begin by adding a spoonful of pudding to the paper and showing them how to do it but running your finger thru the pudding yourself.

Make swirls, circles, or squares, so them how it is done, they will soon get the idea of how to finger paint with the Jell-o instant pudding. Finger painting with preschoolers just took on a completely new meaning, and they can eat the paint, which is natural for them to do.

Preschoolers love to play with their food, so this appears natural to them and is the perfect activity for one and a half year olds right up to first graders; yes, all ages of the preschoolers can have fun with this one. Finger painting with preschoolers is also a great skill building activity.

This is great hand and eye coordination, fine motor skills, cognitive developing and just about everything else, but above all it helps them to become creative and gives a good basic start to the world of crafts. Finger painting with preschoolers gets messy.

Preschoolers will get messy that is for sure, but they have so much fun with it as one can imagine, so make sure to paint with pudding on a floor that is washable, in clothes, which are washable. Finger painting with preschoolers will be messy but clean up is a breeze with regular mopping of the floor, a sponge on surfaces, and a washing machine for the clothes.

This idea comes from one activity that happened many years ago when I just had my daughter and she was about one and a half and was involved in a preschooler playtime group on post over in South Korea. Finger painting with preschoolers, many preschoolers was a mommy and me activity that the children and their moms seemed to all enjoy.

Nancy the playgroup director had two daughters Chelsea and Abigail and together with any other moms and preschoolers, we gathered for fun group activities on a weekly basis. Amber and I both very much enjoyed the finger painting with preschoolers' activities more then the other activities.

When we did the finger painting with preschoolers' activity, we used the huge gym on post, and the entire gym floor would be filled with moms and little ones laying on the floor finger painting with jell-o brand instant pudding. Each mom cleaned up her child's mess, and we had a story and snack time as the paintings died enough to take them home.

When we came home to Pennsylvania, Amber and I still enjoyed this finger painting with preschoolers, so we began the tradition her with her cousins whom I used to baby sit. We all had fun, and I did not need to worry about toxic paints.…

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Exterior painting is a great way to refresh a house from the outside. However, there are some common exterior painting mistakes to avoid. In this article, I describe the five most common exterior painting mistakes and how to avoid them.

Why Exterior Painting Mistakes Matter
It's important to make as few exterior painting mistakes as possible. Having to repaint due to mistakes is a waste of time, money, and painting supplies. Beyond that, doing a bad job of painting a house makes the house look bad and lowers the potential resale value. Doing a good job when painting the outside of a house can mean that you won't have to repaint your house for several more years and can be a good selling point if you decide to sell your home. The exterior of your home is the first impression that your home makes on guests. Even if you don't plan ever to sell your home, a nice exterior finish will help your house make a great first impression and will be something you can be proud of.

Exterior Painting Mistake #1 – Bad Paint Choices
Picking an exterior paint that is an ugly color, a color that does not "fit" with other nearby houses, or simply low-quality is an easy mistake to make, yet it is very easily avoided. See what the other houses in your neighborhood are painted like, pick a color that you like and that will go well with your house, and buy paint that is guaranteed to last for a long time. This will improve the appearance of your house, the potential resale value of the house, and will reduce the frequency with which you need to repaint. Remember to use a quality primer as well as a quality paint.

Exterior Painting Mistake #2 – Not Doing Adequate Preparation
Surfaces have to be prepared before most painting. This is no different when doing exterior painting. If your house is dirty, you should pressure wash it and also remove any remnants of old paint chips. You may have to "rough up" the surface with a wash of trisodium phosphate before applying a primer. Remember to tape off things like windows or any areas that you don't want to cover with paint. Not doing the above could cause paint not to adhere well to your house, while accidentally getting paint on a window could force you to begin another project.

Exterior Painting Mistake #3 – Ignoring The Weather
Many weather-related problems can happen while doing exterior painting. A sudden downpour could completely invalidate a day's labor, while hot, direct sunlight can cause paint peeling. If you can, try to pick a time when the weather will be cool and dry, with no chance of rain.

Exterior Painting Mistake #4 – Using Bad Technique
"Bad technique" can encompass a lot of things with regard to exterior painting. For example, painting only in one direction, using inappropriate brushes or rollers, or using so much paint that the paint clumps and runs. Before you begin to do any exterior painting, make sure that you know how to paint to avoid clumping and running and to ensure that the paint is spread evenly.

Exterior Painting Mistake #5 – Not Enlisting Help
Painting a house is not a task to be taken lightly. A house to be painted will need at least one coat of primer and two coats of paint. Doing this alone would take a great amount of time. However, having the assistance of three or four friends or family members reduces the time and effort that doing exterior painting takes on a person. If people help you to paint your house, you should repay them, of course.

In short, get a neutral, quality paint (and quality primer), make sure everything is clean and well-prepared, pay attention to the weather forecast, paint using proper technique, and get people to help you. If you do all of this, your exterior painting should be smooth sailing. Have any further tips for exterior painting? Feel free to share your suggestions in the form of a comment. Thank you for reading!…

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