Faux Painting - How To Earn Extra Income Faux Finishing On The Side    by Sandra Silva

As a graphic artist by trade, I never dreamed that I would be in the business of Faux Painting or Decorative Art. The thought never crossed my mind, partly because I was unaware of how popular this beautiful form of art was becoming.

Ten years ago there was only limited information on the various faux painting techniques. Most referred to faux finishing as "sponging" or "glazing". In essence, the term was misused and for the most part, still is. I am referring to the fact that "FAUX" means "FAKE", therefore, to faux paint a wall means to paint it in a way that makes the wall resemble a specific surface other than just a plain wall, such as "marble", "wood", etc. The sponges or glazes are just tools to achieve a certain effect on the wall.

I've read comments on faux painting message boards indicating the perturbation of professional faux finishers when uninformed clients refer to any type of decorative painting (besides murals) as "fauxing". It used to bother me, too, yet through the years I've learned to accept the fact that those unfamiliar with the details of faux painting could care less about the terminology and more about the beauty of decorative painting instead.

So although you have not been professionally faux painting walls, if you learn how to achieve a few easy faux finishing techniques, you can offer your services to friends and family and they won't care if you're uninformed with the terms. As long as you can make their walls look beautiful, you can make some extra income on the side. Who knows - maybe you'll end up with your own faux painting business like I did. Start off by painting your own walls, then invite others to see your work. If they ask how much would you charge to faux paint their walls, give them a relatively low price since you are just starting out and use it as practice.

If you ever plan to start your own faux painting business, you can get quite a few "practices" in and you can begin gathering photos for your portfolio. That's how my journey began. The wonderful thing about embarking on your own journey into the beautiful art of decorative painting today is that there are a lot more faux painting tools, classes, and books available than there was when I started out ten years ago. My suggestion is to start out with the simple faux finishes such as sponging and color blending. There are many textured faux finishes that you can learn but they are time consuming and the materials can be quite expensive. After faux painting literally hundreds of walls, I can tell you honestly that 90% of my clients still choose "color blending" or "color washing", including the "Old World Parchment" look. Why, because some of the textured finishes are too "busy looking" and the cost for faux painting with texture is nearly double than what it is for non-textured faux finishes. Besides, once you get your foot into the door, then you can offer them. Starting your own business.

As in any area of business, learning from other professionals is always your best bet to get a jump start to succeed. If you are considering starting a faux finishing or decorative painting business, I highly recommend reading books on how to acquire a business license, keeping your books and other important information you need to know. There are some great e-books that are available online. Do a search for them. If you would like to visit my website, I have one that I recommend.

About the Author

Sandy Silva is a professional Faux Painter and Muralist. Her company, Murals & Faux Painting, Inc. in the Miami area has been in business for 20 years and has been dedicated to the decorative wall painting profession for 10 years now. Buy her DVD workshop which comes with 5 tools....one being patent pending. The workshop includes tips like this one. Her web site is http://www.muralsandfauxpainting.com