Decorative Painting Apprenticeship Program

LEARN FAUX FINISHING & DECORATIVE PAINTING from artisan professionals while restoring or reviving a public space. Students, novice through advanced, are welcome to take classes.

The MISSION of the Decorative Painting Apprenticeship Program is to provide real-world experiences for decorative painting artisans as well as create enduring art in public spaces consistent with the goals of public restoration programs.

Decorative Painting Apprenticeship Program
106 Sean Drive
Kennett Square, PA 19348
E-Mail: info@dpap.org

A Gift To New Orleans

City Park, New Orleans, Spring 2008

New Orleans, LA: The Decorative Painting Apprenticeship Program (DPAP) contributed to the revival of post-Katrina New Orleans by providing newly painted public areas within City Park, the city's 140 year-old, 1,300-acre park distinguished by diverse recreational facilities, beautiful architecture and natural beauty.

The park sustained $43 million in damages and the majority of those damages were attributable not to the fierceness of Hurricane Katrina's winds but rather due to floodwaters caused by the failure of the federal levee and flood protection system. Ninety-percent of City Park was flooded under one to eight feet of salt water.

Over the past three years, volunteers from across the country have cleared debris, planted trees, rebuilt structures, and restored attractions, but much is left to do. In fact, City Park needs money to pay for on-going restoration projects. Prior to Katrina, rentals of buildings in City Park for weddings, the children's amusement area and the Ice Cream Parlor were steady sources of revenue for the park. But these buildings and attractions, although structurally restored and cleaned, still needed finishing touches.

That's when DPAP stepped in and offered to set-up an on-site school to get the work done. DPAP invited top artisans to teach classes in faux finishing and decorative painting techniques while everyone executed the design plans generated by the directors of DPAP: Bernadette Forese of Pennsylvania and Marlow and Brita DeMars of Connecticut.

Teachers included: Michael Cooper (Tennessee), Marlow DeMars (Connecticut), Hakan Engstrom (Sweden), Bernadette Forese (Pennsylvania), Guillermo Jauregui (California), and Pat Strong (Texas).

The invitation went out to novice and professionals alike to enroll in classes with these experienced teachers. Free housing for students was arranged with the help of St. Paul's Homecoming Center - Beacon of Hope. Students, 25 in all, enrolled from the states of Texas, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania and took weekly classes at varying times between February and May 2008.

Students learned on-the-wall techniques including: Venetian plaster, glazing, trompe l'oeil, marbling, wood graining, gilding, troweled metallic effects, air brushing, mural painting, and more.

DPAP instructors and students:

Created a long Trompe L'oeil painting at the Bumper Car Pavilion in the amusement area.
Worked in several areas of the Casino Building, a Spanish Mission-style building dating from 1913 that will be used for weddings and is home to the Ice Cream Parlor.
Created an ice cream fantasy shop in the Ice Cream Parlor with mother of pearl ceilings; aluminum leaf work on ornaments, moldings, and counters; created an amazing large carousel horse mural (to compliment the nearby carousel ride); authentic Italian Venetian plaster columns; and a harlequin pattern behind the ice cream order counter.
Created a Casablanca-style exterior mural on the Casino Building and using an air brush, a trompe l'oeil rendering of windows and exterior mural in two niches on a second floor veranda.

It is estimated that 1,400 volunteer hours were contributed to the City Park Project with a project value estimated at $132,000.

DPAP received an estimated $5,000 in materials and would like to thank the following donors: Faux Effects International, Judie Palmisano/Artistic Designs FE Silver Label Retailer, Mythic Paint, Nordic Paint by WIBO, Perfetto Inc., Safra Colors, Sepp Leaf, The Finishing School, and Valero Energy Corporation.

The directors of DPAP would like to especially thank John Hopper, the Chief Development Officer and Director of Public Affairs at City Park, for recognizing the value of the vision we presented to him and for championing this project. We would also like to thank Connie Uddo, Director of St. Paul's Homecoming Center - Beacon of Hope who provided us with free housing for the students, and volunteer Jane Drew of Creative Finishes in New Orleans, LA. Jane became DPAP's on-site production manager. She and her family contributed many hours to the project.

"Everyone involved in this project feels grateful to have been a part of it," says Bernadette Forese, co-director of DPAP. "As we were working on the buildings, New Orleaneans stopped by every day and thanked the students and teachers for their time and commitment to help them gain back their city. It was very moving to have so many people express their thanks to us." Forese continues, "It was just a win-win project; great for the building owners, great for the community, great for the sponsors, and great for the students and teachers."

View photo slide shows of City Park Project classes.
Read about the project in The Times-Picayune.
Read about the opening dedication The Times-Picayune.

We thank the following sponsors for helping us help New Orleans: