Painting is therapeutic???

Dan R · March 6th, 2008, 11:39 AM

OK, I've been painting like a madman for the last week. My brother and sister in law came over Saturday to help with the kitchen. It has really been kicking my butt, however it looks quite good so far. Now, 3 friends of mine in a row have all said the exact same thing: "Painting is therapeutic." Word for word the exact same phrase. I can't believe this is a coincidence. Was this in a book, on TV, did I miss the memo? Let me tell you friends, there is nothing therapeutic to me about climbing up a ladder to trim out a doorway or window. Nothing. It's just work. Maybe painting a picture is therapeutic, but painting the baseboard trim? No. Maybe I need to learn to become "One" with my paintbrush. Am I missing something or just hearing a trite, meaningless phrase that people now use? Enlighten me, please.

Dan R

morroben · March 6th, 2008, 11:44 AM

I believe it all stems from the first Karate Kid movie...you should try waxing your car next.

jwsamuel · March 6th, 2008, 12:21 PM

Painting someone else's property is therapeutic. Painting your own house is a pain in the butt.

So to give you the therapeutic experience, you are welcome to come up here to the Philly area and paint my living room.

Jim

jhundt · March 6th, 2008, 01:08 PM

I am a painter, and I have been for 25 years. The only reason that it is not "therapeutic" for you is that you are not relaxing and letting the work relax you.

It sounds to me like you are in a stress situation. You are "painting like a madman" for a week with your brother and sister-in-law "helping" you... in a kitchen!

If you did that kitchen alone, relaxed and prepared to enjoy, you might have had a totally different experience. With a little pre-painting education to get the right materials and methods sorted out, you might have enjoyed a very rewarding and non-strenuous home-improvement project.

On the other hand - painting is not as easy as the TV shows make it look. There is a lot of knowledge behind the choices of material, preparation and application. There is also a level of skill required to achieve the best-quality finish. I get paid to do it, because people don't want to try it for themselves. I always think "do they know what they are missing?"

My 21-year-old son works with me sometimes. He doesn't really like it. I always tell him: "that's why they call it WORK!... if it was fun and easy nobody would pay YOU to do it!"

Dan R · March 6th, 2008, 02:08 PM

I understand what you mean jhundt. Attitude is big part of whatever you undertake. I started in my spare bedroom. No problem. Then I thought, let's get the kitchen done. I had to use oil-based enamel on the kitchen cabinets. No choice here because I was painting over oil-based paint. That little endeavor broke me. What a horrible smell that is, and it takes days to fully dry. Anyway, it looks good and that's the main thing. I remember my Dad painting the upstairs bedrooms when I was a kid. He never wanted any help. He figured he knew how to get the best results. He'd sit in the room with a lamp on the floor with the lampshade removed. I asked him why he did that. He said, So I can see if I need to touch up anything. You can't tell what kind of job you're doing without enough light. I guess I'm just an impatient fellow. Painting seems tedious to me. My little joke is, It's easy to paint, it's just hard to make it look good. Thanks for the insight and advice.

Dan R

pottedmeat42 · March 6th, 2008, 02:12 PM

the first gallon is

ibobunot · March 6th, 2008, 02:18 PM

Watercolor painting is therapeutic
Watercolor painting is relaxing
Watercolor painting is fulfilling
Watercolor painting is fun
Watercolor painting is inexpensive

...

bowman · March 6th, 2008, 02:21 PM

I feel your pain - I'm in the middle of a complete kitchen remodel , all to be done by me. The painting of the cabinets is the stage I'm in right now, and it's a lot of work. I'm doing all new hardware, too, so the doors and drawer fronts all had to come off - I got 'em spread out all over the house in various stages of readiness: sanded, primed, finish painted. Can't wait 'til it's over.

BillyG · March 6th, 2008, 02:36 PM

Artistic painting is very therapeutic. Painting drywall is maddening (for me & the mrs.)

getbent · March 6th, 2008, 02:46 PM

Prepping can be a drag unless you are in the right frame of mind. Painting is all about prep... once the prep is done, painting is easy... and the result is satisfying and I even like the bleachy smell.

Painting with an airless that has been prepped properly and if you are using high quality paint and a good stabilizer.... well, it is ALMOST as sublime as power washing (which is part of external paint prep) anyone using a really powerful tool should be energized by how much they can accomplish with very little effort.

Unfortunately, the ratio of prep to sublime is like 80-20.

The painting is therapeutic thing is like Billy says.. about people painting poppies in fields... my therapy would be to be flat on my back in a field staring at the shape of clouds.....

while Salma Hayek purred how sublime I am. (I would have said Linda Ronstadt but then Skully would have posted that awful picture of her)

Dan R · March 6th, 2008, 03:25 PM

Painting is therapeutic; (artistically of course.) I think my friends have misunderstood this phrase. They are not dim witted, just somehow confused. Hey, maybe I'll paint a mural in the back bedroom for therapy. On second thought, maybe not.

Dan R

RodeoTex · March 6th, 2008, 04:34 PM

When I redid my kitchen we (read as 'wife') decided on a black/white/red '50s diner theme. All cabinets and cupboards were those old metal cabinets actually from the 1950s, with 20 coats of paint on them.
As always in painting, prep is the hardest part. Scraping the old paint off and doing some minor body work I took two days vacation, masked off everything and sprayed them with a real compressor and gun. 1952 GMC truck acrylic enamel - very glossy but what a Job. I should have had an oxygen mask and tank.

I know that's not exactly what you were talking about but that's how my kitchen painting experience went. Even if yours isn't threaputic hopfully it won't be that bad.

getbent · March 6th, 2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan R

Painting is therapeutic; (artistically of course.) I think my friends have misunderstood this phrase. They are not dim witted, just somehow confused. Hey, maybe I'll paint a mural in the back bedroom for therapy. On second thought, maybe not.

Dan R

I have a bunch of dimwitted friends... why else would they hang.... never mind...

A buddy of mine's wife wanted him to build a small saloon at their place.. so he did but inside is a giant mural... a NUDE! and the face is very much his wife's when she was about 22. Margie is looking pretty dang good (she is close to 60)... the good news is she is a good sport and when we gaze lustfully at it she laughs!

Telarkaster · March 6th, 2008, 06:55 PM

I love painting. The prep work is a serious pain though. But once I'm set up, I put on a few tunes on the ghetto blaster, "get in the mood", and then lose myself in the heavenly tranquility of white primer. I feel like I'm making my surroundings cleaner, it's quite satisfying.

I must explain: I work in an office all day. At the end of the day I look at my desk and all I can show for my blood, sweat and tears is that my mouse moved a few inches to the left or right from where it started in the morning. Painting is great because I can actually appreciate the fruits of my labour.

Doing it for a living is another thing. I was a painter's apprentice one summer on a construction site. It was a spray job in the biggest warehouse I've ever seen. The fumes from the oil paint were so bad that we had double charcoal filtered gas masks and even then we got stoned. The first day I heard "boom, boom, boom" all around me, thought someone was banging something. Then I realized that it was the sound of my heartbeat!

The mist from the paint was so thick that we had to put vaseline on our eyelids and eyebrows to make it easier to clean up after. It was so thick in the air that we were actually walking on paint mist. After half an hour there'd be an inch of hardened paint under our boots. We'd peel off the paint in giant chunks from the soles of our boots and whip them at each other like frisbees. Nothing therapeutic or relaxing about that. In fact I probably need therapy after that experience!

March 6th, 2008, 11:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
Dan R Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Charleston, SC Age: 50 Posts: 875	Painting is therapeutic??? OK, I've been painting like a madman for the last week. My brother and sister in law came over Saturday to help with the kitchen. It has really been kicking my butt, however it looks quite good so far. Now, 3 friends of mine in a row have all said the exact same thing: "Painting is therapeutic." Word for word the exact same phrase. I can't believe this is a coincidence. Was this in a book, on TV, did I miss the memo? Let me tell you friends, there is nothing therapeutic to me about climbing up a ladder to trim out a doorway or window. Nothing. It's just work. Maybe painting a picture is therapeutic, but painting the baseboard trim? No. Maybe I need to learn to become "One" with my paintbrush. Am I missing something or just hearing a trite, meaningless phrase that people now use? Enlighten me, please. Dan R

March 6th, 2008, 12:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
jwsamuel Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upper Holland, PA Age: 51 Posts: 1,966	Painting someone else's property is therapeutic. Painting your own house is a pain in the butt. So to give you the therapeutic experience, you are welcome to come up here to the Philly area and paint my living room. Jim __________________ "We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart." - H.L. Mencken

March 6th, 2008, 02:46 PM	#10 (permalink)
getbent Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Benito County, California Age: 48 Posts: 9,567 37 Photos	Prepping can be a drag unless you are in the right frame of mind. Painting is all about prep... once the prep is done, painting is easy... and the result is satisfying and I even like the bleachy smell. Painting with an airless that has been prepped properly and if you are using high quality paint and a good stabilizer.... well, it is ALMOST as sublime as power washing (which is part of external paint prep) anyone using a really powerful tool should be energized by how much they can accomplish with very little effort. Unfortunately, the ratio of prep to sublime is like 80-20. The painting is therapeutic thing is like Billy says.. about people painting poppies in fields... my therapy would be to be flat on my back in a field staring at the shape of clouds..... while Salma Hayek purred how sublime I am. (I would have said Linda Ronstadt but then Skully would have posted that awful picture of her) __________________

March 6th, 2008, 04:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
RodeoTex Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,186	When I redid my kitchen we (read as 'wife') decided on a black/white/red '50s diner theme. All cabinets and cupboards were those old metal cabinets actually from the 1950s, with 20 coats of paint on them. As always in painting, prep is the hardest part. Scraping the old paint off and doing some minor body work I took two days vacation, masked off everything and sprayed them with a real compressor and gun. 1952 GMC truck acrylic enamel - very glossy but what a Job. I should have had an oxygen mask and tank. I know that's not exactly what you were talking about but that's how my kitchen painting experience went. Even if yours isn't threaputic hopfully it won't be that bad. __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose.

March 6th, 2008, 11:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
morroben Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: california Age: 32 Posts: 1,780 18 Photos	I believe it all stems from the first Karate Kid movie...you should try waxing your car next.

March 6th, 2008, 01:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
jhundt Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands Age: 54 Posts: 2,896 9 Photos	I am a painter, and I have been for 25 years. The only reason that it is not "therapeutic" for you is that you are not relaxing and letting the work relax you. It sounds to me like you are in a stress situation. You are "painting like a madman" for a week with your brother and sister-in-law "helping" you... in a kitchen! If you did that kitchen alone, relaxed and prepared to enjoy, you might have had a totally different experience. With a little pre-painting education to get the right materials and methods sorted out, you might have enjoyed a very rewarding and non-strenuous home-improvement project. On the other hand - painting is not as easy as the TV shows make it look. There is a lot of knowledge behind the choices of material, preparation and application. There is also a level of skill required to achieve the best-quality finish. I get paid to do it, because people don't want to try it for themselves. I always think "do they know what they are missing?" My 21-year-old son works with me sometimes. He doesn't really like it. I always tell him: "that's why they call it WORK!... if it was fun and easy nobody would pay YOU to do it!"

March 6th, 2008, 02:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
Dan R Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Charleston, SC Age: 50 Posts: 875	I understand what you mean jhundt. Attitude is big part of whatever you undertake. I started in my spare bedroom. No problem. Then I thought, let's get the kitchen done. I had to use oil-based enamel on the kitchen cabinets. No choice here because I was painting over oil-based paint. That little endeavor broke me. What a horrible smell that is, and it takes days to fully dry. Anyway, it looks good and that's the main thing. I remember my Dad painting the upstairs bedrooms when I was a kid. He never wanted any help. He figured he knew how to get the best results. He'd sit in the room with a lamp on the floor with the lampshade removed. I asked him why he did that. He said, So I can see if I need to touch up anything. You can't tell what kind of job you're doing without enough light. I guess I'm just an impatient fellow. Painting seems tedious to me. My little joke is, It's easy to paint, it's just hard to make it look good. Thanks for the insight and advice. Dan R

March 6th, 2008, 02:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
pottedmeat42 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Richardson, Texas Posts: 462	the first gallon is

March 6th, 2008, 02:18 PM	#7 (permalink)
ibobunot Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Dullsville Posts: 3,456	Watercolor painting is therapeutic Watercolor painting is relaxing Watercolor painting is fulfilling Watercolor painting is fun Watercolor painting is inexpensive ...

March 6th, 2008, 02:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
bowman Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Westborough, MA Age: 56 Posts: 377	I feel your pain - I'm in the middle of a complete kitchen remodel , all to be done by me. The painting of the cabinets is the stage I'm in right now, and it's a lot of work. I'm doing all new hardware, too, so the doors and drawer fronts all had to come off - I got 'em spread out all over the house in various stages of readiness: sanded, primed, finish painted. Can't wait 'til it's over.

March 6th, 2008, 02:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
BillyG Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Summerville, SC Age: 41 Posts: 431	Artistic painting is very therapeutic. Painting drywall is maddening (for me & the mrs.)

March 6th, 2008, 03:25 PM	#11 (permalink)
Dan R Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Charleston, SC Age: 50 Posts: 875	Painting is therapeutic; (artistically of course.) I think my friends have misunderstood this phrase. They are not dim witted, just somehow confused. Hey, maybe I'll paint a mural in the back bedroom for therapy. On second thought, maybe not. Dan R

March 6th, 2008, 06:55 PM	#14 (permalink)
Telarkaster Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Montreal Quebec Canada Posts: 1,612	I love painting. The prep work is a serious pain though. But once I'm set up, I put on a few tunes on the ghetto blaster, "get in the mood", and then lose myself in the heavenly tranquility of white primer. I feel like I'm making my surroundings cleaner, it's quite satisfying. I must explain: I work in an office all day. At the end of the day I look at my desk and all I can show for my blood, sweat and tears is that my mouse moved a few inches to the left or right from where it started in the morning. Painting is great because I can actually appreciate the fruits of my labour. Doing it for a living is another thing. I was a painter's apprentice one summer on a construction site. It was a spray job in the biggest warehouse I've ever seen. The fumes from the oil paint were so bad that we had double charcoal filtered gas masks and even then we got stoned. The first day I heard "boom, boom, boom" all around me, thought someone was banging something. Then I realized that it was the sound of my heartbeat! The mist from the paint was so thick that we had to put vaseline on our eyelids and eyebrows to make it easier to clean up after. It was so thick in the air that we were actually walking on paint mist. After half an hour there'd be an inch of hardened paint under our boots. We'd peel off the paint in giant chunks from the soles of our boots and whip them at each other like frisbees. Nothing therapeutic or relaxing about that. In fact I probably need therapy after that experience!