The first human beings of our species have been classified with the name homo habilus, which means something like “handy man.” It was the skilled and intelligent use of the hands that distinguished the emergence of human kind, and still, hundreds of thousand years later, it is recognized that human hands are able to create things that machines and mechanization simply can’t duplicate.

Craft is at the heart of Earth Craft Painting. My early background is in residential house painting, with an emphasis on restoration of older homes. As a result, I am thoroughly grounded in the craft of house-painting, and understand the importance of thorough preparation and clean work. Since paint is, after all, a surface treatment, proper preparation of the surface is essential to the finished work.

Over time I became dissatisfied with the standard petroleum-based latex paints. Many were toxic, and all suffered from being overprocessed, meaning they applied a single monochrome color in a uniformity unfound in nature, dulling the potential richness of the coating. I started working with the “faux” techniques and products then becoming popular. While I appreciated the rich textures and colors, I found these were also toxic, and some very slow and expensive to apply.

Then I discovered natural paints. Here were paints that offered the textures and colors of faux, were more authentic, beautiful in their own right. All that’s required is a little craft. My tools are brushes, trowels, scrapers, rollers, sandpaper of various grits, polishing pads, and rags. The basic premise is if you put the products of nature together with the skilled hand, the result will satisfy.