Tole Painting

Tole Painting is a celebrated folk art, which decorates metal and wooden objects. Teapots, Coffeepots, tables, chairs, and chests, including hope chests, toyboxes and jewelry boxes find a new lease of life with a touch of Tole painting. According to collectors, Tole Painting became popular in the 18th century. Nowadays, the term is used to describe decorative painting on a variety of surfaces.

History of Tole Painting

Tole Painting as an art form came into being in the 18th century. Its birthplace was New England, and it slowly gain popularity with German immigrants Pennsylvania USA.very soon it was the most popular art form amongst them and was practised extensively. In Scandinavian Countries a separte tradition of tole Painting exists.Norwegians,Danes and Swedes also grew very fond very fond of this art form.

Difference between German and Scandinavian Tole Painting

German tole painting concentrate more on metal and tin objects, while Scandinavian may concentrate more on wooden objects and furniture. The designs and patterns of these two sub genres are also different.

If you come up with some outstanding face painting ideas, then you need to gather a few painting supplies to execute the painting on the face. You need water based face paints, clean paintbrushes or cotton swabs, a smock or an old shirt. Face painting can range from a simple design with only a few colours, sometimes only one or two face paints, up to incredibly detailed works of art with blended colours fading in and out to create a masterpiece on the face.

You can turn into a tiger, Spiderman or Superman, clown, Santa Claus, flag of your nation or favorite soccer team, or a witch on Halloween! You can also make temporary tattoos with these face painting techniques. It simply needs some brilliant face painting ideas and a little artistic touch to make a perfect face painting.

Tole Painting- The Technique

Surfaces have to be galvanized and primed before the paint is applied. If they arent properly pimed then the paint does not stay. Wood works have to be sealed, primed and sanded before being painted upon. Tinworks have to be treated differently, they should be quality galvanized tinplate, not terneplate (lead solder plated). Finally they should be painted with a background colored rust free primer. The color used for tole painting is almost always acrylic nowadays because not only is acrylic more durable than any other paints but is also extremely cost effective too.

Tole Painting- Theme and Designs

Tole paintings are entirely decorative and the sole purpose of the artist is to make the surface look nice. Floral designs and patterns are most commonly used in these paintings. Since tole painting is a very personal art form (most of these paintings are made for indigenous use) personal family jokes find their way into these paintings. Scenes from fairy tales are also beautifully depicted in Tole Paintings.

Repaintibility factor

The best thing about Tole Painting is that an artist always has the option to better his/her work in this medium. Paintings can be easily sanded off and repainted. Indeed tole painting gives us the opportunity of mastering the craft without starting from the scratch.

Approached with creativity, discipline and craftsmanship, contemporary Tole Painting offers numerous opportunities for artistic self-expression and creative satisfaction.