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About
When I started college in 1981, I was introduced to a panel 5 feet wide and 10 feet high. It consisted of a bit of wall, skirting, picture rail and half a door, not dissimilar to the size of the tiny section you can see me working on in the picture! Scraping off wallpaper, rubbing down woodwork and endlessly painting and repainting every square inch till it was perfect, I never realised how lucky I was to be taught the old school way!
Fortunately, classes progressed beyond grunt work, and we spent months and months of lessons learning how to become gentleman decorators, hanging wallpaper, cutting stencils, basic signwriting, graining and marbling… It was a full education. In 1984, I passed the City & Guilds Advanced Craft Certificate for Painting and Decorating with 2 distinctions and a credit. Ever since then, I have always adhered to what I learned from my lecturer – don’t cut corners and just because you learnt to do something a certain way, be open-minded to new products and work practices. But you have to keep your standards high.
Always learning
In my early 20′s, I swallowed my pride and worked on a council site for months on end. I learned how to paint very fast. Most recently, I worked on a couple of 30 foot long classic wooden boats and perfected the art of burning off paint. I learnt how to do caulking with cotton too.
Several times during my career, I also learnt some harsh lessons about falling off ladders – unless you have perfected the art of flying, it is best not to be careless 20 feet off the ground. I haven’t fallen for ages, especially since a good friend taught me how to dangle from a rope.
General work experience
Over the past 20 years or so, I have been lucky enough to be asked to decorate hundreds of lounges and bedrooms, and hand-paint kitchens, furniture, a couple of brewery signs. I have run jobs in prestigious country houses, hotels, a church, schools.
I had a couple of peculiar work experiences. Once, in a royal residence I was roped into working all night applying a paint effect on bathroom furniture. If I wanted to get paid, I had to promise that I would work my normal shift the next day too! (The term zombie painter springs to mind. Another time, I was working on a cross channel ferry that was being refurbished in Falmouth. I was engrossed in painting deck chairs. For some reason, I looked across at the dock to see the rest of the team gesticulating and laughing at me. The mechanics had finished checking the engines and the boat was off to France, tout de suite. I was the last one off, just.
Working Life beyond painting
Just painting makes Jack a dull boy, so as well as running my own decorating business, I have worked in an office as a building estimator, and taught craft apprentices at Stroud College, UK. In my younger days, I co-ran a school renovation program in Sudan. (That is me in the picture scratching my head in Darfur.) I also project-managed the renovation of a 5-bedroom farmhouse. Hopefully, that all sounds like work!
Life beyond work
In September 2001, I cycled 1000 miles in 13 days from Bordeaux to Malaga. I arrived at my destination on the 11th. Being out of touch with the real world, I wondered what Bruce Willis-style action film everyone was watching on TV in the shop window.
A few years ago, I took a break from the decorating trade and went to university. It’s never too late to study, (or get used to living on beans) and I ended up with a BA in French and Spanish. I think the break was good for my decorating career too, because nowadays I still feel as motivated and excited about my trade as I ever was. I don’t have that jaded feeling that I know many tradesmen have after 25 years without a break.
Talking of old and tired, I am currently on the hunt for a Morris Minor work van. The one I have my eye on will be older than me, but hopefully in much better condition.
If you see me driving around in it, give me a wave. If you don’t see it, you will hear it. And if you don’t hear it, that means it has broken down and I, or more likely my wife, Ingrid, will be fixing it.
