Lady of Painting

The first time I worked with Annie Sloan products was a year ago, when I participated in a Annie Sloan workshop. Since then I've been learning about them and what can be done with them chalky paints and I thought I knew pretty much everything there is to know. Talking to the newest Annie Sloan distributor in Romania - Doamna de PICTURA, from Iași - convinced me otherwise. Diana Ivanov, aka Doamna de Pictura, is a visual artist and has looked at paints from this point of view from the beginning. She didn't think they would meet the requirements of an artist, but she gave them a chance because she is passionate about painted furniture and saw that many people use Annie Sloan paints for such works. From the very first brush stroke she was delighted with their qualities and decided to introduce them into her world, the art world.

Discovery

As a visual artist, Diana has always been on the lookout for materials to showcase her ideas and her passion for painted furniture. He tested all kinds of paints, but the ones that were good for painting on wood were not very resistant to be used as furniture paints and vice versa.

Until a can of paint fell into his hand Annie Sloan. From the very first strokes, he realized that this was the product that combines both the qualities of a professional wood paint and the strength required of a furniture paint.

The qualities of Annie Sloan's paints and other materials prompted her to learn as much as she could about them. That's how she learned that Annie is also a visual artist, and that paints are made to meet the demands of an artist as well as those who use the furniture or objects painted. She greatly admired, from the very beginning, the system created by Annie Sloan, her desire to educate and bring the public closer to art, color, personalized objects and the DIY - Do It Yourself - phenomenon.

„Any art lover who will try to apply the Annie Sloan system using all the materials at their disposal - the workbook, the palette, the palette, the best quality brushes and the set of brushes for details and graphics - you will be initiated in no time at all into the mysteries of plastic arts and without realizing it, you will fall hopelessly in love with all the things transformed by these paints"says Diana, who in the meantime decided to become a distributor of Annie Sloan paints in Iasi.

World of Arts

Iași is a university town with strong ties to the arts. It's also home to the oldest theater in the country, and Diana was able to bring Annie Sloan paints to this world. The artists involved in creating the sets, making the furniture for various plays, were thrilled with these materials. And so began collaborations of which she is now very proud.

It was also helpful that the paints can be applied in overlapping layers and, if necessary, can be easily removed. What's more, these creamy paints can also be applied to textiles, which the decorating teams were delighted to discover.

And the collaborations don't stop here. In June, together with the George Enescu University of the Arts, George Enescu University of the Arts, Faculty of Theater, Opera class, will realize some pieces from the props of the play Cosi fan tutte, by W.A. Mozart, with Annie Sloan paints. Iasi has a cultured, educated public, always on the lookout for art events, which also appreciates a well-crafted decor.

Team Art Concept - an exhibition whose key word is "collaboration"

Annie Sloan has recently launched a new product, made for Diana. A set of detail brushes that make writing and painting easier. It's the product that inspired her to create an exhibition of graphic wood painting.

The exhibition is called Team Art Concept and is realized together with a fellow plastic artist, also from Iasi, Anca Cotovanu, representative of the art brand Anca Wunde Art. They aim to offer the public a mix of decorative techniques on wood and glass, which is intended to be an expression of the dialog between the two artists, between them and the surface on which they work, that is wood and glass.

„The key word of this exhibition is collaboration and I hope those who look at it will be pleasantly surprised. In my decorative woodwork, the paints have behaved wonderfully, combining the qualities of professional wood painting materials with those of the furniture industry. What delights me is that Annie Sloan's paint is non-toxic, water-based, odorless and has an incredible pastel color palette.”

The exhibition will open on June 1 in Julius Mall in Iasi, in front of the Librarium bookstore.

Visual artist, distributor Annie Sloan, creator of unique workshops

Although she is a visual artist and less accustomed to what a paint business is all about, the quality and versatility of the paints convinced her to become a distributor. As usual, Annie appreciated her artistic spirit, her inventiveness, her creativity and accepted her with great pleasure as a team.

It started with a small shop-workshop under the brand name Lady of Painting. From the summer he aims to move to a more generous and open space. It has started a collaboration with an art café in Iasi and will launch a series of events to mark the collaboration. The online shop and blog presenting the workshops will be launched soon.

Speaking of workshops! Looking with an artist's eye at Annie Sloan's meetings with those passionate about transformations and paints, new ideas have been emerging. She's already had a workshop in the spring on painting cherry blossoms specific to Japanese prints, as well as one on flowers painted on old Saxon chests. Other decoration techniques will follow.

Nor has she abandoned her old passion - transforming furniture. She also does it for her customers, trying to offer signature products that stand out from the ordinary. "In doing so, I hope to inspire and bring on board more young artists with a vision for all the huge potential that Annie Sloan paints offer„.

If you are from Iași or just passing by, Diana is waiting for you from June 1-9, at Julius Mall, to see her work and learn more about the multiple possibilities of painting and decorating offered by Annie Sloan materials.