Lisa Thornhill of Sherman has been
painting for more than 25 years. It’s unlikely that Thornhill will be caught
painting on canvas or paper, though, but she’ll paint on just about anything
else.
Thornhill is known as a decorative artist and paints on furniture, fabric, wood
cut-outs and clothes. Her work is scattered throughout her home and signifies
hours and hours of painstaking work with a paintbrush.
She said her artistic outlet was in
needlework until after the birth of her son. She hadn’t considered herself an
artist and had no idea she could paint. She said she took an art class with
Helen Wilson, a revered teacher in Sherman, for many years and was hooked from
then on.
The artist began with tole painting which, as Thornhill explains, is painting on
furniture. She said the 1,000-year-old technique was started in Europe. Wood
carvers would travel from town to town carving patterns in the furniture of the
elite. The peasants couldn’t afford the expensive carving so they mimicked the
beautiful woodwork on their furniture with paint, and that is what became known
as tole painting. “So, if you find an old, old piece with original tole
painting, it belonged to a peasant. The aristocracy were the only ones who could
afford to have the carvings on their furniture.
Thornhill is a member of the National Decorative Painting Association through
her local affiliate, Wildflowers of Texoma Painting Group. She said the group of
about 40 people meets monthly and they usually have a painting program. Sept.
12, Thornhill will bring the program to the Wildflower painters and will be
teaching her style of painting. She said anyone can join and, if interested,
should call her at (903) 893-5716.
Once Thornhill discovered painting, she found the activity to be relaxing and
peaceful. “I love planning and finding what I’ll work on,” she said. “I love
every bit of it and that’s why I keep doing it.” And, it’s okay with Thornhill
if she spends a lengthy amount of time on one of her works of art. she said. A
tour through her home bears that out. She displays piece after piece of some of
the most beautiful, detailed work anywhere. She said she prefers acrylic paints
to oils because the oils take much longer to work with. Her paint of choice is
the Jacquard line.
Her work can be seen in two shows per year. She said she participates in a show
with a needlework friend each November and with her painting group in December.
She also donates to several charity fund-raisers in the Texoma area. She also
does commission work.
Thornhill describes herself as a third-generation Shermanite. She was born and
raised there and graduated from Sherman High School before earning a business
degree from Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. She attributes her depth of art
development to the many classes she’s taken over the years. She’s particularly
proud of a small stand she painted in a class that took her seven years to get
into. She said the teacher holds classes in her home in Kansas and takes only
seven in a class.
Even after 23 years, her work continues to develop as she learns new techniques.
Next week she’ll be in Houston for a convention and is looking forward to the
four classes she’ll be taking there. “Being exposed to so many different
teachers gives me new ideas all the time,” she said.
Currently, in her home studio, she is working on Santa Claus cutouts and has
several other pieces going at the same time to get ready for her two shows. She
said, if someone is even slightly interested in picking up a paint brush to see
if they like it, she feels strongly they should try it. “I enjoy it so much,”
she said. When she began 25 years ago, she had no idea of the artist who lived
within. She just wanted to try it.
Nancy Genetti awarded Outstanding Chapter Service Award
Nancy was awarded the Outstanding Chapter Service Award at the annual meeting at
the SDP Conference in Nashville. This award is given each year a
Chapter member who has given outstanding service to her chapter(s).
Paintings for her Church
Sharron White, with help from Bette Thompson, has been working on two large
"canvases" for her church's Easter Pageant. They are 12' x 15'. See what
they have created! .
Sowing the seeds of a hobby
On a whim, three years ago, Brenda Ruble of Denison planted a few seeds along
her backyard fence. Those little seeds have led to college courses and the
unexpected beginning of an artistic adventure for Ruble.
The seeds Ruble sowed were gourds - believed by experts to possibly be the only
plant to have been cultivated across the entire globe.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2005/07/10/life/iq_1888066.txt
Click here for a picture of more of
Brenda's painted gourds.
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Library of Congress Ornaments:
In September of 2005 members of the Society were given the opportunity to paint
ornaments for the Library of Congress in Washington DC. This was not an
official Society function, but organized by Deb Malewski. Artists that
painted ornaments were invited to a reception in early December. The
project was called "Creativity Across America", here were book-shaped ornaments
from each state. The background colors were specified and the
ornament was to tell a story about your state.
Nancy Genetti send in an ornament.
If anyone sent an ornament to the Library of Congress please send a picture to
be posted here.
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