Hello, i have some which are not on your list, such as: An introduction to art techniques - the dk art schools Tatoo art and design - victionary Finally; Color; creative painting series - Barrons. They're great books. First and second one are in great condition. But the last one has minimum water damage, but the pages are fine, and you can see the content clearly. Let me know if you're interested, as I am interested in MANY* of your seeds. (I'm basically drooling for them). - seen

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In Jan. I'd gone on a trip to Mobile with a couple friends to a big flea market there. Before coming home we drove to Dauphin Island - we couldn't believe how badly they'd been hit. I talked with a lady at a convenience store there who'd had a paper route on the island and after the hurricane over half her route was gone, not only the houses, but the property itself was underwater in the Gulf. That's why most of these poor people are fighting with the insurance companies, the property/land itself is gone. As for the MS coast - it was truly difficult to grasp how massive the devastation was, and still is, there. When you only see a picture or camera view of one area, you don't really have any point of reference or landmark to orient yourself as to what area you're looking at. Then you get there, and you slowly begin to grasp the magnitude of it because there ARE NO landmarks left. The beaches themselves are slowly recovering, and of course most of the casinos are back, but as you said all the beautiful old homes are gone, all the businesses & restaurants are gone - amazing to me was that a few of the signs remained, but the actual buildings were levelled. A few of the hotels have come back, but most are either gone or still in shambles. Most all the debris has been cleared away, but it's just such an eerie feeling to be able to see inland for blocks from Hwy 90. As I said, we were returning from Mobile and got on 90 there in Biloxi (the Ocean Beach bridge is, or was at that time, still out) - my friend said the devastation was even worse further west toward Long Beach, but I had had all I could take by the time we reached Hwy 49 in Gulfport - I was in tears and trying to drive, so I headed up 49 toward home. As for my life history (a little of it I was telling PF about on the 'paint dipping' post)....I'll attempt to make a VERY long story short. I was born in Oakland, CA (biological father in the Navy), mom divorced then remarried another Navy man (my step-dad) who got transferred to Pensacola when I was 2. My step-dad retired there, so I lived there from age 2 to 14. At 14 my mom passed away from cancer and I went to live with my older sis whose (now ex)husband had been transferred to Jackson for his job. From there I moved back to FL briefly, met my ex-husband, moved with him to New Orleans, then San Diego, San Francisco, WA state (where he was originally from) and I finally decided to come back home (after 5 yrs. of h*ll)-fully intending to go back to FL. I stopped in MS to visit my sis and my brother (who had since also moved there from FL) and ended up staying there for the past 17 years. I finally got divorced from my ex and eventually found the love of my life (corny,I know)- his mom was born and raised in MS. He grew up in FL too from a Navy family and come to find out, had things been just a little different we probably would've at least gone to high school together. His father was just getting transferred out of Pensacola as mine was being transferred in. And, of course, you already know the reason for the GA move. When I first moved to MS, everyone told me, "If you stay 6 months, you'll never leave". I took it as you wouldn't 'want' to leave - little did I realize that the truth was that you can't AFFORD to leave! It's worse now because the cost of everything is going up, but wages there aren't. After 15 years of struggling there, we figured a change couldn't hurt. Besides, my brother and his family are now back in Jacksonville, so I'm closer to them and my oldest son is in the Marine Corps in NC so I'm closer to him now, too. My sis isn't happy about the whole thing since she's still in MS, but if things work out here, I'm gonna get her moved here eventually! LOL OMG... this is turning into a novel...DH took my 2 youngest to the dentist for me today so it's been quiet and I didn't realize how much I'd rambled on...Sorry - I warned PF about this earlier! :) I need to get some work done before they get back.

Believe it or not there are differences between all three styles of painting but nowadays it's sort of all jumbled together. Traditional Tole or Rosemaling was and still is done with round brushes to create a variety of comma strokes to create your work. The comma stroke is the only brush stroke used in Traditional Tole with some variations of that same stroke and was known for being painted on tin - but was also painted on wood. Tole has become a commonly accepted name of today's painted folk art. Folk art itself is more what defines a specific time or place of where it originated. Decorative painting falls more into the category of using a variety of different strokes, brushes (round, flat, fan, angular, filbert, rake, etc.) and other tools like sponges to create your work. That's what most people are familiar with these days. I agree that www.artistsclub.com is a good place to purchase books. Pat Olson's books are great for beginners as are Priscilla Hauser's books. Both artists are very good with terms and techniques of painting, they have stroke practice sheets, and very easy step-by-step projects. Artists Club has a portion of Hauser's books which usually sell for about $10 at $2.99 and under. Just put her name in their book search. A lot of people enjoy Donna Dewberry's One Stroke method (I use it myself at times) but I think it's worth it to learn the 'old way' of decorative and tole painting and expand on that. I use many styles of painting depending on my current project. Another way to keep up on current trends and techniques in the painting world is to check out some of the magazines available. Quick & Easy Painting, PaintWorks, Painting, and Let's Paint are just a few of the publications that are usually on sale at craft stores. *If you go into the Beginners book section at Artists Club as mentioned you'll find discounted books at very low prices. Don't be afraid to buy books for beginners by artists you don't know or aren't familiar with. All their styles are different and it really adds to the enjoyment of painting. The beauty of that site is that you can browse the book first to see if the artist's style appeals to you. Welcome aboard and have fun!