Monday, January 23, 2017

Exterior Painting is Possible in the Winter

With the Right Paint and the Right Conditions, Exterior Painting is Possible in the Winter

Until the invention of weather-resistant acrylic exterior paint, Canadians had only a small window of opportunity for exterior painting. If the weather was too hot, paint was prone to bubbling and cracking. And if it was too wet or cold, the paint wouldn’t adhere properly and be prone to mould and mildew.

But now that exterior paints can stand up to Canadian weather, it’s possible to get that paint job done in the winter. If you’re planning to sell your home and want to update the exterior with a fresh coat of paint, you no longer have to wait until the warm weather arrives. You can get the job done this winter and have your home on the market sooner than later. Here’s how:

Before Exterior Painting

No matter the weather, you still need to prepare the exterior of your home for painting. Preparation includes cleaning the exterior with a power washer and removing any ice or snow. If the temperature is below zero, you should wait for a warmer day to spray water on your home. You want to coat it with paint, not ice, after all!

Be sure to choose a paint colour that goes well with your home, landscape, and neighbourhood. A great paint job will boost curb appeal. Potential buyers will be more willing to buy a home at asking price if there is a fresh and attractive coat of paint on your home. For advice on exterior paint colours and preparation for exterior painting, don’t hesitate to contact professional exterior painters.

Cold Weather

If it’s below zero, your paint job (not to mention your body!) at the mercy of the cold weather. However, certain exterior paints, such as the Dulux Diamond Exterior, can be applied in temperatures as low as 1˚C. And with the warm winter Ottawa’s been having, this means you can finally paint outside if you don’t want to wait until spring.

Humidity

Humidity and precipitation are known to ruin exterior paint jobs and cause the formation of mould and mildew. But if you’re hoping to paint your home this winter, you still can! Mould- and mildew-resistant paints contain fungicide, so if it happens to rain or snow soon after you paint, you don’t have to worry about this growth.

Fast Drying

If you’re trying to beat the sub-zero temperatures and snow and want to get your home painted in time to put it on the market next week, don’t worry. Fast-drying exterior paints are your best bet, and can even let you get another coat applied within a few hours.

Exterior painting in the winter may seem daunting, but it is possible with the right paint, the right conditions, and the right skills. Exterior painting experts can give your home a fresh coat of paint this winter so you can put it on the market before spring.

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Monday, January 16, 2017

Bottom Feeder

Don Searcy, the inventor of the Bottom Feeder has invented a product that he says:

In the paint industry, time and resources are a valuable asset. Any time saved during the cleaning process, by making clean-up faster, enables you to get more work done and finish more jobs! With resources saved through the use of less water, you not only put money in your pocket but are all the while environmentally conscious. But there is more! Not only will you save time and save on water, less paint is wasted saving you more resources and creating less of a mess to clean-up. With its unique design, not only can a sprayer be used in the paint industry, but also in fields such as cleaning, decontamination, agriculture and much more.

 

This has sparked some interesting conversations among painters, and Don was kind enough to send several kits out to our Product Feedback team, check back here to see what they, and others have to say!

You can also Follow them on Facebook or check out the website here.

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Blogging Painters
The Blogging Painter is always out on the web looking for the best information to share with readers.

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The 5 Pillars to a Successful Local Digital Marketing Campaign – Part II

Every painting company is unique, and every digital marketing campaign requires a unique strategy tailored to the needs of your business. With that said, there are consistent “pillars,” that together can work to help your painting business increase online traffic, leads, and sales.

In part one of this two-part post, we discussed two of the five local digital marketing pillars. In this post, we’re going to discuss the importance of earning online reviews, community involvement, and tracking.

Pillar #3: Reviews

Earning reviews from satisfied clients is important for a couple reasons. One, they provide social proof that can influence a potential customer’s decision to contact you. In fact, one survey found that 90% of customers are influenced by online reviews and that 85% of customers reported reading online reviews.

Two, reviews are a major visibility factor on platforms like Yelp, Houzz, Porch, and Google My Business to name a few.

I reached out Lauren Poblete, one of the account managers we work with at Houzz, to get her thoughts on how painting professionals can increase their business’s visibility on the social platform. Here’s what she had to say:

Build out your profile and get reviews – reviews are the #1 reason why clients decide to choose a professional! You can check out our guide on reviews here

Review strategy

Now that we’ve established the importance of receiving online feedback, here are a few tips that can assist painting contractors with consistently earning new reviews:

Do

  • Make it easy for customers to find your social networks and even easier to leave a review. This can include adding social badges to your website, and/or creating a reviews page that links directly to where customers can provide feedback
  • Ask a customer if they’d be willing to leave an online review before a project. Get their permission to follow up once the project is complete
  • Once the project is complete, follow up with a phone call, SMS, or email. In addition to making sure the client is 100% satisfied with the entire project, let them know that you’d value any online feedback they’d be willing to provide
  • Provide customers with a small gift after a project is complete that includes a thank you note and a message stating how you’d appreciate an online review
  • Give your team an incentive. There’s nothing wrong with running a contest internally that rewards the team member that’s able to get the most online reviews from your satisfied customers

Don’t

  • Focus on a specific social network. Yelp and Google have algorithms in place to detect unnatural activity. It’s best to let customers know you’d love online feedback and provide them with options

Never

  • Entice your customers to leave a review in exchange for payment, gift cards, discounts, etc. It’s against most providers’ terms of service, and jeopardizes the reviews you’ve worked so hard to earn

Reviews Page on Your Website

In the “Do” section, I mentioned creating a reviews page on your website. Here’s an example of one we created for a client that lists the four most important social platforms for their business:

 

Pillar #4: Tracking

A wise person once said, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This is a mantra we live by at Congruent Digital. Without proper tracking in place, it can be challenging to understand what online channels are driving new leads. While a new customer may say they found you in Google, was it from the paid search campaign, your local pack result, an organic result? The reality is that many customers don’t know the difference.

Here are a few tools available to help you track and evaluate success:

Google Analytics

Use Google Analytics to assess what channels are driving qualified traffic e.g. visitors that are completing forms, signing up for a newsletter, or calling your directly from a mobile or desktop device.

While Google Analytics is a powerful tool out of the box, in order for it to be as insightful and actionable as possible, three things need to happen:

  • Have a professional that’s certified audit your implementation and setup
  • Create and apply filters for clean data. Unfortunately, GA is still plagued by referral and bot spam that can really offset key metrics
  • Goal tracking. Understanding what visitors are completing desired interactions can help you assess the value of an online channel or marketing campaign

Dynamic Call Tracking
Dynamic call tracking works by adding a script on your website that dynamically changes the number so it can assign the source of the call. The number(s) that are dynamically displayed direct the calls to your primary phone number.

Pros – many of the top call tracking tools have dashboards that can include the name of caller, phone number, time of call, source of call, and call duration. Also some like CallRail, have integration options for popular CRMs and Google Analytics

Cons – it’s not your actual number. If you decide to discontinue the service, there is the chance someone has saved a dynamically generated number and will use it to try and reach you

It’s important to note that Yelp, Houzz, Google My Business, and others all have their own reporting dashboards to help you understand how potential customers are interacting with your business’s profile.

CRMs
Chances are, many of you use a CRM to track leads and sales. I’ve always considered CRMS to be the final piece of the puzzle that can assign a lead from your other channels to an actual sale. If you aren’t using a CRM, David Chism, a marketing coach who works exclusively with painting and home remodeling contractors, had this to say:

There are dozens if not hundreds of CRMs available on the market. Many of the painting clients I work with use PipelineDeals, Salesforce or Base CRM. PipelineDeals is a bit more of your basic CRM but can do a lot. It is a rock solid CRM with great support. Base is a few steps ahead of Pipeline and offers a lot more mobile capabilities. Salesforce is the name brand for CRM. It was one of the first on the market for being online based. It can do a lot or a little depending on how much you pay and how you customize the platform. I also know many a painter who thought it was a little too complex for their needs and settled for less features.

Perhaps the most affordable and easy to use CRM I know and have enjoyed is Highrise. The cost is only $24 a month for up to 6 users. This will do the trick for many painters out there. Then as your company grows, or you want more features, move to some of the others I mentioned above.

Tracking typically involves combining data from multiple tools to help you paint a complete picture.

Pillar #5: Community

Getting involved with your local community is a great way to give back, but can also be an effective way to get the word out about your local business. Many painting contractors have started charity paint programs where labor and services are donated to a family or nonprofit organization in need. Some of the benefits of starting your own charity program can include:

  • Content – sharing photos and videos from the event on your website, social channels, etc.
  • Partnerships – many large paint providers will partner with painting contractors for these events and donate the paint. You may also want to explore other local partnerships with businesses that are looking to get involved and give back
  • New business – as you know, referrals and word of mouth marketing are huge! Giveaways, events, and charitable donations help raise awareness and strengthen your value proposition as a local business
  • Media/Press – donating your time and services to someone in need in your community is newsworthy! Get the word out about your event

If you’re thinking about starting your own charity program, here are a few examples to help you get a feel for what other painting contractors are doing:

Wrapping It Up

Combined, these 5 pillars can effectively work to help you increase awareness for your painting business and increase traffic, leads, and sales. Questions? Feel free to email me here or leave them in the comments below.

Author information

Brian Jensen
Brian Jensen is the CEO of Congruent Digital, a full-service online marketing agency that provides cross-channel marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes. Congruent Digital proudly partners with A David Creation to provide painting contractors with results-driven digital marketing services.

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Field Pulse

Here at Blogging Painters, we often are contacted by inventors, software developers and industry representatives. They are very interested in the feedback from our readers on products and ideas. Recently the folks at Field Pulse contacted us, they want to refine their product to make it better suited to the painting industry. I posted in one of the Facebook groups I frequent and they had some great questions. Field Pulse answered them below and offered 45 day free trials to a select group.
We’ll post their thoughts later, but feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.
Q: “Looks like it could be beneficial. We just started to use tsheets for our time clock.”
A: Tsheets is a great program for what it does. We are releasing a feature in the next 60 days that will does everything Tsheets does time sheet wise, within our robust solution. We are about to go into beta testing for this feature and would love for you to tell us what you think, as well.
Q: “Integrate with Square?”
A: Yup! We fully integrate with Square and QuickBooks
 
Q: “But this one seems actually integrated with billing and accounting. That’s a huge bonus. I’d like to see an actual invoice and proposal if anyone has one.”
We just released our QuickBooks 2-way sync integration, that means it automatically syncs all updates in both programs which is HUGE. Most are only one way.
 
Q:  “Looks like it has some good features, but do you know if it does auto-followup by email? I am currently looking at new CRM’s for 2017 and that is the main feature I want.”
 
FieldPulse handles payments, invoicing, scheduling, time tracking, employee location tracking etc. We found that the vast majority of users use email to communicate and their google calendars to stay on top of things.
For these reasons we have decided to integrate with the Google suite in the coming months, this will allow sync with Gmail and Google Calendar as well as other services they provide. They can provide the backbone of messaging and we will inject that into our system that covers everything else you need. Below is a link to Job status updating.

Author information

Chris Haught
Editor at Blogging Painters at Partners in Sites
Chris Haught is the editor of Blogging Painters, the leading resource for paint contractors. Chris also works with contractors to improve their website and social media presence. When not blogging about the painting industry, she works in the educational sector as a media and technology mentor.

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Thursday, January 12, 2017

Winter Hues to Beat The Blues

Ottawa Painting Companies Recommend Interior Painting Over the Winter Months

January’s here, bringing more snow, more slush, and gray clouds. We could all use a splash of colour in our lives! Ottawa painting companies have just the solution for the winter blues: put a fresh coat of paint on your walls!

You’ve probably got a few doubts about interior house painting in the winter months. That’s totally fair! It might not seem like an obvious match at first, but there are a few great reasons why you should consider getting your interior painting project done when the temperatures start to drop. Here’s why:

Beat Cabin Fever

Cabin fever is all too common in mid-January. It’s either too cold or too wet to enjoy winter weather, or you’re waiting for the next snowfall to get out and hit the slopes. Painting is a project that can make you feel active and engaged. After all, there’s only so much time you can spend watching TV before you get antsy.

Painting will help keep you focused and can let you tackle spring decorating or cleaning a bit earlier than usual. By the end of your painting project, you’ll be ready to sit back and relax—and it’ll feel even better knowing you’re enjoying a job well done.

Paint Sets Better in Winter

It is important to let a room ventilate while it’s being painted. Before you start worrying about catching a chill, you should know that many paints these days are low-odour. You just have to crack a window a little to provide some extra ventilation.

Dry, crisp winter air can help paint set and dry faster (and better) than in humid summers. Just be sure you’re avoiding damp winter days—the moisture in the air can mess up what would be an otherwise beautiful paint job.

Better Painting Company Availability

Because interior painting seems like a strictly summer job, many homeowners don’t think to hire painters during the winter months. This means they’ll have greater flexibility in their hours, making them more available for your schedule.

Snow and sleet won’t stop painting companies in Ottawa from taking on indoor projects. Many painters are more than happy to take on a project anytime throughout winter. Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean they’ll close shop and hibernate for the winter.

So, if you’re feeling cooped up and more than a little confined, consider adding a splash of colour to your home’s interior this winter. It will keep your mind and your hands busy.

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Sunday, January 8, 2017

Is Your Painting Business Using Call Only Ads On Google To Drive Immediate Leads?

What are call only ads on Google?

While the answer to this question seems self explanatory, there are key distinctions between call only ads on Google and text ads with call extensions.

Checkout this picture of the Google search results for a mobile search on an iPhone for the keywords: Baltimore Commercial Painting Contractor

call only ads on google

The “red ad” is a standard text ad with a call extension. A click on the blue text will direct users to the advertisers landing page or website for this specific ad. The phone number, which appears the bottom of the ad in gray is a call extension. Clicking on the phone number will launch a call to advertiser.

The “green ad” is a call only ad. A click on this ad launches a phone call right to the advertisers business and does not redirect to a landing page.

Why should painters use call only ads on Google?

Call only ads on Google can eliminate two of the major challenges of a traditional PPC campaign. First, call only ads eliminate the need for a great landing page or website. Painters with below average websites can still take advantage of all the leads that flow to local contractors through Google search.

Second, call only ads on Google can generate more affordable leads than traditional PPC. Assume it costs $10 per click for the keywords “local house painter” on Google. For $100 you get 10 visits to your website. A 20% conversion rate (which is off the charts good) would mean 2 leads for $50 each. Assume a call only ad click costs $25 for the same keywords. Now your $100 results in 4 leads for $25 each.

How can my painting business set up call only ads on Google?

The process for setting up call only ads on Google can be challenging. It requires an active Google AdWords account with a linked and verified phone number. Additionally, the nuances of writing call only ads are different from text ads because they are trying to generate direct phone calls, not website clicks. Before launching your campaign, consider these 5 strategies for effective call only ads on Google.

There is also a Google help tutorial on the topic or the team at AltaVista Strategic Partners is available to help. They can be reached by phone at 443-960-4004 or by sending them an email to set up a no cost initial consultation.

Have a question or comment?
Post it in the comments below and we will be sure to follow up with you!

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Aaron
Vice President of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners
Aaron Hockel is a partner and the vice president of digital marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners, a full service marketing agency working exclusively with commercial and residential contractors. AltaVista specializes in marketing campaigns designed to generate top of funnel sales leads. Their services include email marketing, direct marketing, search engine marketing, and social media marketing. As a proud PDCA member, Aaron and the team at AltaVista currently work with more than 40 painting contractors around the country.

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Sunday, January 1, 2017

Growing your business

Running a successful painting business is not limited to simply working harder and giving the best output; it involves a lot more than that. Creating strong relations with your clients, spending on advertising and marketing, managing your costs and expenses as well as finding ways to make your way into the mainstream business community are some of the key factors that help in making a business successful – and your painting business is no different.

Whether a solo painter or an established paint contracting business, if you want to expand your business and get noticed by a larger clientele, you will have to make some changes to your business plan and strategy.

Here are some useful tips to help you get started in the right direction:

Use different advertising and marketing methods

If you don’t create awareness, you won’t get noticed. This is the only way to grow your clientele. Advertising and marketing can be done in a number of ways. Ask your friends and family to spread the word about your business. Ask a satisfied customer to recommend you to their circle or help you land more projects.

Hire a photographer to take professional pictures of your work. Make a portfolio which can be shown to prospective clients at consultation meetings to give them an idea about the quality of your work and the services you offer. Use these pictures to place ads in local newspapers, TV (local advertisements), hand out flyers etc.

The best opportunity to showcase your work to a huge circle of clients is by partaking in public events. For examples, an event organized by builders. Offer discounts or complimentary services to customers who book consultation appointments or services at the event.

Hire the right people

Hire people who are good at painting, so you can concentrate on other aspects, such as marketing and lead generation, that are important for increasing sales.  Some key points to remember while hiring are:

  • Quality of the person matters more than quality of his work; the latter can be improved.
  • Avoid hiring someone out of obligation. Get someone who has experience in the field and will be a good fit for a position.
  • Let them know of your expectations regarding work and train them if they have the perseverance but lack the skills.

Of course, this will require you to learn management skills. And, you will have to target a bigger monthly profit margin that will leave you with some extra cash after paying off the salaries.

Use technology for innovation

Social media is perhaps the most powerful media today and has maximum customer reach. Use social media to painting acumen, variety and styles. You can also use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to advertise and attract potential clients. Your clients can also give feedback on your page that will benefit you in two ways;

  1. It will help you improve your business.
  2. Your business will get noticed by their social circles.

There are a number of apps and online software options that can give clients an idea about how the color scheme or wall décor you suggest will turn out. This helps clients make the right decisions. It also saves you from the hassle of post-paint complaints from their end.

Some examples of such apps are Paint my place and House painter pro.

Never stop learning

The key to consistent growth is constant learning. As time changes, there are advances in every field and this requires learning new things. Even if you are an expert in your field, you will soon be outdated if you stop learning.

Learning is not limited to books or taking formal training. Keep experimenting with your skills to learn, keep learning from your failures and be a keen observer to learn.

Combine these tips with your expertise and skill set to run a successful paint contracting business. 

Audrey Throne is a mother and a professional blogger by choice. She has completed her masters in English literature from university of Birmingham. As a blogger she wrote quite a few posts on health, technology as well as management. She loves to discover new places and share experiences in words. Find her on Twitter: @audrey_throne.

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Employee Classification – The 1099 Debate

With the “sharing economy” and “gig economy” continuing to grow, the debate around employment classification rages on. Companies like Uber and Lyft are at the forefront with lawsuits being filed around the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, Uber recently agreed to pay $100 million dollars to resolve disputes in California and Massachusetts.

We frequently get calls from clients who are classified as independent contractors when they are actually employees. This can make all the difference between qualifying for workers’ compensation benefits or receiving nothing at all.

Employee misclassification is a big problem around the United States.  The IRS has even written about it. Some businesses intentionally pay wages as non-employee compensation (Form 1099) to avoid purchasing required workers’ comp insurance. This has a real human cost when employees get hurt and cannot pay medical bills or support their families.

Who is considered an employee for workers’ compensation purposes in Michigan?

Amendments to Michigan’s Workers’ Disability Compensation Act (WDCA) in 2011 changed who is considered an employee. On and after January 1, 2013, services are employment if performed by an individual whom the Michigan Administrative Hearing System (MAHS) determines to be in an employer-employee relationship using IRS revenue ruling 87-41.

Factors to be considered include:

  • Instructions
    Training
    Integration
    Services Rendered Personally
    Hiring, Supervising, and Paying Assistants
    Continuing Relationship
    Set Hours of Work
    Full Time Required
    Doing Work on Employer’s Premises
    Order of Sequence Set
    Oral or Written Reports
    Payment by Hour, Week, Month
    Payment of Business and/or Traveling Expenses
    Furnishing of Tools and Materials
    Significant Investment
    Realization of Profit or Loss
    Working for More Than One Firm at a Time
    Making Service Available to General Public
    Right to Discharge
    Right to Terminate.

This is a departure from the old test that focused on whether a person maintained a separate business, held themselves out to the general public, and were an employer subject to the act. Additionally, the Michigan Supreme Court previously found that income tax records were directly relevant to the question of employee status. 

A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit examined the issue and seemingly applied a hybrid analysis finding the old test was not necessarily replaced but supplemented. This issue will surely be addressed in future Michigan appellate court rulings.

While there remains confusion about Michigan law, it is clear that many people are unfairly denied. We recommend speaking with an experienced attorney if your workers’ compensation benefits have been disputed based upon employment status.

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Local SEO for Paint Contractors

local seo

 What is this and How can it Benefit Contractors?

If you want to successfully market your business and make it grow, you have probably heard that SEO is the way to go. Search Engine Optimization is beneficial no matter what type of contractor you are. Whenever it comes to SEO marketing, local SEO is the next best thing for contractors to consider. 

What is local SEO for contractors? What makes it a different SEO approach? Why is this beneficial to your contractor business?

Local SEO for contractors is a term used to describe contractor SEO marketing aimed within the town or city where your business is located. This means marketing your contractor business to local clients, whether they are online or offline customers.

The Advantages and Benefits of Local SEO for Contractors

  • Easy to Apply: Applying local Contractor SEO to your business is not so challenging nowadays because of some SEO tools you can use like Google Maps and Google Search.
  • Finding Quality Leads is Easier: It’s frustrating to get leads, only to find out that they are far from where you are or the phone numbers cannot be contacted. With local SEO for contractors, you get leads from local clients only. With this, you are certain that they are quality leads or leads that can really turn into customers.
  • Easier for Leads to Find You: With local SEO, you make your contractor business easier for these leads to find. This means your business is enlisted in local listings, which is what most clients are searching for. Most clients find local contractors a practical option for their needs.
  • Highly Effective: Local SEO for contractors means you are enlisting your business to Google Maps and other local directories online. With this, the use of the internet means more people will see your contractor business. This will eventually lead to more potential clients.
  • Serves as a Stepping-Stone to Contractor Business Growth: Applying local SEO may mean starting to reach out to customers within your area. If you succeed in this local venture, you will have more opportunities to expand your business and cater to non-local clients in the future. This will eventually lead to more success for your business. In short, local SEO for contractors also means gradually taking your contractor business to success.

Even if local SEO was not really considered before, the many benefits your business can get is proof that you don’t have to reach that far to make your business grow. It actually pays when you start checking for local opportunities first.

Begin your local SEO efforts by registering your business on Google My Business.

Enter your business name, address and phone number so your local customers can easily discover your company through a Google Search and Google Maps. You can even reach new customers without currently having a website! Create a description about your business and upload photos to help your customers truly understand the type of services you offer. Once your business is verified by Google, you will be visible online to all local customers.

Make sure your website has the needed information.

If you are using the YOAST All in One SEO plugin, then get the Local SEO plugin. If you are not using YOAST, then use a WordPress plugin in like Local SEO and Business Listings. This will enable you to add local information to your site that search engines will detect. This is important, as Google knows the location of a user when they are doing a search and will serve up results based on the closest businesses to their locations.

Check your content!

You want to use relevant keywords in your content that matter to the people in your area. Target your specific region by using terminology for your neighborhood or specific region in your posts and pages. Use the name of your neighborhood in the text of your posts. Use your neighborhood as part of your description on your Google My Business page. Use it in your tags. Use it in your profiles. Use specific messages targeted to your neighborhood. Use a subheading that targets your neighborhood. Use images that reflect the style and architecture of your area.

Article Provided by Mr. Pipeline Internet Marketing for Contractors. © 2016

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