HELPFUL HINTS FOR

CHART PAINTING

Anyone with normal ability can paint a chart if he really wants to. With a determined mind, a little patience and lots of practice, you can produce charts that you will be proud of. We preachers often tell other members of the church that they can preach a sermon if they really want to and will try. This is the way I feel about painting charts; you can, if you really want to and will try.

Having made up your mind to learn to paint charts, you need to obtain the proper materials. First, let me suggest that you buy a copy of a speedball text book. I have one written by Boss F. George. These can be obtained from an art supply store for about $1. This book is very helpful because it shows you how to hold your brush and how to make the different strokes of each letter of the alphabet. Perhaps you would like to get a water-color brush and some water colors and practice making letters on lined paper before you actually start on a chart. This will give you some experience and help you to have confidence in yourself.

For actual chart painting you need brushes of different sizes, different colored paints and material to paint the chart on. There are different kinds of paints, and brushes, and material! that can be used, but I prefer the following. I use rubber base, latex paint such as is used to paint the walls and ceiling in a house (darker colors are best). This paint can be purchased almost anywhere. The best brushes which I have found to use are marked "signet by Robert Simmons. " (There are other brands, too.) These can be purchased at a paint store or art supply store and come in different sizes or widths. I use a #8 for painting the titles on charts, a #5 for sub-headings, and a #4 for the remainder of the chart. You may prefer other sizes; it's just a matter of choice.

Your charts can be painted on bed sheets. You can buy these cheaper about twice a year when the department stores have their "white sates." Bed sheets come indifferent sizes but I prefer the 72" x 108" size. By cutting a sheet this size in half, you can paint two charts, 4j ft. by 6 ft.

When painting charts, I thumbtack the bed sheet to a piece of wallboard which is attached to the wall in the study. It's best to thumbtack the sheet on all four sides, making it taut and removing all wrinkles. Next, I sketch in the chart with pencil. I begin with the title and draw off lines a certain distance apart, depending on how tall I wish to make the letters. (The title should always be larger than the rest of the chart.) After drawing the lines I sketch in the different letters of the title. This is the procedure which I follow for the entire chart unless there is a picture that is to be drawn on the chart. By sketching in the chart with pencil you can arrange your spacing correctly and eliminate mistakes in the actual painting of the chart. It's always easier to erase a small pencil mark than a stroke of the paint brush. I use different colored paints to illustrate the chart in different ways. (All the verses of Scripture in one color, for instance.)

You may consider this a long drawn-out process, but practically everyone that I talk to tell me they understand a gospel sermon better when it is preached in connection with a chart. I consider this to be important enough for me to devote a little extra time and effort in my preparation to preach.

By using these helpful hints and with a little patience and practice, I think you will discover that chart painting is not as hard as you imagined.