The History of Painting is a Mix of Science, Engineering, and Art 

Who doesn’t love spending part of a rainy or dreary weekend binge-watching a home improvement or DIY television show? Even if the inspiration is short-lived — you might go from, “I just have to do this, too!” to “Meh, maybe someday” — the time spent will likely leave a spark of creativity behind. Of course, once you realize the finished product is a fast-forwarded sprint through a marathon and a maze of tools, decisions, and expertise, you probably lean toward being grateful that there are people and companies that provide these services. 

Indeed, painting is an art and a science that requires specialized tools and knowledge. 

Today we all take choices of colors and brands of house paint for granted. You can visit your local paint store and browse countless shades and hues of virtually every color in the rainbow. Bring in a swash of fabric or any colored sample and it can be scanned to produce an amazingly close match of the color in minutes. Of course, the process was not always so simple. We like the way our friends at Franklin Painting summarize a portion of the colorful (pun intended) history of painting. 

“One can just imagine the caveman agonizing over the choice between ‘fire soot’ grey and ‘bison blood’ burgundy for his cave decor. Evidence shows that mankind decorated his living space as far back as 40,000 years ago using what could be called paint. The material was made from all-natural ingredients, too, from colored earth, soot, and organic materials mixed with animal blood and fatty oils. Recently archeologists discovered a site in South Africa that indicated that men (or women) used a yellowish-brown clay soil-based coating which may have been used like paint.” 

Turn the clock and calendar ahead to about 2,000 years ago and ancient Egypt, which made painting an art and science that brightly colored walls — some covered by the sands of time for centuries —have stood the test of time and still look as vivid today as when they were painted. The Egyptians created colors by mixing oil or fat with lead, earth, animal blood, ground glass, or semiprecious stones. The palate included white, red, yellow, green, black, and blue. With those meager options and the early science that was part chemistry, part alchemy, they created intricate and elaborate paintings that illustrated their culture and history. Some of the best painting was reserved for the Egyptian tombs, many of which are quite possibly still undiscovered by modern archaeologists. 

Artists and craftsmen were once commissioned to do the painting, and the house painting profession began as early as the thirteenth century, with gilds of professional painters forming in England a hundred years later. These examples demonstrate the way societies old and new value the expertise and skill of a painter who understand that their tools, color options, and techniques are, indeed, a time-tested melding of art and science. 

Now, there are thousands of paint colors to choose from to help increase the curb appeal of your home, and to create the personality and style you desire. Ai Painting Plus shares that passion and the pursuit of the “just right” color combinations to create a lasting impression that is also both practical and affordable. 

It’s important that you find an interior and external painter that brings knowledge, experience, and reliability — and a deep understanding of this vital history — for your next project. We’re ready to be that painter. 

Jaclyn Rogers
Sales Representative

Jaclyn Rogers, sales representative at Ai Painting Plus, sees paint as more valuable than simply being an accent in a home. “We are painting joy into people’s homes,” she says. Jaclyn is certified as a Psychological Color Expert, which means she has demonstrated mastery in specifying interior paint in residential applications. 

573-639-2343 | aipaintingplus.com