BARBARA
WURDEN
When Faux Fun showcased their line of instructional
DVD’s at the National Hardware, you were able to
meet almost the entire production team. That’s
because the talented artist is also the director, writer,
camerawoman, instructor, and on-screen talent.
Barbara Wurden began her decorative painting business
in 1988, hoping to produce a little side income until the
art world discovered its next Andy Warhol. But the
creative aspects of faux finishes were engrossing, and
Los Angeles area designers and builders soon discovered
her talent. The faux painting business flourished.
Most instructional materials for faux painting at that
time were in print form. Her clients and friends
loved to watch her work. "How do you do that?" "Can
I do that?" Yes they could, Barbara decided
if she created a video to show them the steps. The
idea blossomed into a ten title DVD series.
With each new video, she realized she could do more of
the production on her own, on her own schedule. She relished
more artistic challenges, setting up interesting camera
angles and delivering clear and inspiring scripts. With
some painting techniques, it’s hard to deliver the
information and demonstrate quickly. As Wurden once noted, “Do
you know how fast paint dries and how reflective wet paint
is under floodlights?”
A converted greenhouse in Wurden’s Long Beach backyard
offers great natural light and a beautiful environment
to produce her videos – with only a few drawbacks. Sometimes
unexpected noisy neighbors, barking dogs, a garbage truck,
or airplane, mean setting up that perfect scene again!
It’s almost a one-woman production company. She
credits her long-term editor with taking her clips and
making the narrative flow seamlessly. She collaborates
with her National Sales Director on creating compelling
ad copy, and occasionally taps professionals for help with
writing projects and graphic design. But still, Faux
Fun is a thriving business resting on the considerable
talents of the artist.
Beyond faux finishing and video production, Wurden
is a fine artist at heart and will make time to fulfill a commission
to do a painting or a mural. She specializes in large-scale figurative
and abstract painting. www.wurden.com |
