About Screen Painting

Local lore states that in 1913 an East Baltimore grocer grew weary of the his produce wilting in the hazy, hot & humid summer. So he took his fruits & veggies inside & painted images of his goods on his window screens. Rowhome residents soon realized that the still functional screens offered an illusion of privacy by causing passersby to see the idyllic image as opposed to a direct view into their humble abodes.

The folk art spread to many door & windows in the area but remained, as it still is today, concentrated to the East Baltimore neighborhoods of Highlandtown, Canton & Fells Point.

Traditional painted screens usually include scenes of a red roofed cottage nestled in dense woods fronted by a winding path leading to a pond with a white swan. These were the painted screens I grew up admiring.

All of my screens are hand painted. This is not silk screening or air brushing. I use acrylic & or enamel paints.