Cathy Rinn of KellyBelle Studios is a decorative painter and Stenciler with 20 years experience - plus an additional 10 years experience as a classroom art teacher. Cathy is also the Stenciling Certification chairperson for IDAL and brings her enthusiasm for stenciling and the certification program to this course. Cathy believes in a collaborative class atmosphere and will share tips and tricks and answer a myriad of questions to get her students inspired to go Stencil something Spectacular!

Dionne Woods of The Turquoise Iris is an artist, creative coach, podcast host, and BloomTV expert known for her vibrant and expressive style. She is also the founder of The Turquoise Iris Magazine, a platform for artists and creatives to share their work and experiences. Through her membership group, one-on-one coaching, and magazine, Dionne helps others tap into their creativity and find their unique voice through art.

Kass Wilson is the owner and creative director of WallsTreat Studio, an award-winning decorative artistry studio in Alpharetta, GA. Kass has a lifelong fascination with depth of color, dimension, and design. This is what motivates her ongoing journey as an artist in the world of advanced level decorative finishes. Kass Wilson has been involved with the design industry for over 30 years. She appreciates the opportunity to have worked with some of the most talented designers, architects, and builders in the area. Developing these relationships has been a key element to the success of her company. As a result, a majority of her business comes from their referrals.

Michelle Bergman is a decorative painter, artist and teacher. She’s been a lifetime lover of all things creative. When asked how she got started in the arts, the answer includes a story of encouragement from her dad, a career in graphic design then a refocus to a hands-on career in the arts that better worked with her family’s schedule. Nearly 25 years into it, she’s painted everything from walls to cabinets and furniture to murals and art on canvas and glass. Behind the scenes, Michelle devotes a substantial amount of time to developing new finishes and studying with accomplished artisans from all over the country to keep up with the latest trends, expanding her practice of creativity, and feeding her creative soul. Her passion to help others find ways to express their creativity is a huge focus in 2023.

Pierre Finkelstein is a renowned author and decorative painting artisan. Originally from Paris, in 1987, Pierre built a reputable business, Grand Illusion Decorative Painting, Inc., in New York City. He is recognized for his realistic renderings of faux finishes like marble, wood, and trompe l’oeil. Pierre Finkelstein is a 1986 gold-medal graduate of Van der Kellen, Institute in Belgium. In 1990, Pierre was awarded the prestigious award of "Best Craftsman of France." He attributes his success to hard work, strong business sense, and continually learning from every job. He is the author of two popular books on decorative painting, Recipes for Surfaces, (Simon & Shuster) and The Art of Faux (Watson-Guptill). In 2019, Pierre moved his painting institute, The Pierre Finkelstein Institute of Decorative Painting, Inc. to a permanent brick and mortar location in Brooklyn, New York where he hosts in-person training for domestic and international students. The school and future online courses coincide with Pierre’s philosophy of the importance of teaching the very niche trade of decorative painting. Additionally, for over 15 years, Pierre has offered superior quality decorative painting supplies on his online store, www.FauxBrushes.com

Born in Philadelphia, Ron's life has revolved, from early age through young adult, in the field of fine arts. He studied Commercial Art at AIPH in Philadelphia, then lived and worked in Europe for almost a decade. It was Europe where he first learned decorative plasters. In the late 90's, he brought his life lessons and business to Florida. His work can be found throughout the US and Europe. He has honed his craft and gained respect amongst his global peers. His techniques are "listening to the material", as he puts it, combined with traditional materials and methods. Ron's process has proven to be one of the best handwork methods of this material worldwide.

Sheri Zeman has been a Faux Effects International instructor and distributor for the last 22 years, proud to host classes and events in her suburban Chicago studio. Working closely with the design industry Sheri strives to challenge her skills by bringing the most current and sought-after trends to the classroom. Her vision for modern, understated, yet impactful finishes allows her to make strides in the field transforming her extensive product knowledge into gorgeous high-end wallpaper looks that continually sell. The work of Sheri and her team has been featured on several episodes of HGTV as well as featured in numerous publications.

Trained by world-renowned masters, Chris Burke has an expertise reflecting more than two decades of experience in the art of decorative painting. He started painting under his father’s tutelage 30 years ago, restoring homes from the 1800s. For the past 20-some years, he’s been operating a residential and commercial faux finish business. Whether creating or matching unique faux finishes or duplicating intricate marbles and fine woods, Burke’s talent marks him as a true artisan. Born and raised in metropolitan Washington, D.C., he now resides with his family in Leesburg, Virginia. His Mr. Faux Studio, which opened its doors about a year ago, now holds classes and employs a crew of six.

Dora Kearney is a self-taught fine artist, decorative painter, and teacher. As a fine artist, Dora has built upon her natural talents by taking courses at San Antonio Museum of Art, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Fount Atelier School of Fine Art and several other courses and classes. She incorporates all her skills and techniques on everything from walls to furniture including murals and art on canvas. You can see her work intermittently displayed at the local City Hall and several model homes in the Kansas City Area. Dora has taught classes on doodle zen art, faux finishes, drawing, watercolor, furniture refinishing and decorative finishes. She has an eye for color and works to stay on top of trends. Her creativity and skill combine nicely to make the best outcome in any space or any surface. Dora is an avid supporter of the arts and is a member of International Decorative Artisan League (IDAL), Metro Artisans Guild of St. Louis (MAG), Blue Springs Arts League and the Opera Omaha Guild.

Michael Glickman has been in business for over 25 years. Started as no English speaking emigrant and currently is a president of Art Space NYC and Marmorino Depot in New York.

I began my faux career in 2001 with a passion for creating. I studied with the masters of the business in the US and also traveled to Europe. After years of doing walls, ceilings, furniture, and cabinetry, it was a natural move to begin creating art. I want to share what I've learned and give back to the industry that's been so generous to me!

From running an award-winning decorative painting company to writing a popular design blog to helping market world-renowned companies, Regina Garay has planned and executed an extensive range of marketing and public relations efforts. She currently helps manage The Paint Hive's Marketing Essentials program, and runs Right Brain Loves Left, where she teaches individuals and groups, online and in person, the strategies for marketing, time, and project management success.

Ruth Giovannetti has been working in the decorative arts for 28 years. During that time, she has been able to experiment with various mediums and art forms, largely due to classes and events, like this convention. She has had the pleasure of working in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Illinois, as well as a work trip to Beijing and Dongguan, China. Gio Studio works in authentic lime plasters, glazes, acrylic mediums and on all surfaces possible. Ruth has been teaching hand silvering glass for about 3 years and through extensive trial and error, she has been able to silver glass and eliminate the pain of removing the backs of commercial mirrors. Now, hand silvered distressed glass is about 1/3 of her income.

Susie Goldenberg Long, the creative director and owner of Farmhouse Furniture and Cabinet Paint has been creating decorative finishes for over 3 decades. She has owned one of Atlanta's largest international decorative finishing schools, painted commissions for influential clients, received mastery level awards, guest speaker and presenter at National conventions, featured on HGTV and many national magazines and registries. She has led European painting tours, teaching painting techniques to hundreds of participants while painting a villa in Italy for many years. Her extensive background and expert knowledge has kept her on the leading edge of the industry and a trendsetter in the design world.

Blessed to be located in a busy market, Houston,Texas has treated Cindy well. The diversity of client base and the creative nature of local designers has allowed this artisan to stretch her abilities. After 25 years of Decorative Painting, Cindy is giving back to the industry by teaching some of the techniques and styles she has had the joy of using. As she gradually steps off the scaffolding, her skills have been put to good use creating commissioned artworks for Interior Designers and clients across the country. Her journey as an artist has come full circle since Glassell School of Art was at her beginnings. She has learned from Master artisans and artists all over the world to round out her professional offerings on wall, canvas & panels.

As a wise person once said, “He who loves what he does, never has to work a day in his life”. Henri instills that passion for cabinet finishing through his creativity, quality, and professionalism. Henri has spent almost 34 years in the painting industry covering over 2500 cabinet and furniture projects. Known across the nation as a premiere cabinet finisher and instructor of the always popular Cabinet Master workshops & lectures, Henri has traveled to 3 countries and over 20 states serving clients and students alike. After this class, Henri plans to enjoy a Snickers bar with knife and fork, while lounging a top the Grand Budapest Hotel. Happy spraying my friends!

Michele is a 18-year veteran of the decorative painting industry, practicing her craft around the beautiful resort community of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Whether it’s mixing familiar products in uncommon ways, or fabricating custom application tools out of unexpected items, Michele combines her extensive Faux Effects product knowledge and outside-the-box methodology to develop unique and highly sought after finishes that she enthusiastically (and sometimes comically) shares with her students.

Patricia's painting career began in the theatre in 1977, first studying scene painting while a student at The College of William and Mary; where she graduated with a B.A. degree in Theatre and Speech in 1981. She continued her theatre training as a student on full scholarship at The British American Acting Academy in London, England. Then in 1986, she began to translate her creative skills into decorative painting while living and working as an actor in NYC. Patricia's acting career enjoyed twelve successful seasons appearing in theatres in New England (working with such luminaries as Christopher Walken, Sigourney Weaver, Nathan Lane, Allison Janney and many others). And today, she records voice overs for scripted podcasts in her spare time. During her career in decorative artistry, Patricia has studied at a number of American studios: The Day Studio, The Faux Institute, Faux Effects Studio, Faux Works, Dundean Studio, The Finishing Source; and also attending a professional artisan's class at Atelier Nadai in France. Over the years she has had the pleasure of studying with such Master Artists as Patrick LeHayne, Michel Nadai, Carolina D'Ayala Valva, and Pierre LeFumat. She worked as a Decorative Artist in NYC for 12 years, then in 1998 moved to Tucson, Arizona - where her solid training and experience gave rise to the creation of Finishes First. Patricia has also enjoyed teaching classes for many years at Pima College and other locations (her popular "Faux for Walls" and "Faux Marble" classes have garnered unanimous "excellent" student ratings.) A long-time member of IDAL, in 2005, Patricia was accepted as a member of the prestigious International Decorative Artist's Salon, a yearly gathering of 100 of the finest decorative artists from 30 countries around the world. As a member of Salon 2006, a panel of Patricia's work was exhibited at the Escher Museum of the Queen's Palace at The Hague in the Netherlands. In 2009, Patricia created a 1/6 scale room heavily decorated in grottesca, and finely detailed to replicate a circa-1860 Venetian boudoir. This charming piece was exhibited in the Salon at Museo Storico in Bergamo, Italy. Then in April 2010, Patricia completed a faux pietre dure panel (which was exhibited at the Versailles Town Hall (in France.) Her work has also been viewed at Salon exhibitions in Tokyo, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Petersburg Russia, Seattle, Lecce, Leeuwarden, Chamonix and other venues. Her gouache painting "Circle of Fifths" is on permanent exhibit at the Tucson Music Museum. Patricia's residential and commercial decorative painting work has been featured in numerous magazines including: Tucson Home, Tucson Lifestyle and Tucson Home and Garden magazine, as well as Faux Effect's World and a number of other publications. In 2020, Patricia was named “Decorative Artist of the Year, for Arizona” by Build Magazine.

Robin Belisle is a self taught artist that began her decorative painting career in 1998 after an extraordinary encounter with a faux finishing class. From there, she made a pointed decision to become the best decorative painter she could be and searched out award winning designers and builders to work with. She has traveled to Italy, Paris, many times to Morocco and all over the world leaving her mark on homes and hotels in need of artistic interpretation. This in turn has helped her hone her craft and create many signature finishes based on her travels; and she has been featured in magazine articles, at trade shows and the local news as trends to watch. She began teaching in her own studio and then taught many classes across the US. She joined the Board of Directors for the International Decorative Artisans league (IDAL) as education chair. As that chapter drew to a close, she knew she would eventually be teaching more. She has since joined other instructors on THE PAINT HIVE teaching online decorative painting classes.

Sandra Gonzalez a professional artist and decorative artist with over 35 years experience. Owner and operator of A Work of Art and Design 7Seven. After teaching art and working in floral design, Sandra started A Work of Art in 2001. Design 7Seven Acrylic Glaze was brought to market in 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. Three new Design 7Seven products were launched September 2022.

Tobey R. Sanders has more than 20 years experience in decorative arts, and is widely recognized for her faux finish techniques and stunning line of contemporary art. In 1997, Tobey launched FauxDécor Design Studio – a super talented decorative painting company – providing both residential and commercial clients with uniquely designed and custom faux finishes. She specializes in Plasters, such as Glassello, Lusterstone and Marmorino. She’s widely known for her popular GlamRock Mica Finishes and Diamond Glass technique. In 2015 Tobey created “Faux With The Pro”, a series of decorative painting workshops that empowers men and women with the knowledge and skill set to open their own decorative painting companies. In 2020, Tobey launched the Decorative Painting Academy, an online learning portal for entrepreneurs interested in starting a decorative painting business. Since conception, her client list has included design firms and developers in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC, as well as, celebrities, entertainers and athletes across the nation. She has also been featured on HGTV’s Smart Home, Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Vh1’s K Michelle’s: My Life. Her faux finished rooms have been showcased in numerous publications such as, Black Enterprise The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Washington Spaces Magazine, Season Magazine, and Living Spaces Magazine. Tobey strives to give each client a truly unique finish that matches their vision. She believes in maintaining the highest levels of commitment and quality of work for each and every client. Whatever your faux finishing needs may be, you’ll always experience faux finishing at its best with FauxDécor.