The Partnership of Paint
9781465673602
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
PAINT as our partner in all the affairs of life may be a new thought, but it is an old established fact nevertheless. In reality paint is so interwoven with every turn of the wheel, that it is forever at our side, like our Siamese Twin. Suppose we were to wake up some morning to find that paint in every form had been eliminated from the world, from our lives! What consternation, surprise, indignation, and havoc would reign everywhere! Whether for better or worse, for good or evil, it is part of the very warp and woof of our every-day existence, and what a pal and benefactor it really is. Think of our morning train, our motors, our boats, our houses, as paintless! What a queer jumble life would be. But here stands our partner—paint—ready to jump into any breach, and make life full of comfort and happiness and cheer, from the building of a new house, where the painting of every wall, every bit of trim, has to be carefully planned and decided upon, to the many small things about the house that can be transformed by the “Magic Touch” of paint. The dear old home that has stood in rain, and wind, and snow, for years, and begins to show its many battles, seems to implore us to brighten up its faithful face. And so we do. We paint it a soft old ivory white with fresh green shutters, and it seems to expand with joy and happiness, and smiles back at us a radiant smile of thanks; and as we regard it with warm affection, we suddenly realize anew how much we love it and owe to it, and a feeling of most tender warmth fills us, and fills our day, and Life takes on a fresh beginning. We return at night with a new glow of well-being in our hearts. It passes on to our friends, to whom our radiant newly dressed house also gives joy. It permeates the very air, and indirectly works its way into unknown channels for good; for nothing we ever do can remain unto us alone. Every act, however small, has its immediate reaction, like the circles made by a pebble, spreading ever wider, far beyond our vision. The whole community is cheered because of our freshly painted house. Take the practical side. Suppose you have a house you want to sell. It is shabby, down at the heel, forlorn and sad. If you will put it in condition and paint it inside and out (give it the “Magic Touch”), your chances for selling it are ten to one in your favor. You present your house at its best, at its highest possibilities. Everything depends upon the way a thing is presented. A purchaser immediately sees what it really looks like. One out of a hundred prospective purchasers has the imagination to see it in his mind’s eye and realize its possibilities, if he first beholds it in its downtrodden state. Besides, he isn’t buying possibilities, he wants to see what he is buying. He sees it, he likes it, he buys it. The “Magic Touch” has brought it fresh, beautiful, and living to his recognition. In his mind’s eye he sees his family installed, happy and cozy, within its cheerful walls. The deed is done. The house is sold. Then the joy that paint brings into our lives, the radiance, the color. We all love color, color that Nature first taught us to love. How can we bring it into our midst, with its gay vibrant song? By paint, and only by paint. And so again our debt to paint grows greater with our realization of all that it can mean.
