Baltimore's Screen Painter

Meet Dee Herget. She lives near Baltimore, Maryland, and gets to paint screens all work day. Yes, you read correctly - she paints screens. The kind that decorate the windows on the front of city row houses while giving privacy to the families inside. It's a unique job, one that Dee cherishes.

Dee always liked to draw. While she was busy raising her family, she took a job with the state. When she had the chance, Dee took drawing classes at the Community College of Baltimore. She thought maybe she could find a part time job in the art field. Then she got a job painting window screens. Dee has now been painting screens for 24 years. She said she paints so much that at night she can see screen lines in front of her eyes!

I asked Dee how she decides on her designs. Her customers typically have an idea in mind and they often provide pictures. Years ago they stuck to traditional designs: the red-roofed bungalows and bucolic country scenes. All types of nautical scenes are especially popular, like lighthouses, sailboats, beaches, tugboats, and waterfalls. But through the years they seem to have gotten tired of these same old scenes and now want something different, like angels and Dalmatians and hands. She said no request would surprise her.

Dee finds her customers mainly through word of mouth. She keeps her prices low, and families recommend her to neighbors and other family members. At Christmas she is especially busy, when families remove screens for Dee to paint and no one notices they are missing.

Dee works at home in her pantry. I asked if her business requires lots of complicated supplies. Dee said mainly she needs good quality sign-painters' oil paint and good brushes. With good quality supplies, the screens can last a long time - approximately twenty years. They need a bit of care: putting them away in the winter and brushing them off gently to clean them.

This art form has always been unique to Baltimore. According to Dee's web site www.screenpainter.com, the first screen was painted in 1913 by an immigrant Czechoslovakian grocer. "Concerned about his wilting outdoor produce display during Baltimore's infamous hot and humid summer days, Oktavek moved his fruits and vegetables inside and painted pictures of his merchandise on the outside of his store screens to show the public what was sold inside." What's unique about the screens is that people outside on the street cannot see in, but those inside can see out as if there is nothing on the screen at all. And they add an undeniable touch of beauty to the row houses.

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