Painter and decorator

Aimee Brown

Most of us have experienced a painting disaster at least once in our lives. Initially, the notion of saving a few bucks by painting your own house seems like a brilliant one, but more often than not, you’ll end up covered head-to-toe in a colour two shades too dark, with only a fraction completed of what you set out to do.

Professional painter Mark Mallinson, 28, is eager to dispel the myth that his is an uncomplicated job. “A lot of people think painting is easy and they also underestimate how long it takes,” he says. “I see it all the time. I had a mate who thought he could paint his own apartment in a week after work each night, but he ended up having to take three days off work to get it done.”
Mallinson started painting when he was in high school.

“I worked as a painter for a friend during school. When I finished, he offered me an apprenticeship,” he says.
During his apprenticeship, Mallinson completed his Painting and Decorating Certificate at Ultimo TAFE.

He said the course taught him all the essential technical skills he required and also gave him the opportunity to try out a few specialist areas.
“We did the basics and also looked at more creative techniques such as marbling, graining and window glazing,” he says.

His interests lie in breathing life into run-down old houses. “The best part about it is coming to a job where the house looks old, but when you leave, it looks beautiful. It’s quite rewarding,” he says. One of the best things about being a painter, he says, is the insight gained from the various assignments.

“You see lots of different houses, which can give you great ideas for your own house. I am often doing bits and pieces on my home,” he says.
And it can also earn you some valuable brownie points with family and friends.

“When I renovated my mum’s house, I got a lot of ideas from what we do at work and what I see in the houses that we work in. I’m also helping a friend paint his new unit. My mates are always asking if I can help them out painting,” he says. Mallinson says the adaptable nature of his work means it is not difficult to find work overseas, making the life of a painter a very flexible one. He once worked in Canada.

“I spent a year working in Toronto because that’s where my wife is from. It was very different there.  It was so cold that we couldn’t work on the outside of a house in the winter,” Mallinson says. He’s enjoyed better weather working on and off for Curl Curl-based company Belling Painting for the past 10 years.

How to be … a painter and decorator
You usually have to complete an apprenticeship in General Construction (Painting and Decorating) at a registered training organisation, such as TAFE. Call the Master Builders’ Association on
02 8586 3555 or visit www.mbansw.asn.au