Deanne Fortnam began decorative painting in 1982 when a friend talked her into taking a “tole” painting class. She says the first time she side loaded a brush it was love at first sight. She’s had an interest in the arts since childhood when she began taking drawing classes with a local artist and primarily worked in charcoal and pastels until she developed her interest in decorative painting during the early 1980’s. Deanne joined the Society of Decorative Painters in 1983 and was awarded their prestigious Master Decorative Artist certification, in 1991.
Deanne currently works in many different styles in oils, acrylics and watercolors. She is a popular seminar instructor known especially for her techniques in acrylic realism and has taught throughout the United States and internationally. Deanne has been widely published in the decorative painting field and has written four instructional books, A Symphony of Classics, A Symphony of Classics, Volume 2 , Painting Roses with Deanne Fortnam and A Symphony of Classics, Volume 3.
Deanne is a native of New England and still lives in her hometown, Nashua, New Hampshire with her husband Douglas. She is an avid birder and photographer. She is also a dedicated gardener and spends most of her summers outside with her extensive plant collection. She’s been crafting her beautifully composed perennial borders and container gardens on their Nashua property since 1978 and applies her vast knowledge of the principals of color and composition to their design. Deanne treats the gardens like a canvas and considers the color and texture of the plants to be her ‘pigments’. “The gardens are a living and ever changing composition to be enjoyed in all seasons.”
Her gardens were featured on TV on New England Cable News’ program New England Dream house in the summer of 2004 and on Boston’s WCVB’s Chronicle in July of 2011. The gardens were also included on the Nashua Garden Club’s Garden Tour in July of 2005, Friends of Nashua Symphony’s Garden Tour June 2010, Garden Conservancy’s Open Days, July 2011 and July 2013.
Acrylic Painting Club 