We all like a job well done, which is why Dulux Trade launched the Masters Series to recognise outstanding decorating work. This year, one of the six prizes has been scooped up by a decorator from Fareham, Hampshire.
David Roy Law, the 55 year old owner of DRL Decorators, beat off entrants from the length and breadth of the UK to become a Dulux Trade Master, a title awarded by the makers of professional market paint brand, Dulux Trade to six of the UK’s most skilled decorators from across the trade.
A decorator of over 35 years’ experience, Law’s specialty, he admits, is wallpaper hanging. It seems however, he’s also a dab-hand at priming surfaces and using colour to brighten up spaces because it was this and his ‘cutting in’ skills that impressed the Dulux Masters judging panel. The Dinky Ducks Nursery internal garden in the Rowner Family Centre in Gosport was put into Law’s decorating hands back in May 2015. The brief was simple: to transform a weather beaten outdoor space back into a bright and happy play area for children. The job took Law, his apprentice son Samuel and employee Neil Davies, one week to prime, prep and paint the family centre’s nursery 10 by 20 metre quadrangle in five different colours.
Law says of the project: “The play area woodwork was in a terrible state to start with; it took the three of us two days to fully prime and prep the surfaces before we could paint them. Normally a job of this size would take one of us about a day and a half, which gives you an indication of how bad things were. But we like a challenge and jumped at the chance to brighten up a space turning it into a happy place to play. Some people are wary of using bold colours but, after many, many years of putting colours on walls, I know what works and what goes together. I use my experience to guide and help customers make better choices.”
This is only the second competition Law has ever won, his first being an obstacle race when he was 10 years old so unsurprisingly he is ecstatic 
to be a Dulux Trade Master winner. He says of his win, “I really didn’t expect to win but am very pleased that I have. It’s nice to be recognised for something I love doing.”
Law admits the project had its challenges but was really pleased with the end result and was glad to be involved in a job that has had such a positive effect on those using the family centre, a fact confirmed by Dinky Ducks manager Julia Batley who is delighted with the renovated space. She said, “The colour scheme took into consideration how the play area is viewed through a child’s eyes. The children love it – the bright colours, the different pairings of colours on the surfaces all provide interesting and stimulating play time for them as they develop. The renewal of the area has made a huge difference to the centre and our children and enhances our Ofsted Outstanding nursery.”
Samantha Balloch, Marketing Manager, Dulux Trade said, “The Masters Series was created to showcase exceptional individuals from across the decorating industry who are displaying the most advanced level of skill in their everyday work.
When judging the entries, we were looking for individuals who could demonstrate, amongst other things, the skill in selecting and applying colour to improve a space as well as a high level of competency and professional skill in delivering what the customer is hoping to achieve. David more than met that requirement; his entry dramatically demonstrated how a play area can be transformed from dreary to cheery through the bold use of colours. Additionally he showed us superb skill with neat straight lines segregating the colours, which we call ‘cutting in’. He was also bold with his colour choices and demonstrated a superb eye for selecting colours that could easily have clashed yet they complement each other. David’s entry showed artistry and ability.”
Law is only one of six national Masters to have been selected. As a winner he will be given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have his hard work celebrated publicly by Dulux Trade. This will involve his winning entry being professionally photographed and subsequently promoted across national, regional and trade media, via Dulux Trade’s website (www.duluxtrade.co.uk/masters) and across Dulux Trade’s social media channels. Each winner will be invited to join Dulux Trade’s product testing panel. Finally, Law and his fellow winners will celebrate their win by spending an all-expenses paid weekend for two in Amsterdam, the home of AkzoNobel and another Master Painter, Rembrandt.
For further information visit www.duluxtrade.co.uk/masters
