I first got bit by the painting bug when I accepted a summer job painting houses right out of high school as a means of working my way through college. Oh boy, that seems like a lifetime ago. Hello, my name is Steve Henn and I am the owner of Brushstrokes Painting Company. If you're wondering why I'm still painting, well, the answer is simple.....I didn't graduate college. Yet. I say yet, because if there's one thing I've learned to be true in life, it's never say never. Although I was only 18 years old when I finished high school and bought my first pair of professional painters whites, painting wasn't my first job, nor was it to be my only career choice.

     I grew up on the east coast in a small bay shore town, Keyport NJ. With four brothers and a close knit family living in a neighborhood full of friends, life was good. We fished the bay, crabbed the creeks, and played stickball in the street. Mom was the manager of the house and supervisor to me and my brothers. With a fourteen year age range from oldest to youngest son I still have no idea how she kept up with us. Dad went to work everyday but Sunday. He worked hard, putting in many hours a week to provide for all of us. He retired from a lengthy career at a local family owned car dealership where he held several positions in sales and management. Before cars, as a younger man, dad worked in the chemical lab at the National Lead Company formulating house paints. Yeah, that paint, lead paint. Today I hold an EPA RRP Certification to remove lead paint. So I guess you can say dad and I have come full circle on this product.

     With his own 5 son crew dad was never hesitant taking on home improvement projects around the house. I remember as a small kid  holding on to the tools and handing them over when they were needed gave me a sense of accomplishment. My brothers and I learned from early on what putting in an honest hard days work was all about, even before knowing how important this would be later in life. Dad was forming the mold that would make us good men. My brothers and I didn't stop with just working on dads projects. We'd walk the neighborhood with snow shovels after a good storm knocking door to door to earn a buck clearing sidewalks and driveways. We mowed lawns, raked leaves, painted, and performed other home maintenance tasks like installing storm and screen windows before the seasons changed. We did these odd jobs for elderly neighbors, church members, and friends of the folks.

     During my last two summer vacations in high school I worked for a local general contractor who lived in our neighborhood. He and his wife were both friends with mom and dad. I learned a lot working with him and his crew. They were a positive influence on me, especially my work habits. I was 16 and 17 years old those two summers. I learned the basics of roofing, siding, drywalling, finishing and trim carpentry. He offered me fulltime employment to start after graduation. I respectfully declined, instead I accepted an offer painting with a good friend who had graduated the year prior. The new painting job allowed me to work more flexible hours and this was soon going to fit better with my upcoming community college schedule.