When he began his painting business in 1983, Joel Turpin made a commitment to excellence through quality work that both he and his customers could be proud of. That reputation has been a cornerstone of the company since the beginning and continues to hold true today.

Over the years, Joel Turpin Painting has worked on numerous high-profile projects in the Little Rock area including the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas Rice Research Facility, the historic Capitol Hotel and many more.

But none have had more meaning than the work that the company has given back to its community, says son Nick, vice president of Joel Turpin Painting.

The Turpins and their employees have donated their time and labor to projects such as Habitat for Humanity homes and an Arkansas firefighters memorial repaint. They have also donated their labor for several projects at the Salem United Methodist Church in their hometown of Benton, Arkansas.

“My father, my mom, my sister and me all go to church there, so we have a long history with them,” Nick says. “The largest project we have done for them is an arbor that we built a few years back. It is an open wooden structure that has a large exterior fireplace and is used for outside worship, weddings, birthday parties and reunions.”

The newly-repainted arbor is pictured above and at the top of this story. Photos courtesy Joel Turpin Painting.

“My father actually sandblasted and painted the arbor in the early ’90s,” Nick says. “This is the first time it has been painted since then.”

All exterior wood areas were prepped and coated in the most recent repaint, including ceilings, rafters, joists and columns.

“We started by washing all surfaces with a pressure washer, and using an exterior wash product to treat any mold and mildew,” Nick says. “Then we scraped any loose paint and primed all raw wood with Sherwin-Williams Extreme Bond Primer.”

Their topcoat of choice was Duration® Exterior Acrylic Latex Satin.

“We have used Duration Exterior for about 20 years,” Nick says. “We have a long history with the product and know that it will last a long time. The product sprays excellent, brushes out smooth, and has excellent touch-up. The overall quality that we like is the longevity of the finish. We used that product on both my house and my father’s house. We believe in it.”

The payback for paying it forward

What is the greatest reward for giving back to their church and community?

“For us it is knowing that we are doing a project that the community can take pride in,” Nick says. “Knowing that whatever it is, the material and workmanship is top notch and will be useful to the community for years to come. Our employees enjoy it because they also live in the community and take pride in doing these kinds of projects.”

In the end, it makes the relationship between Joel Turpin Painting and the Little Rock area even stronger.

“We just want to thank the support of our community and the employees at Sherwin-Williams who work hard to make sure all of our projects go smoothly,” Nick says.

This article was published in the Summer 2023 issue of PPC magazine. ©2023 Randall Reilly. Story by Mike Starling, PPC Editor. Photography courtesy Joel Turpin Painting. Read about other high-profile paint projects in the PPC magazine archive.