Arcadian Thames:
a printed Vista for Zoffany
Date
June 2023
Hand-painted at Melissa White Studio, Hastings
Client
Location
Zoffany (Sanderson Design Group)
Meaning "rural paradise", Arcadia is a place of virtue and pleasure: a glorious waterside idyll, where nature breathes, and romantic gardens thrive. When Zoffany invited me to contribute a newly commissioned design to their Arcadian Thames collection, the brief was to capture that quality in a floor-to-ceiling landscape, with the iconic architecture of the Thames as it winds west out of London as the backdrop.
This was my sixth collaboration with Zoffany, and I approached it the way I approach all large-scale scenic work: with a body of research, a collage composition, and then several weeks of painting.
The design
My brief was to capture the essence of the Arcadian Thames in a fantastical floor-to-ceiling landscape: to re-envisage the iconic architecture dotted along this idyllic stretch of the river as it wends its way west out of London. The mythical King's Beasts, including a unicorn, a dragon, and a yale (with spinning horns!) are pictured wandering along the riverbanks.
These are not decorative conceits. The King's Beasts are the creatures that lined the bridge at Hampton Court, that appeared on the gates of royal palaces, that populated the visual imagination of the Tudor world. Working closely with Zoffany's Design Director Peter Gomez, I drew upon references from tapestries, medieval bestiaries, and classical art to create the collage composition.
Look closely and you will spot Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare, Strawberry Hill House and chapel, Marble Hill House, Hampton Court, and in the far distance Syon House.
The process
Once the collage composition felt right, I traced it in outline and projected it onto paper at the studio. From there, the process became painting: chalk paints applied over several weeks, building up the surface with the layers and spontaneity that distinguish a hand-made piece from a digital one.
The finished artwork was translated by Zoffany into wallpaper without losing what the painting had. That translation is never straightforward; it requires care on both sides. The result is a surface that still carries the warmth and irregularity of chalk paint on paper, even at full room height.
The collection
Inspired by the grandeur of riverside mansions and meticulously landscaped grounds, the Arcadian Thames collection launched Summer 2023 and comprises five prints, five weaves, one embroidery, and six wallcoverings. Many of the designs are reworked from documents in Zoffany's incredible archive. My design, along with an exquisite embroidery by Livia Papiernik, was newly commissioned to complete the collection. I find that context satisfying: a newly made piece finding its place among documents that may be decades or centuries old, and holding its own among them.
Arcadian Thames represents the pinnacle of how I love to work: a brief rooted in rigorous research, a partner with the heritage to trust the creative process, and a result that takes on a life of its own within the world’s most considered interiors. I am at my most inventive when translating archival depth into new, living designs. If you are developing a collection that requires this level of historical immersion and painterly intuition, I welcome a conversation.
Arcadian Thames is available in two colourways, Wedgwood Blue and Mineral, through Zoffany and their global stockists.
“Arcadia is a waterside idyll where nature breathes. By re-envisaging iconic riverside architecture and populating it with mythical King’s Beasts, I created a floor-to-ceiling vista that carries the warmth of chalk paint into the grandeur of a modern riverside mansion.”