Portfolio
Elizabethan Interiors
Reproducing the unexpectedly bold and colourful wall paintings and painted cloths of our Tudor ancestors.
We tend to think of the Tudor home as all whitewashed walls and dark beams but in fact walls and ceilings were highly decorated with all manner of bold and vivid pattern; beasts, grotesques, trellises, florals….the peak of our English Renaissance at the vernacular level.
Some Past Projects
MULTIVINE PAINTED CLOTH
Stiffkey Old Hall, Norfolk
FOUR ELIZABETHAN PAINTED CLOTHS
Shakespeare’s Birthplace Museum, Stratford-upon-Avon
An Elizabethan painted cloth at Bayleaf, The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Chichester
EARLY 18TH CENTURY PAINTED CLOTH
Blakesley Hall Museum, Birmingham
BAYLEAF PAINTED CLOTH
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum
STRAPWORK WALL PAINTING
Tudor House, Herefordshire
Captivated by the beguiling and long forgotten decorative tastes of our Tudor ancestors I have been researching and reproducing Elizabethan painted interiors for over 20 years.
In that time I have developed a hands-on understanding and appreciation of Elizabethan decoration and have amassed a substantial repertoire of Elizabethan reference material, photographs, literature, samples and techniques.
Having completed an art history degree I then served an informal apprenticeship with David Cutmore, an expert in these traditional techniques. I continue to draw upon Elizabethan designs both for historic reproduction and for contemporary projects.
Whilst it is always rewarding to paint these enchanting designs directly onto the walls of timber-framed houses where they belong, they also translate wonderfully to fresco secco, painted furniture and painted fabric. For soft furnishings such as cushions and curtains, I use modern fabric paints (see my Painted Fabric Portfolio)
Wall Cloths
These are painted on linen using traditional size and natural pigments. They can be stiffened cloths that are stretched and tacked wall-to-wall or softer cloths designed to hang freely from a pole like a tapestry.
These large cloths are a versatile alternative to wallpaper whether painted with historic designs or brand new ones.
I am happy to discuss your project so please feel free to contact me.
Bayleaf Painted Cloth
A short film about the creation of a painted cloth for this late medieval open-hall house at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum near Chichester. (2014)
