Annie Sloan’s Painter in Residence

Project Type: Paint Brand Collaboration

Client: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™

Location: My Hastings studio

Date: Sept 2025 to Jan 2026

Availability: Some items I created for the PiR are now available to purchase.

Please get in touch if anything caught your eye!

I’m delighted to have been Annie Sloan’s Painter in Residence from September 2025 to January 2026.

This innovative programme invites leading artists to explore creative techniques with Chalk Paint™, a medium I’ve loved and used for over thirty years. My debut PIR piece, The QEST Chest, was auctioned in support of QEST in October 2025.

During the residency, working from my own studio, I created showcase works that celebrate pattern, patina, and Chalk Paint, the original decorative paint Annie Sloan created for furniture and walls in 1990.

The Brief

Annie Sloan’s Painter in Residence scheme promotes show-stopping and aspirational ways of using the Annie Sloan range through collaboration with talented creatives.

The aim is to inspire, educate and demonstrate both simple and innovative ways to use the Chalk Paint range.

See previous Painters in Residence here.

For my residency I was invited to produce several projects that reflect my style and ways of working with this fabulous paint range.

In perfect synchronicity, my projects at the time aligned with the Annie Sloan colour palette and the unique properties of the paint. I was excited to immerse myself in this full spectrum of colour.

The Projects

#1 The QEST Chest

I was awarded a QEST scholarship in 2007 to deepen my research into Elizabethan decoration. That support led to many opportunities, and I remain a loyal advocate for QEST. When scholars were invited to donate a piece for the charity auction, I knew it was the perfect moment to bring these projects together.

When they invited their scholars to donate a piece of work to their Charity Auction I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to combine projects….

Meet The QEST Chest—my first project as Annie Sloan Painter in Residence.

Inspired by Swedish folk art and Indian block prints, this vintage chest is alive with dancing deer, fantastical palms, and two serene figures with rainbow halos. The story continues as you lift the lid to discover a spotty horse wandering between painted palms.

Painted in Annie’s brand new Chalk Paint™ colours (Canvas, Tyrian Plum, Jaipur Pink, Rococo White, Sandalwood Red) with a touch of Aubusson Blue, it’s a joyful play of pattern, patina, and colour.

A love letter to folk traditions and to Annie Sloan’s philosophy of “no rules, just play.”

The QEST Chest was donated to the @qestcraft auction in October 2025 and sold for a handsome bid.