Chinese wallpaper painting class

Last Saturday I went to a fabulous painting class held in The Rickyard in Walpole Park. The class was arranged by the Pitzhanger Museum and involved a group of 30 of us being taught the techniques of Chinese wallpaper painting. I had been to visit the Pitzhanger Museum in April (which you can read about in an earlier post) and admired the beautiful reception room on the first floor which is covered in the most stunning Chinese painted wallpaper. It had all been painted by decorative painter, Alasdair Peebles, over a period of 6 months and he taught the class on Saturday. He started with a slide show of how he had researched the images for the wall by visiting many stately homes around Britain.

Each of us were given a selection of pots of paints that looked like gouache but were actually acrylic and quick-drying, as well as a colour photocopy of a small part of the original painting which included a bird and a section of flowers.

We were also given a piece of tracing paper with a loose outline of the image on it.

We then traced the outline image onto a piece of sponged paper using carbon paper that leaves a light pencil-type line.

After tracing the outline onto the paper we then had to fill in each shape with the corresponding colour on the photocopied sheet.

It was so therapeutic to sit and paint. We started by filling in the shapes with colour. You then go back and add detail such as shadows and the veins on the leaves.

Chinese wallpaper is traditionally very stylised and not always true to nature.

After we had finished the class, we went to the Pitzhanger Manor to see the original paper created by Alasdair Peebles, which you can see below. It really is a masterpiece and so beautifully rendered.

Many birds were used in the wallpaper design and when they are seen on branches and standing they are usually seen in pairs, as if in a dialogue with each other. The birds and butterflies that are in flight were added later as cut out pieces that were glued on.

See how stunning the room looks! It really was a labour of love!

Anish Kapoor

A few weeks ago I went to Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, the country home of renowned architect Sir John Soane. I've written about my visit to the Manor and its stunning drawing room with hand painted Chinese wallpaper, but I would also like to mention the Contemporary gallery that is next to Soane's House. The gallery has recently been upgraded to create a modern, light-filled space and will present three exhibitions a year of work by artists, designers and architects.

The first exhibition to be shown in the new space (which opened on 16th March) is by the work of Anish Kapoor showing a series of sculptures that echo Soane's complex use of mirrors and light to double and dissolve space.

With Kapoor's work being shown in this space, a relationship is created between the sculptures, architecture and the viewer. Space becomes confused and tricks the eye, like this structure that sits in the middle of the gallery space. It reflects the surroundings but also has a spherical cut out which the brain finds difficult to understand. Even up close, it's hard to work out what is happening on the inside of the circle.

The concavity of these works disrupts the space of the object and creates an active space around it.

In some pieces he also uses colour and magnifying techniques.

The surroundings become a part of the art itself, reflected in the highly polished mirrored surface.

Some items change as you move past them, such as the piece below. From one angle is is painted a stunning matt red and yellow colour.

Move to the right and the same sculpture is suddenly a mirror where your reflection is upside down.

 The photo below gives a feel for the gallery space which has a clean and light contemporary feel but mixes it with traditional styles, such as the glass-domed ceiling.

This stunning exhibition is on until 18th August.