A Swedish-inspired painted sideboard - Part 1 - Creating a moodboard
with TESS NEWALL
Lesson 25 of 32
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Your third project is painting a large piece of furniture. With the stakes slightly higher, Tess goes through the additional preparatory steps she takes when designing something of this scale.
From the Lesson Workbook
A Swedish-Inspired Painted Sideboard - Part 1 - Creating a Moodboard
I'm now going to be showing you how I approach painting a large piece of furniture. The piece I'll be demonstrating on is an antique sideboard, and I want my decorative painting to celebrate the shape and structure of the piece.
Creating a Mood Board
When working on a large creative piece, it's a good idea to collate all of your inspirational references into a mood board. It helps you to consolidate your ideas, as well as try out colour combinations before working on your mock-up.
A mood board could include:
- Images of patterns and motifs you want to use
- Fabrics that are also being used within the same room
- Other textiles that can act as palette references
- Tiles with interesting colours or motifs
- Pottery that uses techniques you're inspired by
- Paint swatches you want to include in your palette
- Natural shapes and textures you want to replicate
Colour Palette
Allow your mood board to guide the creation of your colour palette. Think about what you want to be the hero colour and the tonal quality of each shade.
Below are the colours I am including in my palette, all by Edward Bulmer.
- London Brown
- Red Ochre
- Malahide
- Navy Blue
- Trumpington
- White Lead
Sourcebook
Trematonia Jacquard fabric in Ecru, House of Hackney
Moorish Maze fabric in Pale Celadon, Rapture & Wright
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Your Instructor
Tess Newall
Acclaimed artist and set designer specialising in hand painted homewares and decorative painting.
Tess Newall is a decorative artist based in Sussex, specialising in hand-painted bespoke murals and furniture. Following a decade of experience as a set designer and painter in the film industry, Tess has mastered how to bring a creative vision to life. She often draws on historic patterns and aims to capture an artisanal feel, where textures and brushstrokes add to the atmosphere of a room or to the character of a furniture piece. Tess and her studio team work with interior designers and private clients on bespoke commissions for both commercial and residential projects, as well as collaborating on homewares collections with brands including Liberty and Matilda Goad.
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