Tess Newall

Sussex-based decorative artist Tess Newall trained for a decade as a set designer and painter in the film industry — experience that now underpins her hand-painted bespoke murals and furniture. She draws on historic patterns and a deliberately artisanal touch, with collaborations on homeware ranges with Liberty and Matilda Goad alongside commissions for interior designers and private clients.

Acclaimed artist and set designer specialising in hand painted homewares and decorative painting.

Course

An Introduction to Decorative Painting

In this in-depth course you will learn all the fundamental decorative painting techniques you need to embark on artistic projects of your own. From her Sussex studio, Tess will teach you how to approach painting a range of different surfaces and objects, how to create patterns, where to find inspiration and how to develop your own style. To help you build your skills and mastery of the subject, Tess will guide you through four step-by-step design projects, including painting a card lampshade, a decorative bordered mirror, a cupboard and a showstopping ceiling.

32 Lessons

Included with membership

Lesson plan — 32 lessons

01 Introduction to decorative painting

01 Meet Tess
02 Tess’ inspiration and style
03 Finding inspiration in historical buildings

02 Getting started

04 Tess’ tool kit Part 1 - Brushes and sponges
05 Tess’ tool kit Part 2 - Tapes, pencils and other useful equipment
06 Tess’ tool kit Part 3 - Prepping, painting and finishing
07 What to paint

03 Fundamental patterns and techniques

08 Brush handling and mark-making
09 Key Patterns and Motifs - Part 1 - Observing patterns
10 Key patterns and motifs - Part 2 - Creating simple motifs
11 Key patterns and motifs - Part 3 - Adding detail to botanical motifs
12 Key patterns and motifs - Part 4 - Combining motifs in a flower garland
13 Stencilling
14 Creating patterns with masking tape and templates
15 Creating a colour wash - Part 1 - A wall wash
16 Creating a colour wash - Part 2 - A furniture wash

04 Colour and design

17 Creating a colour palette
18 Composition and design

05 Project 1 - A painted lampshade

19 A painted lampshade - Part 1 - Inspiration and colour
20 A painted lampshade - Part 2 - Perfecting your design
21 A painted lampshade - Part 3 - Preparing to paint
22 A painted lampshade - Part 4 - Painting your lampshade

06 Project 2 - a painted frame

23 A Gypsy wagon inspired painted frame - Part 1 - Inspiration and design
24 A Gypsy wagon inspired painted frame - Part 2 - Painting the frame

07 Project 3 - a painted sideboard

25 A Swedish-inspired painted sideboard - Part 1 - Creating a moodboard
26 A Swedish-inspired painted sideboard - Part 2 - Composition and design
27 A Swedish-inspired painted sideboard - Part 3 - Painting a practice panel
28 A Swedish-inspired painted sideboard - Part 4 - Painting the sideboard

08 Project 4 - a large scale mural

29 A foliage ceiling mural - Part 1 - Inspiration and colour palette
30 A foliage ceiling mural - Part 2 - Composition
31 A foliage ceiling mural - Part 3 - Practising the detail
32 A foliage ceiling mural - Part 4 - Painting the mural

Start learning Watch a free lesson

“I took Tess Newall’s course with Create Academy and it was absolutely fantastic. Tess is an excellent teacher and the way the course has been structured and filmed was pure joy to experience. I am fully inspired and have already started implementing many of the things i have learned. Highly recommend it!”

Jess De Wahls

“Create Academy has been such a great resource. I'm in the middle of renovating a bungalow with a very large garden and the courses have offered a wealth of information to dive into and explore new ideas. I'm loving Ni...”

Harvey Jun 10, 2026

“Absolutely love Create Academy! The instructors are extremely informative, and it is beautifully filmed. Create Academy is great value for money and plan on renewing my subscription yearly because there are such inter...”

SG May 31, 2026