Illustrated Furniture

I've included pictures of some illustrated pieces of furniture here today. They were done some years ago and the photographs were not very good. The resulting scans couldn't be improved on, really, but I apologize.

The great thing about decoration is that it can rescue a discarded old piece from ending up in the landfill site. I see so many old chests of drawers waiting for pickup on 'bulky items' garbage day, and it wrenches at me that I have no car to take them home. These are the ideal pieces for restoration. Even the saddest-looking furniture, with a bit of minor gluing here and there, looks amazing with a really good paint job. They become instant heirlooms. And that was my blurb on my advertising when I used to sell them through a local gallery, where the owner would feature them in his window. I haven't seen anything like these for years.


This was an ancient and ugly workmen's chest, taken away for free from a man who kept it in his nasty old basement for wood storage. Now it sits proudly in our living room.


This was dumped by a neighbor, and was a rather unpleasant-looking thing until I painted it. Can you just make out the drawer knobs?


A thirties style chest of drawers I paid $10 for at Goodwill. I painted it red first, then black, to give it real depth, rubbing it back a bit to let some red show through. Then I added the illustrations. This sold for a heck of a lot more than $10!


Before and after shots of an old jam cupboard belonging to a lady who wanted it to tone in with her color scheme.

I included her and her cat in the window.


I painted two jam cupboards as chicken hutches. The "wood stain" is actually a paint effect, not stain at all. One of these was sold as soon as I painted it, and then I just had to have one for myself. Can you just make out the chicken wire?

Of course, as a vegetarian, I would never have a real chicken in a hutch..

A Nod To Trompe L'oeil

Some years ago, during one of my settled periods - that is, a time when I stayed put for more than five years - I began doing Trompe L'oeil murals, for my own home and for friends. I sold illustrated furniture as well. I don't call my pieces decorated, because that implies flowers and bows, and things all pretty for a girl's room. Mine are a bit different. Most of them were sold, some are still in the family. One chest of drawers was painted over with white paint by a family member who will remain nameless here. She was "bored of" it, as she put it. I was heartbroken that she could be so offhand about something I had painted, but I said nothing. But it hurt. See, I still think about it.

Now, while we're at it, the English language crank within me would like to pursue the common usage of the preposition "of" in that expression, "bored of". It only turned up around 20 years ago. Prior to that, it was unthinkable to use anything other than "bored with". It irritates me to hear it, especially when somebody on the BBC used it recently. I wonder what poor old Fowler would think, were he here. Language is constantly changing, rearranging itself, otherwise we would still be speaking Ye Olde Middle English, but I just can't accept that usage. Does anyone share my crankiness? Am I turning into a curmudgeon? (Look it up!)

So I've just slipped a few "fool the eye" pictures in to show you. I like this kind of art, and - except for that amazing Twisted Tree at Etsy (link on the left) - you don't see much of it around. In the olden days you had to be rich to have a mural in your house. English country houses (and the White House) have murals that continue around the room. Today, you will still need some serious cash, because it stands to reason that the artist is going to take a long time making your living room look as though it's facing out over an ocean. But there are simpler views, easier options.

The following pair of pantry size doors are 6 feet tall, each about 20 inches wide. I did them for a very modern and minimalist kitchen. The client wanted something to cover the old fuse box on one wall, but he still needed to get to it, so doors were the thing. One door opened, and you'll see what I painted inside, and the other door was fixed, with no reason to open it. I found it refreshing that the man who commissioned them, although he loved his modern room, wanted something to soften it. I was happy to oblige.









I'll show you some more tomorrow.