From the aesthetics of interior design to inspiration gained from country homes
Every artist has different ambitions and motivations. Perhaps, to be around other creative people; the desire to create and offer something unique to the world; the freedom and autonomy an artist’s lifestyle offers.
Over time, groups of artists have come together to be inspired by each other and to inspire. In this context, country houses, where groups of artists have lived in the past, can offer us insight into their lives and is something we can learn from.
The Red House in Bexleyheath, in South East London (the iconic Arts and Crafts home of William Morris and his wife Jane) was the centre of the Pre-Raphaelite circle (a group of artists in the Victorian era, who believed that art should be as similar to the real world as possible). They were inspired by the theories of John Ruskin, a leading English art critic and a gifted painter and writer of prose, who urged artists to ‘go to nature’, pioneering the connections between art, nature and society.
The Red House was commissioned by William Morris in 1859. He envisioned a home where he and his circle of artistic friends could live and work according to their shared love of medieval literature and art. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet, was a regular visitor to The Red House, who described the house as ‘… more a poem than a house …’.
The interior of the Red House is decorated with painted scenes from literature which held potent meanings for William Morris and his friends. William Morris was considered the father and founder of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Original sketch inspired by William Morris
by Patricia J Valenti
Standen in West Sussex, run by the National Trust, was also an Art and Crafts home decorated by William Morris Design & Co. Interiors, with familiar beautiful fabrics with pastoral names such as Strawberry Thief, Willow Boughs, Honeysuckle.
William Morris once said that, ‘A house should be clothed by its garden’ and complement each other. William Morris designs are still as popular today and their enduring popularity I am sure is linked not only to the beautiful designs but to their connection with nature and the outdoors.
Another artists’ country home which can be visited today is Charleston House, in East Sussex. A truly motivating place which was home to the Bloomsbury Group of artists, writers and thinkers. In 1916, Virginia Woolf recommended that painters, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, his friends and relatives move to Charleston House. They forged a new way of living with the house acting as a space of freedom, love and friendship as well as where art was created in every aspect from beautiful ceramics, lamps, crockery, tiles, paintings on doors, walls, fireplaces, art in every corner.
Many artists have been inspired by nature (including myself). Over the winter months it has at least been possible in the UK to book and visit the gardens of National Trust heritage sites, when everything else under lockdown has been closed. Visiting Chartwell, the home of the late Winston Churchill, there is a floating island within the lake and sanctuary to beautiful black swans. Looking at this beautiful black swan photo I am reminded of the first lockdown in the UK at the end of March 2020, when I painted ‘Grace and Serenity’ White Swan, painted at a time when we all needed calm in our lives because of worries for our children, families and ourselves.
Black Swan photograph
taken at Chartwell, Kent
Original Oil Painting on stretched canvas
I have always adored William Morris designs and I can understand how nature inspired such beautiful aesthetic designs in his work. As an artist, I allow the beauty of nature to inspire my work and value its importance. Visiting beautiful heritage sites offers us inspiration from the past and helps us feel connections with those artists who created, shared and lived romantic lives and who still influence us today.
Warmly,
Patricia
‘Love, Joy, Create’ Blog – My love of nature inspires my art practice. Learning from nature, seeing animals and birds fills me with joy. Please follow along with me and create your own inspiration for your art by learning about nature and the world around us. art@patriciajvalentiart.com
Patricia Valenti is a representational contemporary fine artist and life-long painter, based in Kent in the UK, beginning her artistic studies as a young girl. Her passion for nature and the beauty of animals and wildlife can be seen in her work, transforming familiar animals and wildlife into stunning, realistic interpretations with emotional impact. Her walks around the surrounding countryside near her home inspire her work.
Little Bird Collection of Original Oil Paintings and Fine Art Prints, inspired by nature, by Patricia J Valenti
Patricia Valenti is a fine artist and life-long painter, beginning her artistic studies as a young girl. Her passion for nature and the beauty of animals and wildlife can be seen in her work as she puts images together and transforms familiar and rare animals and wildlife into stunning interpretations of bold and muted hues, with emotional impact. Her walks near her home inspire her work.
References
inews.co.uk
National Trust
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house/features/history-at-red-house
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/standen-house-and-garden/features/a-history-of-standen
Charleston
https://www.charleston.org.uk/