Chinoiserie originated in the beginning of the 17th century in Europe. The word derives from “chinois,” which is French for “Chinese.” At the time, English and Italian designers and craftsmen sought to imitate the fanciful, decorative style of Chinese arts, silk, and lacquerware.
For the last 35 years the demand for quality chinoiserie wall coverings has pushed the wallpaper companies to produce ever more imaginative and exclusive wallpapers which inturn has given the talented muralist the opportunity to paint ever more interesting murals for whole rooms or feature walls.
I have as a mural artist completed well over 30 mural chinoiserie/ oriental themed commissions on a variation of subjects both scenic and figurative on various surfaces gold, silver, wood, plaster and canvas. In addition to painting the mural directly onto the clients wall, I can paint the mural onto artificial canvas in the studio and have it shipped to anywhere in the world and attached to the wall using marouflage technique (glueing the canvas to the wall).
I am considered one of the foremost painters in the chinoiserie style and can help clients create something special and individual catered specifically to their needs. Help is given from the design aspect to creating scaled drawings through to completion. My commissions for chinoiserie /asian murals have been both national and international from London UK to USA.
In the 1980’s interior fashion went through a change and moved towards the more romantic warmer colours of Tuscany and the re-birth of the decorative arts with faux-finish’s murals and the painted art of Trompe l’oeil. New terms like ragging, dragging, sponging, woodgraining, marbling and colour washes became part of the interior decorators vocabulary.
It was also the re-birth of oriental art giving ‘chinoiserie’ a makeover with some of the most fashionable companies producing wallpaper handmade often by Japanese/Korean or Chinese artists using expensive metal leafs inspired by the rich wealth of Eastern art.
The introduction of hand painted Chinoiserie murals
A side product of this very expensive wallcovering was clients wanting to have something more individual and sometimes less expensive and sought out mural painters/artists who had sufficient talent to produce an individualised feature wall or all the walls painted with typical oriental designs.