All posts by Rosie Lesso

Vermeer was a master of understatement, crafting exquisite, enigmatic beauty from quiet scenes of domestic life. AUTUMN GOLD linen’s warm indulgent tone takes its cue from the golden light that ignites these hushed interiors and makes them shine with the gloss of precious metal. Strategically placed strands of complimentary colours including Delft blue and china…

The inky depths of INSIGNIA BLUE linen seeped dark stains into Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai’s evocative landscapes, lending them deep bass tones that hum with melodic resonance. The colour, known today as Prussian, or Berlin blue, swept across Europe in the 18th century, causing what some called a “blue fever”, as it infiltrated painting, wallpaper…

DOVE linen’s near white has just a hint of turquoise blue, mimicking the pale, salty light of JMW Turner’s stunning Venetian marine views. Known as the ‘painter of light’, Turner was entranced by Venice, with its green-blue water reflecting the sky into illusions of infinite, endless space. The floating city became a recurring theme in…

Warmth permeates Rembrandt van Rijn’s paintings as golden, syrupy candlelight falls and disappears into velvet brown shadows. CHOCOLATE linen mirrors the earthy and enveloping darkness in Rembrandt’s paintings, which swarms around the light and gives it torch lit radiance. Rising to prominence during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century Rembrandt made his name…

In Vicken Parson’s small, quiet land nothing is quite what it seems. Slabs of grey, trembling shadow fall over darkened walls or barren landscapes, but strange angles, linear patterns and shards of light splice them apart before we can make sense of them. ASPHALT linen mimics the tone of Parson’s cool, mid-grey shadows, a colour suggesting…

ENGLISH ROSE linen’s sumptuous, rustic crimson held great spiritual significance during the Italian Renaissance, clothing figures with indulgent drapes that seem to radiate human warmth. For centuries the colour red was deeply devotional, reserved for Christ, the Virgin Mary and their close circle, symbolising the love, passion and spilt blood of their shared tragedy. But…

Jonas Wood finds beauty in the mundane, as crowded spaces spill over with junk, shelves are packed with potted plants and clashing prints compete for our attention. All this bristling energy is surrounded by soft grey light, allowing steely silence to descend upon his scenes, a nod, perhaps towards our need for stillness amidst the frenetic…

MARIGOLD linen’s rich, ochre yellow is flush with warm radiance, like a late summer sunset. American artist Keith Haring saw sunny optimism and the golden glow of human spirit in this colour, bleeding it into his freewheeling universe of jumping people, barking dogs and graphic slogans. Combining eye wateringly bright colours with cartoonish characters and…