We all need a little Charleston in our lives.
A treasured commission for a Bloomsbury loving friend.
Today’s newsletter is based on an old post I stumbled across on an unused blog of mine from a few year’s ago. Is that cheating? I hate the thought of cheating or being dishonest, so I wholeheartedly agreed with a comment I received from
this week, “Fakery makes my toes curl!” I loved it and responded it would be my quote of the week, so being transparent and all that, I own up to the fact that I am re-hashing a post but one that is still very dear to me.I am glad I found the article as it A) reminded me of a job that I absolutely loved B) reminded me of the sheer delight and uninhibited joy to be experienced in art and C) reminded me of a very special friend.
Ever since my teens I have been a big fan of painted furniture and was an avid reader of the many Jocasta Innes books back in the 80's. Not a single piece of furniture was left untouched by a paintbrush in my house and I have still a few of those pieces today dotted around the cottage. I remember up-cycling old trunks with vinegar painting, Welsh dressers were given the Swedish look, a cheap dressing table from a charity shop was turned into a 'Gustavian' writing desk with a bit of crackle glaze and gold leaf on the corners.
I may be wrong in assuming that many readers here will be familiar with Charleston, the 'Bloomsbury' house in East Sussex which became the home of artists Duncan Grant, David Garnett, Vanessa Bell and her two young boys, Julian and Quentin, in the middle of WW1.
It is the favourite haunt of my friend Jane who lives in the nearby village, a friend I haven’t seen for far too long. As most lives do over the years, Jane’s has altered course since she asked me to paint her stairs back in 2019 and I am happy to to say she is now busier than ever with her and her partner’s Peter and Jane folk duo, playing at gigs and festivals around our part of the country.
Jane lives in a favourite old warm comfy jumper of a cottage with a sprawling garden, home to fruit trees, a meadow, a large vegetable patch and cut flower garden. An old Aga adds to cosiness of the house, the kettle is always on the stove and tea always comes in a pot, with a knitted cosy. I often think Jane was born in the wrong time. To me she looks like she would have fitted in very well with the Bloomsbury Group. She is tall, lithe and long limbed and with her fine features and thick, long brown hair, which she sweeps up nonchalantly into an unkempt bun when she is busy, she reminds me of a young Virginia Woolf.
Once the artists moved in and made Charleston their home, over the proceeding years every room was decorated with gay abandon; mirrors, cupboards, fireplaces, even the bath was painted. A sense of freedom and carefree spirit runs through the house. Sensual, brave and oblivious to what the world may think, the rooms are a cacophony of colour and pattern, nothing has been left untouched. The history of the house, the people who lived there and passed through, many of whom left their mark by adding to the artwork during their visits, makes fascinating reading. Names in the impressive list of visitors include many of the great writers, artists and thinkers of the day; T.S. Eliot, Lytton Strachey, Benjamin Britten, Roger Fry (who designed the gardens) and of course Vanessa Bell’s younger sister, Virginia Woolf.
Up until 1980 the house was occupied, the last resident being Angelica, the daughter of Vanessa and Duncan, after which time The Charleston Trust was formed. Charleston is now looked after and kept as it was in the 1950's for the public to visit and learn more about this extraordinary group of people and their extraordinary lives.
Jane’s cottage walls are full of artwork painted by friends and her children. Comfy old sofas, worn with nights spent in front of the roaring fire with her family singing and playing her beloved flute with rescued greyhound, Erith, curled up nearby. Bowls brimming with fresh fruit or vegetables gathered from her own kitchen garden dot the kitchen worktops, a home filled with love and a comforting old-fashioned sense of nostalgia.
Her unexpected request for me to paint the wooden stairs in her cottage was met with joy, if a little trepidation on my part. Her absolute faith in my abilities was a little unnerving but her confidence gave me confidence and off I went, paint brushes and rags in hand. In order to keep the painting looking authentic, nothing was measured or set out beforehand, each riser painted freehand. Although Jane gave me a free rein, after studying some books on Charleston, I chose patterns and motifs which I knew she would recognise and enjoy.
The video below, made at the time, briefly explains the inspiration behind each step.
Painting these risers was such a wonderful job but the best bit of all was Jane's emotional reaction to the finished stairs. Making someone happy is priceless, there is nothing more precious than putting a smile on someone’s face, something that’s always worth remembering.
Lots of Love
Lindsey x
That is absolutely wonderful Lindsey. You are so clever. I used to have those Jocasta Innes booked too and every wall in my then house was sponged and stencilled. I still have a blanket box that houses my yarn that is painted and stencilled too!
This is definitely not cheating. I wouldn’t have been able to read it otherwise. Charleston has been on my most visit list. I must get around it. You have inspired me to start my list thank you Lindsey 😘