Gilded Butterfly Plants

I've adored these plants for many years. Surely no-one could resist a plant that looks so like a butterfly! When I began painting flowers for my first exhibition of Verre Eglomise, I drew these plants obsessively. I love that at night they close and seem to go to sleep and then they open in the morning and move towards the sun. I don't think these pictures do the gold justice. In reality the leaf is velvety to the touch and the gold has a softness that you only get when you gild something living.

Urushi Lacquer

This very pretty lacquer piece came in to the studio for a bit of restoration/conservation. Sometimes a client just can't afford to spend the money on lacquer. It breaks my heart really because it is such lovely work, but often the pieces aren't worth a great deal. Usually the white marks on lacquer (water bloom) are easy enough to get out. Well, easy if you know how! I conserved the lacquer where I could on this piece and restored the missing areas. It's a delicate balance between restoration and conservation on a piece like this, and often it's down to finances. Really, I think all Urushi should be restored in China and Japan by Urushi artists, but then I'd never get this kind of work so I'll keep quiet about that!

The marks on the right of the panel were partly conserved by removing the water bloom, and partly restored with pigment colours that matched the original. Not an easy thing really as Urushi black is built up in layers and it very different from the pigments traditionally used by English restorers. And Scottish ones for that matter.

The finished piece. The damage seen above is on the left of this photo. It's not bad. I'm pretty happy with it, although I'd still prefer to send it East for "proper" lacquer restoration.