Inspiration for Mrs. Lancaster’s Dogs
"I was a decorative painter for 30 years, and a passionate collector of books on interior decoration, gardening and art. One of my favorite books in my library is The World of Interiors, by Min Hogg and Wendy Harris. It is a collection of photographs from the Internationally acclaimed magazine, The World of Interiors.
No book of this nature would be complete without a photo of Virginia-born heiress, Nancy Lancaster’s, “buttah-yellah” drawing room at 22 Avery Row, Mayfair, London. A doyenne of English decorators, Mrs. Lancaster created the spectacular room with the help of the incredibly talented designer and decorative painter John Fowler, of Colefax and Fowler. Mrs. Lancaster went on to buy Colefax and Fowler, and her aunt, Lady Astor, remarked, Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler were “the most unhappy unmarried couple in England”. But what a team they were!
In 1987 I attended a six month intensive training course in faux finishes and tromp l’oeil at Van Der Kelen/Logelain in Brussels. When the course was completed in the spring of 1988, I moved to London where I lived and worked as a decorative painter for a year. During that time I fell in love with the English style of decorating, which still inspires me today.
Another book in my collection is The Decorated Doll House by Jessica Ridley. I love dollhouses and miniatures, especially English ones. The author created a miniature inspired by Nancy Lancaster’s yellow drawing room. Although not a perfect replica, it’s pretty close. An idea popped into my head… what if I were to paint my own version of a corner of the famous yellow room and have what I imagined to be Mrs. Lancaster’s dogs (if she had any) having free rein to snooze all over the silk upholstered furniture. I did a rough sketch and finally got around to making a painting of it nine years later!
I have never done a painting of an interior and I it was challenging in ways I did not expect. Even slightly wonky perspective has to make sense within the picture plane. The painted room has to work as a decorated interior, and the composition of the painting has to work in conjunction with the layout of the actual room. I tried to include as many features of the actual drawing room as I could, but needless to say….I used a lot of artistic license.
I had so much fun with this painting and embraced the joy of “more is better!” I also got to immortalize my beloved “Oscar” who went to Dog Heaven in October. He is the dog in the painting in the painting…..I miss him every day."
Diana Cook
