Furniture: Dutch folk art

Hello my friends, 

Last week I showed you my work in a porcelain painting workshop. This week I had an afternoon to spend with one of my best friends and we decided to paint some miniatures together.  And we decided to use dutch folk art of yesteryear as inspiration.

It was common in many regions of the Netherlands to paint everyday objects in order to beautify them. And not just here. Scandinavia, Germany Austria, switzerland and others also had/have a long standing tradition of "bauernmalerei" Mainly the Hindelooper folk art is stil made to this day in the Netherlands but several museums  have stunning examples in their collections from times past.

In a second hand shop I found these books. One is about the folk painting from various Dutch regions, and the other highlights all the different styles that come from the region around Hindeloopen. Complete with tips on how to paint these motifs. 

Now I am not going to fill every room with these things, but I do want to decorate some pieces. Most will end up in the service rooms in the cellar and attic. But some painted pieces will end up in the rooms occupied by the Zonneschut family as well.

Now trying this probably looks easier than it is. But, nothing tried, nothing gained! Some time ago I've bought two oval trays and two 'butten' wooden storage boxes commonly used around the former Zuiderzee coast. These are perfect items to decorate in this style. 

After the two thin layers of primer has dried I gently sandpapered them and degreased them again. Now we were ready to paint. 

I say 'we' because this was a duo effort. I painted these together with Pauline, who is one of my best friends. She is very creative, likes the look of folk painted furniture ánd has recently developed a liking for miniatures.... a perfect combo!

We were both free to choose colours and decorative style as we see fit. I painted the small tray and the large butte. And she decorated the small butte and the large tray. 

I used a pencil to mark out the most important lines for my decorations then I traced those with paint to fill the different areas with scrolls flowers et-cetera.

We had a lovely day together. We had such fun that I only finished the butte. The tray will be finished soon. I painted the interior of the box bright red, a popular treatment in the low countries for the inside of boxes and cupboards in those days. 

My inspiration for the outside of the storage box is the so called 'porselein werk' or 'porcelain work'. A style popular in the 18th century. It is the name for greyish blue decorations of scrolls, flowers, birds and such on a cream background. Sometimes red was used instead of blue.  

And here you can see the result. The other items are not made by me, but collected over the last few years. They fit together well I think. Now how to finish the small tray? I hope to show you that soon.

Hugs,

Huibrecht