Mark Briscoe - Chinoiserie Painter
"Oriental lacquer and Eastern miniature painting had always fascinated me, and I wanted to learn the technique, so I went to India and spent several months with an artist in Rajasthan," says Mrk Drake-Briscoe, a London-based decorative artist. "The brush skills I gained were invaluable for painting detailed foliate work on Chinese furniture." Joanna Wood, along with some of Britain's top furniture dealers, commissions Briscoe to produce lacquered chinoiserie chests, chairs and low tables. Designers send Briscoe either a piece of furniture or a sketch, which he works into a design that a local cabinetmaker can construct and he will then decorate. Often Briscoe copies antiques, such as an 18th century bureau secretaire with a USD375,000 price tag that he had seen at a shop. "I apply my decoration to various types of furniture, some Chinese and some Western, " Says Briscoe, who uses 22-karat gold for the chinoiserie that he paints. "Every leaf and every fern is painted with minute care, and I patinate the entire surface to give the piece an antique finish." Mark Drake-Briscoe - from Architectural Digest February, 2000 Mark Briscoe Professional Profile on FINE ART, BUSINESS & THE WORLD Blog