Huyze Herkert, morning room: a painting after Dubufe

Do you know that feeling when you're completely certain about an idea and can't wait to get started? That's exactly how I felt once I'd decided that a large painting was needed above the desk.

The internet provided a wealth of inspiration. Birds were popular Victorian pets, especially among ladies and young girls. Apparently, they also loved having their portraits painted with their feathered companions.

I chose to use the oil painting below as my starting point. It was painted by Edouard Marie Guillaume Dubufe in 1871 and is titled A Treat for Her Pet.

A horizontally oriented painting works much better above the desk, so I cropped the original image (although it was a shame to lose that beautiful dress and velvet cloak!). I printed it in very pale tones and painted over it with acrylics. I could have drawn the whole thing myself, but working this way removes a bit of the risk of failure—which, admittedly, is something I always worry about.

Don't you think the cockatoo in the original painting is positioned far too close to the edge? The poor bird even loses the tip of its right wing! So I moved the lady to the right and added a curtain on the left-hand side. I also replaced the dark background with an impression of pink wallpaper featuring a purple pattern, so that it would fit better in my morning room. Once the painting was finished, I sealed it with a generous coat of varnish.

The finished painting is much less classical than the original. Lord and Lady Herkert are quite progressive in their choice of some of the artwork displayed throughout their home. After all, Impressionism emerged during the second half of the nineteenth century (and it has always been my favourite artistic movement!).

The gold finish of the frame I had chosen looked a little artificial to me, so I decided to cover it with gold leaf instead. Since I had never done this before, I first watched Josje's tutorial (Gilding miniatures with gold leaf (part two). - YouTube).

I wouldn't call it easy (and sighing in frustration over delicate gold leaf is definitely not recommended!), but it isn't particularly difficult either. The most important thing is to allow yourself plenty of time—this is not a project to tackle in a hurry—and to stay calm when the gold leaf insists on sticking everywhere except where you actually want it.

Before gilding on the left / after gilding on the right

The only thing I'm slightly disappointed with is that the gold has rather a cool tone (Maybe because it is imitation gold leaf? Which was expensive enough as it is, by the way!). On a second frame, I first painted the surface a deep red before applying the gold leaf, hoping for a warmer finish. It didn't make a noticeable difference. In fact, the result was a little less attractive, as tiny specks of red remained visible where the gold leaf didn't quite cover the surface.

Here is the finished painting in its frame, together with the parrot drawings I shared in my previous blog post.

Eastlake would probably shake his head in disapproval. He believed that drawings should be grouped together in one room, watercolours displayed in another, and oil paintings in yet another. Well, too bad for him! (At least that's what I keep telling myself. Although, if I'm honest, I can already feel those little doubts creeping back in...)