Francesca’s Paints Colour Story March 2021

March 2021

INTRODUCTION

From her studio in Battersea, London, Francesca Wezel creates hand mixed, velvety paint, with immense depth and tone that changes with the light of day. To celebrate 25 years of Francesca’s Paints, she has selected nine colours, which capture the essence of the paint created across 25 collections and 236 shades.

‘Each collection tells a story, inspired by art, history, travel and nature’ says Francesca, whose expert eye for colour is underscored by an artisanal approach to paint, using the finest – and often oldest – pigments to achieve a unique, luxurious finish.

THE COLOUR STORY

Ice House Blue is an elegant grey-green, colour matched using a mix of umbers and ochres, to 16th century textiles from the archive of Houghton Hall in Norfolk, in collaboration with interior designer Miv Watts.

Silent is a meditative deep blue, featuring hints of black and purple, from the Sadhana collection, a palette of reflective and peaceful hues inspired by Francesca’s love of yoga.

Piero della Francesca’s Nativity inspired the exact shade of Angelico Pink, a subtle, putty shade from the Poison into Medicine collection, created with the artist Dillwyn Smith. Here it is combined with a foggy grey, Hangover Square, from the studio’s latest palette, Colours of My Mind. This collection captures the mood evoked by books that inspired Francesca and her collaborator, author Raffaella Barker.

Francesca’s travels influenced the deep terracotta Monkey Tail from the Himalayas Collection, and Dome, reminiscent of marble found in a Florence Cathedral, is from the Off-White Collection II.

Inspired by Marcel Proust’s A la Recherche du Temps Perdu, the playful pink Madeleines, also from the Colours of My Mind Collection, embodies Francesca’s vivacious approach to colour. Here it is counterbalanced by White Truffle, from the Off-White Collection I. Made entirely from raw umber, this soft white complements virtually any shade.

Named after J.D. Salinger’s short story, Love & Squalor, from the recent Colours of My Mind collection, is a balanced brown, created from three pigments in equal measure for a soft, suave tone.

ABOUT FRANCESCA’S PAINTS

In Francesca’s studio, each tin of paint is mixed by hand with the greatest care. One of the first sustainable paint brands in the UK, Francesca’s lime wash and eco emulsion finishes are plastic and solvent free and delivered in recyclable pots.

All Francesca’s bases are sourced from Italy and coloured with a mix of just 12 mineral, organic and synthetic pigments.