About
From her studio in Hastings on the Sussex coast, Melissa White hand paints imaginative worlds and patterns for interiors. Working largely to commission she designs wallpaper, fabric, and painted pieces for home, commercial, and heritage projects.
Her signature folkloric style is imbued with a bygone, painterly feel that has its roots in Tudor wall painting. She developed this visual language during her years researching and reproducing the rare and unusual painted interiors of our Elizabethan ancestors. Her paintwork is often finished with ageing and distressing to distance it from the new and the mass produced, adding what she calls “the patination of time”.
From her origins decorating historic houses, including Shakespeare’s Birthplace Museum, she has evolved her practice into a one-woman creative success story. Collaborations with prestige brands Zoffany, Lewis & Wood, Kit Kemp, and Andrew Martin have produced award winning designs for fabric and wallpaper. Her portfolio also includes artwork for Diageo, Fortnum & Mason, Buckingham Palace, and now John Smedley.
