Celebrating 25 Years of Francesca's Paints

22 Mar 21

Founded in 1996 by passionate colourist Francesca Wezel, Francesca’s Paints was one of the very first to offer sustainable paints in the UK. 

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. 

‘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.

To celebrate 25 years of Francesca’s Paints, Francesca has selected nine colours which capture the essence of the paint created across 24 collections and 236 shades.

ICE HOUSE BLUE is an elegant grey-green shade. It is colour matched using a mix of umbers and ochres??. It is part of the Houghton Hall collection which takes its inspiration from the kaleidoscope of colours that were used to decorate the interiors of Houghton Hall.

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.

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.

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.

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.