Sheesh Restaurant Artwork Chigwell
ArtworkKensington Gilders were commissioned to create hand painted artwork for Sheesh Restaurant in Chigwell, Essex. Sheesh is one of the best-known restaurants in Essex, popular with celebrities and discerning diners, and the owners wanted bespoke artwork that would give the interior a distinctive personality that set it apart from the generic framed prints found in most restaurants.
The brief was to produce a series of hand-painted glass panels featuring iconic portraits, to be displayed throughout the restaurant. Painting on glass is a technique with a long pedigree. It was used extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries for pub mirrors, clock faces and decorative panels, but applying it to contemporary portraiture required adapting those traditional methods to a modern aesthetic.
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Each portrait was first drawn up as a full-size cartoon, then transferred to the glass in reverse. As with all glass painting, the work is executed on the back surface of the glass, which means the artist must paint in mirror image and must work from the foreground detail backwards to the background, the exact opposite of painting on canvas where you typically work from background to foreground. It is a demanding discipline that requires careful planning: you cannot paint over a section that is already done, because it is the first layer laid that the viewer sees through the glass.
The paint used was a combination of specialist glass paints and traditional signwriter's enamels, chosen for their opacity, adhesion and colour range. Fine detail, including facial features, hair and clothing, was built up with small brushes and a steady hand, and each panel went through multiple sessions of painting and drying before it was complete.
The finished panels were framed and installed throughout the restaurant, where they have become a talking point among diners. They give Sheesh a unique visual identity: handmade, personal and impossible to replicate. Exactly what the client was after.
