Architectural reliefs & house portraits

House portraits.

Meticulous architectural sculpture in low relief.

I make small scale portraits of individual houses to commission. Handbuilt in terracotta or stoneware, depending on the original building material, with detailed decoration and glazed windows. I’ve made all kinds of houses, some for the National Trust, some for individuals, from thatched cottages to castles.

This is one of my all-time favourites – a lovely house with interesting brick and stonework, and beautiful gable detailing. I like to include as much detail as possible, to show the individual character of the subject; for this house, I also made the house name plate, which appears in the portrait.

This one’s Peckover House, a National Trust property in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, which I’ve made several portraits of, including one as new, without the wisteria. I’m sometimes commissioned to make a portrait of a childhood home that no longer exists, when I work from old photos and people’s detailed memories.

Here’s ‘the most perfect Georgian street in England’ (Pevsner) – North Brink, Wisbech. But I often make not-quite-so-grand subjects:

this one’s our old gallery in Whitechapel – a typical Victorian town-house;

and this one’s a cottage in Norfolk – a lovely subject with the archway through to the garden. I often make portraits of modern houses too:

this nice mock-Tudor house has lovely brickwork and interesting detailing.

This one really is a log cabin in Switzerland.

And this is a good example of a much-loved ‘ordinary’ house which makes an ideal subject. I often make portraits of larger subjects like hospitals, churches and factories for retirement commissions:

They’re made in low relief, so they hang on the wall or stand on a shelf, with a flat back that’s ideal for an inscription. I work from photographs (which you can send me by email or post), and prices start at £250. They are ideal for formal presentations or commemorative celebrations. I also draw architectural subjects for framed presentations.

Many different subjects work well, as long as the facade has some interesting features and a strong character. Most of all I enjoy catching a likeness of a much-loved house and garden:

I’m always happy to discuss a possible subject and estimate for a commission – if you send me a photo (please see contact details), I can let you know how much your subject would work out at.

Architectural reliefs

Tympanum is an example of my larger scale architectural reliefs: wall-hanging detailed low-relief sculptures of architectural subjects.  This one’s based on one of the doorways to San Marco in Venice; sometimes the subject is a Georgian gateway:

I enjoy making studies of architectural details in series, for example of San Marco, St Paul’s, Winchelsea Church, Castle Rising, looking at the brickwork or tracery detailing. I often have some of these studies for sale; please contact me for further information.

I’ll be adding more images of this kind of work soon.

To buy or enquire about any work, please leave me a note in the comment box below or click on contact details.

All photographs copyright Liz Mathews.

Permission is needed for any use of these images.