We reveal the winning entries of Period Living’s lockdown House Portrait Challenge, from cathartic watercolour cottages to homes hand-stitched with heart
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With the majority of us confined to the house, the recent lockdown period has seen a rise in those turning to art as a creative outlet, whether it be to freely express thoughts and feelings, provide solace, or a simple distraction. Inspired by the surge in creativity and a desire to connect with the Period Living community, we launched our very own House Portrait Challenge in which we invited our social media followers to share their architectural masterpieces (#Plhouseportrait), with the chance of having their artwork published in the magazine. Across the UK and beyond, Period Living followers have been dusting off their paint sets, sharpening their pencils, and even digging out their sewing kits to capture a building special to them. Thank you for an overwhelming response; we thoroughly enjoyed looking through the huge number of beautiful entries and hearing the stories behind them. With so much talent out there it begged the question: why just publish one? Consequently we have shortlisted not one but several to share with you. We hope they inspire you to channel your inner artist.
Cottage by Ann-marie Price @annmariep680204
‘I have had a love of old houses from an early age; my father was a chartered surveyor so I would visit many with him as a child. I also loved art at school and found painting this very therapeutic.’
Cottage with roses by Steven Maslen @countryblueinteriors
‘My painting is a watercolour with a little pencil over the top, and it was inspired by a photograph from the David Austin rose catalogue. I love old Georgian stone buildings and couldn’t resist trying to paint this one.’
House portrait by Hilda Nicholas @hildanicholas
‘I chose to paint the front of my house with plants that I have in my garden – although not all are in flower yet! I enjoy painting and challenged myself to do something more detailed while stuck at home during lockdown.’
English country cottage by Michela Gissi, Italy @imichelai
‘My inspiration came from an image I saw in a magazine; I live in Italy but adore English interiors magazines. I immediately felt the urge to bring it to life with my paintbrush. I started painting in a very delicate moment of my life and I found peace in being able to create my own world; somewhere to lose myself completely.’
The pink house by Emma Wills @emmajanewills
‘I’ve been painting some of the houses in the village during lockdown, especially lovely cottages – there are so many to choose from in Noss Mayo. The pink house is in the view from my window.’
Embroidery of Shawbury House garden by Megan Bilson @megwm ‘We’ve spent the last few years renovating our Regency farmhouse and garden, drawing numerous plans of the plot to help us. During lockdown we’ve had time to reflect on how far we’ve come, so I made an embroidery of one of our scribbles to capture the memory.’
Maybank by Ianthe Hope @ianthehope.illustration
‘This is a cottage near my grandma’s house on the Isle of Arran. I’d always loved it as it looked so beautiful from the outside, then a family friend bought the cottage and I finally got to visit; it’s just as pretty on the inside!’