Past Mastery Home

Susanne Newstead

Have nothing in your houses
that  you do not know to be useful
or believe to be beautiful
.

~ William Morris


About Past Mastery

From their studio in the Northamptonshire countryside between the ancient Roman roads of Watling Street and The Fosse Way, Susanne and Stephen produce original hand-made items celebrating the past.

Susanne draws on a lifetime's experience as a painter and creator of beautiful things. With her husband Stephen, a craftsman in his own right, she has ventured into the Age of Enlightenment to bring you a creative reworking of the historical forms of dummy board figures ( or silent companions ) both large and miniature, and Still Life in the Style of the Old Masters.

As an admirer of beautiful things of the past, Susanne derives great pleasure from recording these unique creations in her pictures and hopes that the charm of these items and her enthusiasm for them communicates across the canvas or board to like minded lovers of historical excellence.

These original and unusual pictures of antiques, old fruit and flowers, and rare items are painted lovingly in great detail in oils then antiqued and lightly distressed and varnished to give the appearance of age and are framed into old, antique or restored frames which Susanne has painstakingly brought back to life.

About Our Work

Susanne has been painting all her life. She sold her first painting at age 13, and this spurred her on to join the local art society, where she was one of the youngest members ever. Susanne has worked in every medium and genre over the years, but oil remains her favourite. She has exhibited extensively both here and abroad and now paints full time. Her work can be found in many public and private collections worldwide.

Many who are charmed by the great artists of the past would love to own an original work to grace their dining room, sitting room or study- either full sized or one twelfth! Sadly, works of the great masters of the past are out of most people's price range and a copy or a print is just not the same.

Susanne also works in different mediums and styles and pages for these pictures can be found under 'Works in Other Styles' and in Pet Portraits. On the page 'Works in Private Collection' can be found many of the work Susanne has sold recently. If there is anything there that appeals to you, please contact us as it may be possible, within reason, to reproduce it.

The antique worm holes in the old frames are included at no extra cost!



All PastMastery Still Life pictures, other paintings and dummy boards both full sized and miniature are hand made and hand finished by Stephen and Susanne themselves. You are assured of personal and individual service and a work of art you will treasure for many years to come.

This Quiet Life

THIS QUIET LIFE - A unique and comprehensive scholarly study of the Dummy Board Figure- is Susanne's forthcoming book. She has spent many years researching historic dummy boards and has investigated more than 400 different examples from all parts of the world. She is now one of the foremost historians in this field.

 
Paintings   |   Dummy Boards    |   Miniatures

Updated September 2nd 2008 Pastmastery can be contacted at Medlar House, Hanover Drive, Brackley Northants. United Kingdom NN13 6JS