Master Heritage Painters, Decorators & Artists
With over 40 years of experience, master heritage painters Lancaster Painters Australia are committed to the conservation, restoration, reconstruction and beautification of heritage commercial and residential buildings including houses and Churches throughout Australia. Fully licensed and qualified with full liability insurance, Lancaster Painters Australia work to the latest National OHS/WHS policies. Our top quality workmanship is performed to the Australian Industry Standards. Professional heritage services include sensitive heritage conservation-restoration, superior quality heritage painting and decorating using traditional heritage decorative finishes.
Heritage projects in Sydney include the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Parliament House in Sydney, Highroyd House in Annadale, Rivendell Great Hall and more. Adelaide projects boast the Adelaide Town Hall, the Museum for Economic Botany and so much more. Melbourne projects include “Auld Reekie” National Trust house in Parkville. We also performed heritage furniture restoration work in the Wesley Uniting Church in Hobart. Lancaster Painters Australia are heritage listed in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and are corporate members of the National Trust of Australia. Visit our heritage projects page to see our commercial projects, residential projects and heritage Church work.
Heritage Conservation-Restoration
Traditional heritage conservation-restoration & reconstruction. Professional superior quality commercial and residential heritage painting, decorating, furniture and artistic service.
Traditional Heritage Finishes
Traditional heritage finishes boast heritage colour schemes, traditional heritage paints such as soft distempers, tallow lime wash etc. and decorative arts finishes.
Heritage Art & Conservation
Heritage art boasts trompe l’oeil, cartouches, frescoes, Gothic & Pugin designs, heraldry, Renaissance, Chinoiserie, fine art, leadlight, art conservation-restoration, sign writing etc.
Lead, Asbestos, Moisture, Scrapings
Safe lead and asbestos testing and removal, moisture testing, professional and sensitive heritage paint scrapings and analysis etc.
Heritage Wallpaper Restoration
Heritage wallpaper restoration and installation service incl. wallpaper repair, William Morris, hand painted wallpaper incl. Anaglypta etc.
Furniture Restoration Service
Antique furniture restoration service including bosieres, armoires, staining, French polish, furniture art & designs, gilding and more.
Traditional Heritage Painting
As master heritage painters trained by English and Scottish master craftsmen qualified City and Guilds qualifications in painting and decorating, we are able to provide authentic, traditional and historic heritage finishes. Being traditional tradespeople, we focus on the preservation of the knowledge of craft work specific to historic building technologies of both traditional and non-traditional materials. We conform to the Burra Charter and are able to provide painting methods that are reproduced using the same paint methods and materials employed after which painting methods began to dominate the industry.
We base our work on exhaustive and continuous research into methods, materials, techniques and styles. Being master heritage painters, each job is individually hand painted by skilled artisans without compromises in quality, historical accuracy or consistency. Working from original paint scrapings, we have successfully reproduced paint finishes and decorative finishes by understanding documentary evidence and have accurately reproduced the style, character and look of the original period look. Our experience includes the stabilising and application of lead and milk paints, soft distempers and tallow lime wash. We are committed to using the correct type of superior quality paint and materials for all our heritage work. See our traditional heritage painting.
Restoring Our Heritage
Left: “The Advertiser” heritage restoration and trade skills interview with Gary Lancaster, Director of Lancaster Painters Australia on Adelaide Now. It was filmed in “Ayers House” and features photos of his work in Sydney New South Wales and Adelaide South Australia. Click here to watch the interview.
Right: Filmed by SkillsOne, this video clip features the work of Gary Lancaster and of the late Ronnie Webster. For more information and to watch the video clip, click here.
Heritage Skills Training
In February 2013, Master Heritage Painter Gary Lancaster was invited by Associate Professor Donald Ellsmore to demonstrate and run a workshop of heritage specialist painting skills for the graduate architects of the University of Melbourne. Specialist skills included hand painted marbling, wood graining, stencils, colour matching, Venetian Plaster, Marmarino, Chinoiserie and hand painted Anaglypta wallpaper. Gary is passionate about retaining traditional heritage skills for future generations to enjoy. Without the training of skills and supply of the historic tools used by past masters, such finishes are becoming a dying art and need to be retained by future generations. Read more about traditional heritage skills.
Decorative Finishes
Featured above: Marble finish painted to column and 24 karat gold leaf applied to the capital (left), hand painted gothic Pugin design (centre) and oak wood grain finish hand painted to the front door of Highroyd House in Annadale (right).
As professional master heritage painters who have been taught by English and Scottish masters of the trade, our heritage painting and decorative finishing skills have been developed over many years through training and experience. We are able to skilfully and respectfully replicate the skill of the historical masters of the past and the beauty of their work. Traditional decorative finishes include faux (fake) finishes, faux marbling, stone and wood graining; heritage stencils and stencilling, heritage motifs and designs, gilding (gold leaf, silver leaf, mica powders etc.), decorative ceiling roses and cornices, wallpapering services, scumbling, glazing, ragging, sponging, soft distempers, washes (colour wash, tallow lime wash, French wash etc.), trompe l’oeil, fresco, strié, Venetian plaster and so much more. All our finishes are applied by hand. See our heritage decorative finishes.