Master Heritage Painters

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, heritage painter Lancaster Painters Australia works to the latest National OHS/WHS policies. Our top quality workmanship is performed to the Australian Industry Standards. We are heritage listed for federal, state and local heritage work in multiple states of Australia. Professional heritage services for Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne 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, Sydney Parliament House, Highroyd House in Annadale, Rivendell Great Hall and more. Adelaide projects boast the Adelaide Town Hall, the Museum for Economic Botany, the Port Adelaide Historical Society and so many 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 a member of the National Trust of Australia. Visit our heritage projects page to see our commercial projects, residential projects and heritage Church work.

Traditional Heritage Painting

As master heritage painters trained by English and Scottish master craftsmen with their 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

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. For more information, read more about traditional heritage skills.

Decorative Finishes by Heritage Painters

Photos above: Gary Lancaster meticulously applied traditional heritage finishes in “Auld Reekie” National Trust House and Rivendell Great Hall in The Thomas Walker Estate of Concord West hospital. The heritage reconstruction work included painted colour schemes to match the original paint and colour schemes, traditional sign writing and application of 22 karat gold leaf to the lettering, cleaning and repair of stained glass windows, reconstruction of heritage decorative finishes, designs and motifs, and more.

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. Heritage painter Gary Lancaster is able to skilfully and respectfully replicate the skill of the historical masters of the past and the beauty of their work. We offer traditional decorative finishes for Adelaide Sydney and Melbourne. They 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. Heritage painter Gary Lancaster meticulously applies all his heritage finishes by hand. See our beautiful heritage decorative finishes.

Professional Heritage Services