Harrison House

This is one of my favourite about-the-house items. A lovely little cupboard handpainted by the late Audrey Harrison - a wonderful artist who produced exquisite paintings of wild flowers (in situ and in old china, much like this), an avid collector and restorer of old dolls' houses and the wife to the more well-known painter Claude Harrison. Claude and Audrey were good family friends of ours, and we enjoyed many a party at their amazing house. In their much later years they moved to France. Claude outlived Audrey, but he too sadly passed away in late 2009. I am so pleased that my mum managed to persuade him to do portraits of me and my two sisters for a price she could afford. We each sat for our portraits in our jeans and t-shirts...it came as a complete surprise to see he had "dressed" us all in fantastical clown's clothing when we saw his work! Claude and Audrey's fabulous home is now available to rent - it's an amazing place, complete with painted cupboards and frescos - worth a look. It's only a few minute's drive from us, but I might just have to treat myself to a holiday there some time and re-live some very happy memories.