Courtauld Makers

Lilian May

Lilian May is a family business that brings the love of traditional craft back into the creation of artist supplies.

We asked Will of Lilian May to create a paint set inspired by the colours used by Monet in his Thames series.

Will, the founder, is a watercolour artist and ceramicist with a love of traditional crafts. Chris, his mother, and her sisters Noreen and Sue, join in creating the ceramic wares. Leo, Chris' grandson and Will's nephew, is an apprentice carpenter, helping weekends and evenings in the creation of their ceramic supplies and paint-making.

"The pigments in the watercolour set I've created for the Courtauld include a collection of those Claude Monet frequently used and some inspired by his beautiful London paintings." - Will

Watercolour paints, palettes and supplies these days go hand in hand with single use plastic and mass production. It wasn't always this way.

In fact the opposite is true. Modern watercolour paint blocks were invented by brothers William and Thomas Reeves in the 1760' -1770s. Made in their small studio in London in batches, sold in wooden paint sets accompanied by ceramic palettes.

In 1835 Winsor & Newton introduced the first moist watercolour cakes using glycerine They were more easily wettable making easier to use and came in beautiful ceramic half pans.

Lilian May resolved to make plastic free alternatives made in small batches from sustainable materials by people who love what they're doing. They are determined to build a business that creates quality art supplies that are made sustainably from natural materials.

Our collaboration with Lilian May did not ended with Monet and London exhibition. You can find their work in the Seurat and the Sea collection as well.

"I can't think of an artist whose palette and use of colour was more important to the history of art."