GOLD & SILVER LEAF ARTWORK BY ANDREW MORTIMER
I incorporate traditional gilding techniques into paintings and mixed-media artworks, creating luminous, reflective surfaces that change with light and movement.
My work has taken two paths, figurative paintings and drawings often incorporating gold or silver leaf; and mixed media gold leaf artworks, blending photography and painting through the layering of pigment inks, paints, glazes, and textured substrates. Editions are very limited, the gilding and painting process ensuring every piece is uniquely individual and unrepeatable.
Oil Paintings, Acrylics & Charcoal
I create figurative paintings and drawings, on or incorporating gold or silver leaf, view work for sale here or discover more about commissioning work.
I often paint on gold or silver leaf, or incorporate textural substrates. Subjects include detailed portraits and group portraits, wildlife, equestrian or canine subjects.
Mixed media Gold Leaf Artwork
My mixed-media collections celebrate nature, through the reflective qualities of gold leaf; introducing warmth and interaction. Size and colour options - each uniquely individual piece is signed and numbered
Bespoke Gold Leaf Art Commissions
I offer bespoke gold leaf commissions for private collectors, interior designers, and commercial spaces. Commissioned works can be tailored to the scale or colour palette of your choice, or to suit specific interiors or curatorial requirements.
Commission enquiries are welcomed for:
Oil or acrylic portraits on gold leaf or with gold or silver leaf background/detailing
Large-scale abstract gold leaf artworks
Custom photographic portrait montages on gilded panels or with gold leaf detailing
Site-specific gold leaf artworks for architectural settings
To commission a bespoke gold leaf artwork, please contact me to discuss your requirements, timelines, and budget.
The Process of Creating Gold Leaf Artwork
Gold leaf is applied using traditional gilding techniques, carefully laid onto prepared surfaces and sealed with protective layers. I combine this with traditional painting processes or layered pigment inks, acrylic, and glazes to create depth and subtle shifts in reflection that amplify the connection between imagery and environment.
Each piece undergoes multiple stages of preparation, gilding, painting, and finishing, ensuring finish and durability.
Gold Leaf Art - FAQs
What is Gold Leaf?
Gold is one of the softest and heaviest metals, it is also highly resistant to corrosion from air, heat, moisture and most solvents. Gold leaf is real gold that has been hammered into extremely thin, delicate sheets, usually less than 0.1 microns thick; primarily for gilding - the decorative technique of applying gold to surfaces like wood, metal, or glass.
The history of gold leaf art
The art of using gold leaf dates back to 2600 BC in ancient Egypt, since then gold has symbolised spiritual enlightenment, longevity, power and wealth, often representing divine light in religious works. From Byzantine icons and Gustav Klimt’s modernism, this enduring material connects the spiritual, emotional, and material worlds through its radiant, reflective, and incorruptible nature.
Why do I use gold leaf?
For over 10 years I have increasingly incorporated gold leaf in my artwork as I believe it adds a unique, radiant quality to a surface. Reflected ambient light gives an atmospheric warmth that somehow solidifies its connection to its environment; particularly at certain times of day or under candlelight, which adds a new dimension to artwork, figures which are detailed during the day can become near silhouettes at night.
Gold leaf or imitation leaf?
Whether I use real or imitation gold leaf depends on the surface and medium I’m using; if sealed correctly imitation gold leaf has similar longevity, with little difference to the end result. Due to the layering of elements, with mixed-media work I tend to employ imitation gold as it’s slightly more robust, and slightly more reflective. As a surface for painting I use genuine gold leaf as together they offer softer, richer tones.
Commission gold leaf artwork
Due to it’s symbolic as well as physical properties, I believe any subject can be elevated by incorporating gold leaf; whether painting onto a gilded panel or employed to emphasise subtle details or patterns, it adds a luxurious luminosity that paint cannot replicate.
Commission gold leaf art to make a uniquely personal and meaningful statement, you can commission any subject, any size, simply contact me to get the conversation started, or find more details about the commissioning process below.