"Discover the Art of Decorative Painting"
What is decorative painting? Is it limited to the dated look of sponged and rag rolled walls? You may be surprised to learn faux finishing has been around for centuries. In ancient Egypt, for example, artists painted the walls of tombs and sarcophagi with their limited palette of primary pigments. The Greeks also utilized decorative finishing, mostly in their temples, by painting frescos featuring faux architectural elements, marbleizing, and grisaille to name a few. During the middle ages decorative artistry consisted mainly of religious icons and scenes, in the churches and castles of that time. It was first used extensively, however, in the 17th century adorning the palaces of Europe.
By the 19th century decorative artists were in high demand, as the middle and upper classes began to lavishly decorate their homes...something that was formerly reserved only for the extremely wealthy. Some of the decorative finishes these artisans executed are glazes and patinas, parchment, stenciling, marbleizing, faux bois (wood finishes), fresco murals, and trompe l oeil. The interest in decorative painting continued into the early 20th century, with the! Art deco style of the 20's and 30's being the most notable, where stenciling, gilding (gold leaf), and faux bois (wood graining) were utilized with frequency.
Trompe l oeil, as mentioned earlier, is a French term meaning trick the eye. Extensively used in Europe, it is a centuries old mural painting technique employing realism, accurate perspective, and shading to create a three dimensional illusion. As an art it has a history extending as far back as 400 B.C. and was part of the rich Greek and Roman empires.An ancient Greek legend tells of a contest between two renowned painters to see who was best. The first painter, named Zeuxis, produced a still life painting so convincing that birds flew down from the sky to peck at the painted grapes! The master then turned to his opponent, Parrhasius, demanding that he pull back the curtains to reveal his painting. It was then that Parrhasius knew he had won the contest, as his painting was the curtains themselves!
Today's faux artisan can effectively render many fine finishes such as Venetian plaster and other Old World textures, glazes, hand-painted decoration, stenciling, among many others. In any case, attention to detail and proper technique is necessary in order to make these finishes believable and authentic.
Twin Cities' professional artist Patricia Buzo has always had a passion for the arts, and has trained some of Minnesota's finest art facilities. She began her journey when she was just 13 years old when she attended her first painting class at the Edina Art Center. As she realized her talent, she made the decision to finish high school at home, enabling her to study fine art full time. It was then that she enrolled in the Minnesota River School of Fine Art. For the next four years she studied drawing and painting, learning from the work of the great masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Paolo Veronese, and Giambattista Tiepolo.
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Interesting blog, does this site get lots of activity or is it usually slow around here?
Good reading