SusanWeir

I have been commissioned to paint 9 paintings for a trendy restaurant opening in 6 months I have decided to take it on as it is a good commercial project.

The content of the imagery must be painted replica stone and so I have been looking at Faux finish techniques. It’s actually quite interesting and not conceptually unlike what I have been experimenting with in my digital imagery.

My research for the painting project led me to the history of artists who first used these visual illusionary techniques.
Techniques of glazing were employed as a deceptive tool to age the appearance of furnishings ‘antiquing’ and luxurious oil glazed wood finishes were substitutes for unattainable, expensive materials.

In short, the first examples of faux marble can be found on Mycenaean pottery dating back 4,000 years. During the Renaissance the ability to render realistic stone finishes rose to the levels of high art – it was lighter than stone and less expensive. It was respected and regarded as challenging to paint something so realistic that it was difficult to distinguish it from the real thing. The French later used artists to create illusions of space, natural environments and grand architectural structures. They call this Trompe L’oeil (Full the eye). Oblique anamorphosis, commonly seen in fresco, is closely related to Trompe l’oeil, however demanded an irregular viewing position as opposed to more conventional perspective.

Trompe L’oeil and Oblique Anamorphosis.

I looked at other wall murals during the MA when I produced the landscapes from The Royal Palace.

Mural, Royal Palace, Pnohm Penh.

These are some of my favourite images. I love the contrasts between the deteriorating wall surface, the aged paint and the glazed areas that have withstood the elements allowing for a value of colour to give depth. The murals are extensive and run for about a kilometer in total around the palace walls. One of my earlier thoughts had been to rereate a mural in digital format.

PAINTING

Faux marble painting 5/4 Ft.

The Faux techniques as textures and surfaces remind me of the Digital paintings of Casey Williams.

www.artnet.com/artist/719642/casey-williams.html

Faux Interiors

It might also be interesting to explore building an interior out of photographs, not digitally, but physically.