With faux painting techniques you can make a room look like a Tuscan villa or a Renaissance palace ” the choice is yours. The basic technique involves adding a glaze to a prepared surface. A glaze is essentially a thin layer of paint that creates an almost transparent coating. On a color base, different layers of glaze are applied to produce a subtle and deep color and texture effect. It can be varied across a surface so that different colors show through more strongly in different places.

Color Washing: One of the simplest and most effective paint techniques is color washing. Different colors are applied more or less randomly (or free form) in a wiping motion, to create a moody, cloudy effect. Depending on how softly textured you want the result to be, you can use a rag or a brush.

Basic color washing involves applying a layer of glaze onto a different colored base. Usually the painter works from lighter to darker colors. Light colors create a dreamy atmosphere. With earthy colors the technique can create a cozy, distressed effect. More, or brighter, colors can result in a more dramatic look.

Textured Effects: A lot of faux painting depends on adding texture in one way or another. If you want to distract attention from uneven surfaces but want a more or less monochrome color scheme, there are various ways of creating textured effects and introducing visual interest.

A finish produced by dragging a comb through fresh glaze to reveal the base coat color is one way of achieving this look. A comb or (in the French technique known as strie) fine brushwork can create the illusion of woven fabric. As well as dragging, rolling is another way of producing a textured look.

The art of illusion reaches a peak in trompe loeil painting, in which faux features are reproduced on a flat plane. Faux low relief sculpture and carvings and the illusion of peeling plaster can all be reproduced in this way using paint.

Stenciling: Stencils can be used to create a textured, patterned effect over an entire wall or a motif that complements your chosen style can be repeated as a border or trim to complete a look or theme.

The paper bridges in old-fashioned stencils have been superseded and you can even get stencils sized to your specifications. They can be used to create the effect of patterned paving or as motifs that serve as a visual focus in a particular space.

Popularity: 1% [?]