painted fake fresco mural

wall texture, mask and cornice after the antique

Detail shot of mural just below ceiling height showing painted fake fresco cornice, mask, and swag. This photo shows in detail some of the distressed quality of the fake fresco paint effect and the modification of a strong chroma by means of surface texture and distressing. The painted fake fresco mural creates much of the feel of the real technique and tends to suggest the character and feel of old and mellow walls with a deep and time worn colouring. This mural was commissioned to enliven and brighten a basement area which although reasonably lit had a light fall which was mainly from a Northerly aspect and cool in tone. This faux fresco mural was created by locking pigments into a textured surface with an acrylic medium and then sealing afterwards with an acrylic polymer. In the true fresco method pigments are locked into the surface by the carbonation of wet lime plaster.