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Marbling
Marbles are metamorphic rocks composed of fine-grained, dense, crystallized calcium carbonate (usually limestone) that can be honed to a high polish. It it's purest state, marble is white; however, it is often colored with a number of minerals and other organic materials. These substances, in combination with metamorphosis - the intense heat and pressure that cause layers of rock to fragment and shift - produce the patterns and color combinations characteristic of each type of marble.
Want to Learn some great Faux Painting Techniques?
Our Learning Faux downloadable e-book (fully printable), has been written with one primary goal in mind. To introduce the novice faux painter to the most popular faux painting finishes.
Marble is a favorite faux finish, largely due to it's spectacular appearance, coupled with the cost and inconvenience associated with real marble. Marble is very heavy, it damages easily, it is expensive to ship and is difficult to work with. From excavation, to cutting and polishing, to shipping - every step of the process is costly, inconvenient and time consuming. For these reasons, faux marble is a highly sought after finish. A professionally completed faux marble can look just like the real thing. This is particularly true for the untrained eye. Many people don't realize that the interior of the Marie Antoinette Opera House in the Palace of Versailles was marbled due to cost overruns.
In many older structures where genuine marble is present yet in need of repair, the only option is to mimic the marble effect through paint. Marbles are generally very difficult to match. Painting marble also enables the artist to enhance nature's product, allowing for the addition of stunning features. Indeed, many faux marbles are created for the sole purpose of decorative effect, regardless of whether there exists a similar example in nature.
Marble is timeless and is popular in both contemporary and traditional decors. It is more often used in traditional decors that are designed around a solid, timeless theme. Usually, faux marbles are reserved for those items that could, indeed, be real marble and is rarely used to create a marble effect on items that would not be marble otherwise.
Paints and Glazes used:
First color: 3 parts raw umber, 3 parts black, 2 parts veridian. Medium: 3 parts transparent oil glaze, 2 parts mineral spirits (white spirit). Ratios in glaze: 1 part pigments, 30 parts medium.
Second color: As glaze above, but add 1/4 part raw sienna artist's oil.
Third color: As glaze above, but add 1/4 part more veridian and add 1/4 part more black artist's oils.
Fourth color: Artist's oils: 2 parts raw
umber, 2 parts black, 1 part veridian. Medium: 2 parts transparent oil
glaze, 1 part mineral spirits (white spirit). Ratios in glaze: 1 parts
pigments, 7 parts medium.
Marbling:
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Start by preparing the bare surface by cleaning it well, making sure that no
oils or waxes are present. Ensure a clean, dust free surface prior to
applying primer. After the primer has dried, apply 2 coats of egg shell
white, allowing 4 hours in between each coat. Then stipple the first
color to form the primary veining. Note that the areas left uncovered will
be where the secondary veining will be.
While the glaze mixture is still wet, use the tip of 1/2 artist's brush to
push the glaze into irregular shaped links of the primary veining.
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Using the same technique as above, but this time use a slightly smaller brush and a lighter touch, creating your secondary veining.
Dipping a 1 inch artist's brush alternatively into the second and third colors, stipple on translucent patches of broken color around the primary veining.
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Gently soften the entire piece by stippling the glazes with a large soft bristled brush. This will eliminate any obvious brush marks.
Gently flick the bristles of a badger brush over the wet glazes to soften and blend the primary and secondary veining. Allow the piece to dry overnight.
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After wiping on a coat of clear oil glaze with a clean rag, use a small artist's brush with a flat tip and with the fourth color, create the irregular shaped mineral veins following the primary veining.
Again, use the soft bristle brush and the badger brush and soften the glaze while it is still wet. Then allow the piece to dry for 24 hours. The final procedure is to coat the entire surface with at least 2 coats of satin urethane and allow to dry. Follow this up with a coat of wax and a good polishing.
To summarize:
Marbling, when completed effectively, is a faux finish that offers an alternative solution to costly, genuine marble. Creating faux marble that looks real takes practice and effort to achieve.
This finish is certainly not a faux finish for the amateur. We highly recommend that you do not attempt this finish unless you have at least 5 or 6 faux projects under your belt, and even then, this finish will take some practice to master. The trickiest part of this finish is creating the veining with your feather and then getting it all to blend in and soften naturally and effectively.
We suggest that you take a wall that you can repaint and practice this effect a couple of times, at minimum, before committing to the actual surface and your final finish. You can do it. It's just going to take a little practice.
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