Painting on wet plaster. Art painting of the walls

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

If you walk along the streets of ancient cities, go to temples, you can see real works of art. They are made indoors on ceilings and walls or directly on the facades of buildings. Next, we will get acquainted with this type of art in more detail.

General information

Painting on wet plaster is called a fresco. This style has its roots in the second millennium BC. People began to engage in painting in the days of the Aegean culture. For this, paints were used in which glue and casein were binders.

Historical information

The technique was reminiscent of a secco. What does it mean? We are talking about wall painting on dry plaster. At the time, materials were readily available. In addition, the execution was simple. In the ancient period, this greatly influenced the popularity of fresco painting. At the same time, the products differed in practicality and durability. At the time of the birth and flourishing of Christianity, this style was often used to decorate the external and internal surfaces of cathedrals and stone temples. In Ancient Russia, wall painting (photo below) was mixedtype. Various methods have been used. Painting on wet plaster with paints was supplemented by the tempera-glue method. With the help of it, the background and upper registrations were worked out. A variety of binding materials (egg, vegetable glues, and so on) were also used. As for the Renaissance period, the mastery of the art of fresco became fundamental to measure the skill of an artist. It was during this period in Italy that painting on wet plaster reached its peak in its development.

Main designs

Since ancient times in Italy, after the final decision on the composition and structure of the letter, as well as the execution of the sketch, a cardboard layout was created. On it, the artist could reproduce his ideas. This applies to the structure and color of the composition in full scale. If the painting on wet plaster was too large, then the surface was divided into sections. The demarcation was made along the contours of the details, which were usually found in darkened areas. Due to this, in the future, the color separation seam was hardly noticeable. To transfer their contours, squeezing or puncturing through tracing paper was used. The preparation layer was carefully smoothed out in order to avoid smudges.

Design principles

Art wall painting is a rather time-consuming task. In this case, a lot of experience is required. The painting continues until the brush glides easily over the surface. The technique of painting on wet plaster has a number of features. For example, if the brush starts to leave behindfurrows on the surface, this will mean that the paint no longer penetrates and, accordingly, is not fixed. This section needs to be cut. Before you continue painting, you need to apply a new layer. Painting on wet plaster is unique in terms of technique. Initially, only light colors are superimposed in accordance with the prepared sketch. After that comes the turn of medium shades and only then - dark ones. Then the reverse process begins. The transition from dark to light is carried out. Thanks to this, the last tones are absorbed, and they can be corrected in those places where they turned out to be too faded. After the wall painting is finally completed (the photos in the article illustrate several options for the finished drawing), and the mortar is completely dry, grinding and waxing begin. At the same time, dried areas of unfilled soil are carefully removed from the previous layers.

Production of related materials

Painting on wet plaster is based on the natural properties of lime. The fact is that when it dries from a liquid substance, it gradually turns into a colloid-crystalline one. Many factors depend on the quality of lime. For example, the safety of the finished image, as well as the entire course of work. Therefore, in order to get a beautiful painting on the wall, special plaster is required. The best grade of well-burnt lime is needed. Next, you need to "extinguish" it. This requires a container filled withenough water. Lime is carefully poured in there. Need to be careful. During slaking, the lime gets very hot. Then she needs to be allowed to stand in the water. It is necessary that it stays wet for as long as possible. The desired minimum period is one year. However, in some cases it is not possible to extinguish the lime in advance. Therefore, solutions with a much shorter exposure time are allowed.

Additional items

The duration of the period during which the artistic painting of the walls will last depends largely on the materials used. The filler for the solution traditionally has several variations. Brick crumb is still considered the best of them. It has a lot of advantages. Water in a damp plaster mortar, as well as lime diluted in it, when the brick gets wet, enters its pores. In the process of drying, all this very slowly comes to the surface. Thus, the drying period of the plaster is extended. The time spent working on the image is also stretched. As for the gradual drying, thanks to it, a deep "germination" of lime crystals into the base is ensured.

Alternative options

Brick chips are not the only material that can keep painting on wet plaster longer. In this case, the alternative is sand. It is worth noting that it is recommended to use the river. The fact is that it differs in the most different-sized grains. For this reasonriver sand has such a property as high density. This factor is very important. This is due to the fact that the lime included in the plaster solution technically turns into a mineral "glue". With it, the filler particles are fastened together. The efficiency of lime is the greater, the closer they are to each other. So the plaster coating becomes stronger. Flax fiber (sometimes also called chopped hemp) is a filler, and no less important than sand. Thanks to him, the plaster layer becomes much less fragile. It acquires resistance to slight deformation, as well as additional plasticity.

Applying process: first step

Before you start painting the walls on wet plaster, you need to carefully prepare everything. This is especially true for panels on which materials will be applied. A brick wall is the best base for a fresco. If you have to work with concrete, it is recommended to make its surface uneven. Creation of potholes and shallow holes is allowed. In this case, you can not do without manual jackhammers. You can also use a perforator. Such a tool has the function of a jackhammer. There are cases when the wall for the fresco is pre-plastered. Then you need to try to bring down the old layer. If there are places where this does not work, you just need to clean them of dirt, dust and paint.

Main process

Plaster is applied in 2-3 layers. Before it is recommended wellwet the base. If the soil is three-layer, then the first of them should dry well. Then it is wetted with water until completely saturated. Then the rest of the coating is applied. The technology of two-layer soil is somewhat different from the previous version. In this case, the first coating is allowed to solidify thoroughly. However, complete drying is not allowed. After that, you can apply the last layer of plaster. It is he who smoothes under the painting. This is the intonaco. In order to be able to apply subsequent layers, the surface of the plaster is cleaned of the resulting lime scale with a spatula.

Working with intonako

This layer is applied so that the plaster can be used within half an hour (maximum 1.5 hours). The minimum number of surface smoothings is two times. This is done before the wall painting begins. Painting is a rather complicated process, and there may be mistakes. In order to get rid of them, the artist can use a spatula, leveling and pressing the defects. Thus, the resulting crystalline crust is broken.

Small nuances

Any fresco plaster shrinks a little during the drying process. This largely depends on the solution: the thicker it is, the smaller the latter. So, a minimum amount of water is recommended. Many ancient sources indicate that lime, which is suitable for plastering, is first of all checked by such a parameter as density. That is, the spatula dipped into the solution must remaindry.

Main fresco work

Writing a fresco should happen quickly, but at the same time without haste. It is desirable that the time spent on reflection and rework is kept to a minimum. The master must present in advance the final version of the future image, and in all details. That is, a clear scheme is required that will reflect the order of work.

Small tips

Experts recommend using the following method. All work can be divided into three stages, among them:

1. Creating a pattern.
2. Working with local tones.
3. Cutting an image with lights and shadows.

With this sequence of work, the usefulness of drying lime is used to the maximum.

Action algorithm

At the initial stage of work, the plaster will still be quite damp. At this time, a drawing is being made. Moreover, the process of its creation consists in a creative search and finding the best expressive "construction". From a technical point of view, this is explained as follows: the required corrections can be made to the original image plan at the drawing stage. However, by the end of it, spatial boundaries must be clearly defined for each local color. After the creation of the drawing is completed, it is necessary to "open" the image. To do this, local colors are applied over its entire surface. It does not leave white spots. Next, a new surface layer is applied. It consists of a pigment dissolved inwater. Thanks to him, the resulting crystalline crust will begin to break down slightly. So, the surface of the future fresco has already been revealed. Next, shadow modeling comes to the fore. Initially, it is carried out on sharp parts of the body and face, and then on clothes and other details. After that, you can carry out clarification using finely grated lime instead of whitewash. The reason is that the lime dissolved in the plaster can easily enter into the mixture with the mixture. Thus, even on almost dry surfaces, the colors will be securely fixed. In some cases, you may run into certain problems. They lie in the danger of drying out the wall. In order to minimize these risks, yolk, which is diluted with water, is added to the composition of pigments intended for shadows and final descriptions. It does not provide compensation for plaster drying. However, as a result of the combination with lime, an adhesive is formed. It is able to hold paint well on painterly surfaces.

Additional information

In the process of work, the fresco artist must take into account all the features of the technique being performed. It must be remembered that glauconite, yellow ocher and all colors containing lime are strongly lightened after the plaster has dried. First of all, it depends on the nature of the carrier on which it is superimposed. In some cases, even a well-wetted wall can continue to absorb moisture very quickly. Accordingly, the fresco will begin to dry rapidly. For example, plaster is applied to concrete or another substrate that does not absorb water. In thatIn this case, the drying process will be much slower if a three-layer primer is used. When working, it is very important to prevent even the slightest violation of the plaster integrity. This can happen if the master tries to mix the superimposed color with a brush that has not yet dried up, applied earlier, directly on the surface of the plaster. Doing this is highly discouraged. The fact is that the paint will mix with the lime that is part of the plaster. After this place dries, it will stand out with excessive pallor on the surface of the painting.