If you walk along the streets of cities of long-standing construction, go to temples, then you can see real works of art. They are made indoors on ceilings and walls or directly on the facades of buildings. Next, get acquainted with this type of art in more detail.
general information
A crude plaster painting is called a mural. This style is rooted in the second millennium BC. People began to paint in the days of the Aegean culture. For this, paints were used in which glue and casein were binders.
Historical information
The technique resembled a sec. What does it mean? We are talking about dry stucco wall painting . At that time, materials were readily available. In addition, the execution was simple. In the ancient period, this greatly influenced the popularity of fresco paintings. However, the products were distinguished by practicality and durability. At the time of the birth and heyday 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 of a mixed type. Various methods were used. Painting on raw 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 binders were also used (egg, vegetable adhesives, and so on). As for the period of the Renaissance, the possession of fresco art was fundamental to measuring the artist’s skill. It was during this period in Italy that the painting on raw stucco reached a peak in its development.
The main types of execution
Since ancient times, in Italy, after making 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 raw plaster was too large, then the surface was divided into sections. The distinction was made along the contours of parts, which were usually located in dark areas. Due to this, in the future, the seam of color separation was hardly noticeable. To transfer their contours, squeezing or punctures through tracing paper was used. The preparatory layer was carefully smoothed in order to avoid smudges.
Design Principles
Art painting of walls is a rather time-consuming task. In this case, a lot of experience is required. Painting continues until the brush glides easily on the surface. The technique of painting on raw plaster has a number of features. For example, if the brush begins to leave furrows on the surface, it will mean that the paint no longer penetrates inside and, accordingly, is not fixed. It is necessary to cut this site. Before continuing with painting, a new coat is required. Raw stucco painting is peculiar in terms of execution technique. Initially, only light colors are superimposed in accordance with the prepared sketch. After this comes the turn of medium shades and only then - dark. Next, the reverse process begins. The transition from dark to light. 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 painting of the walls is completed (the photo in the article illustrates several options for the finished drawing), and the solution is completely dry, grinding and waxing begin. At the same time, dried areas of unfilled soil are carefully removed from previous layers.
Production of related materials
Raw stucco painting is based on the natural properties of lime. The fact is that when it dries from a liquid substance, it gradually turns into a colloidal 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 plastering is required. We need the best grade of well-burnt lime. Next, you need to "extinguish" it. To do this, you need a container filled with enough water. Lime is carefully poured there. Care must be taken. During the extinguishing process, the lime heats up very much. Then she needs to be allowed to stand in water. It is necessary that she stay in the wet state as much as possible. The desired minimum period is one year. However, in some cases it is not possible to extinguish lime in advance. Therefore, it is allowed to use solutions with a much shorter aging time.
Additional items
The length of the period during which the artistic painting of the walls will be kept largely depends on the materials used. The filler for the solution traditionally has several variations. Brick chips are still considered the best of them. It has a lot of advantages. Water in a raw stucco mortar, as well as lime diluted in it, when the brick gets wet, enter 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 in the base is ensured.
Alternatives
Brick chips are not the only material that can preserve crude stucco painting 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 is distinguished by the most diverse sized grains. For this reason, river sand has the property of high density. This factor is very important. This is due to the fact that the lime entering the plaster mortar is technically transformed into a mineral “glue”. With it, filler particles are bonded to each other. Efficiency of lime is greater, the more closely they are adjacent to each other. So the plaster coating becomes stronger. Flax fiber (it is also sometimes called chopped hemp) is a filler, and no less important than sand. Thanks to him, the plaster layer becomes much less brittle. It acquires resistance to slight deformation, as well as additional ductility.
Application Process: Phase One
Before you start painting walls on raw plaster, you need to carefully prepare everything. This is especially true for the panels on which the materials will be applied. A brick wall is the best foundation for a mural. If you have to work with concrete, it is recommended to make its surface uneven. Potholes and shallow holes are allowed. In this case, do not do without hand jackhammers. You can also use a hammer drill. Such a tool has the function of a jackhammer. There are cases when the wall for the mural is pre-plastered. Then you need to try to bring down the old layer. If there are places where this fails, you just need to clean them from dirt, dust and paint.
Main process
Plaster mortar is applied in 2-3 layers. Before this, it is recommended to moisten the base well. If the soil is three-layer, then the first one should dry well. Then it is wetted with water until completely saturated. Then the rest is applied. The technology of two-layer soil is slightly different from the previous version. In this case, the first coating is allowed to thoroughly strengthen. 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 intonaco. In order to be able to apply subsequent layers, the surface of the plaster is cleaned of the resulting lime crust with a spatula.
Work with intonaco
This layer is applied so that the plaster can begin to be used after half an hour (maximum 1.5 hours). The minimum amount of surface smoothing 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 defects. Thus, the resulting crystalline crust is disturbed.
Little nuances
Any mural plaster in the drying process gives a slight shrinkage. It largely depends on the solution: the thicker it is, the smaller it is. So, a minimum amount of water is recommended. Many ancient sources indicate that lime, which is suitable for plaster mixing, is primarily checked by such a parameter as density. That is, a spatula dipped in the solution should remain dry.
The main work with the mural
Murals should be done quickly, but at the same time without haste. It is advisable that the time spent thinking and reworking be minimized. The master must present in advance the final version of the future image, and in all details. That is, a clear outline is required that will reflect the order of work.
Little tips
Experts recommend using the following method. All work can be divided into three stages, among them:
- Create a picture.
- Work with local tones.
- Cutting the image with the help of light and shadows.
With this sequence of work, the utility of drying lime is used to the maximum.
Action algorithm
At the initial stage of work, the plaster will be still quite raw. At this time, the drawing is done. Moreover, the process of its creation consists in a creative search and finding the best expressive "design". 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, for each local color, the spatial boundaries should be clearly defined. After the creation of the drawing is completed, you must "open" the image. To do this, local colors are applied over its entire surface . In this case, white spots are not left. Next, a new surface layer is applied. It consists of a pigment dissolved in water. Thanks to him, the resulting crystalline crust will begin to collapse slightly. So, the surface of the future mural has already been revealed. Further, shadow modeling comes to the fore. Initially, it is carried out on the sharp parts of the body and face, and then on clothes and other details. After this, it is possible to carry out the clarification using finely ground lime instead of white. The reason is that the lime dissolved in the stucco can enter the compound with the mixture without any problems. Thus, even on almost dry surfaces, colors will be firmly fixed. In some cases, you can stumble upon certain problems. They are in danger of drying out the wall. In order to minimize these risks, the yolk, which is diluted with water, is introduced into the composition of pigments intended for shadows and final inventories. It does not provide compensation for the drying of the plaster. However, bonding with lime results in an adhesive. It is capable of holding paint well on painted surfaces.
Additional Information
In the process, the frescoist must take into account all the features of the executed technique. It must be remembered that glauconite, yellow ocher and all tinting containing lime, become very bright after the plaster dries. First of all, it depends on the nature of the medium on which it is superimposed. In some cases, even a well-soaked wall can continue to absorb moisture very quickly. Accordingly, the fresco will begin to dry rapidly. For example, the plaster is applied to concrete or to another base that does not absorb water. In this case, the drying process will be much slower if you use a three-layer soil. When working, it is very important to prevent even the slightest violations of the plaster integrity. This can happen if the master with a brush tries to mix the applied color with the shade that has not yet been dried, applied earlier, directly on the surface of the plaster. Doing this is highly discouraged. The fact is that the paint is mixed with lime, which is part of the plaster. After this place dries, it will stand out with excessive pallor on the surface of the painting.