Marbling - Painted Marble on Wood Mantle
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Marbling is a painted decorative finish designed to imitate the look of marble or other natural stones. Many materials and techniques are used in the art. The method used is determined by which stone is being matched. Glazes and paints are applied and blended using rags, cotton, paper, sponges, card board and many other tools. Veins and clouds are often applied with small brushes, liners, feathers and pens. The example (left) is a carved wooden mantle. The client provided a sample of marble to be matched. Colors were chosen based on this sample. Many coats of glaze were applied over a base coat of paint chosen as the over all color of the marble. Some glazes were allowed to dry before others were applied, while others were wet blended. After all the layers had dried the veins were added. Then several coats of a clear gloss lacquer were applied. When done properly marbling can be difficult to distinguish from the real thing. |