advice sort of? how to get started fresco?

[energeticart]

[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]I work with a child (HS freshman with Aspergers) that continues to talk about wanting to paint fresco's (sp?)--he is rather artistic (he explained it was painting on plaster--I had never heard of the word). I love his drawings. He looks at the auditorium and lights up. It's his dream to become an "artist"....I am considering purchasing this kit for him..how would a child go about starting? videos? books? what does it entail? I assume it's lots more involved than drawing with oil pastels. :)
Thanks for any input..[/FONT][/COLOR]
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(Student Fresco Kit 601-3102 from Natural Pigments website)[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[George O'Hanlon]

[FONT=times new roman]Fresco is a difficult process to master, primarily because it involves painting with pigments dispersed in water onto fresh, wet plaster. There is a good book on the subject from a modern perspective that is very useful for beginners and experienced artists: Fresco Painting—Modern Methods and Techniques for Painting in Fresco and Secco by Olle Nordmark and available from Amazon.com. This book would be a good start. The kit is also helpful in that it supplies all the materials and tools needed to begin painting fresco on portable panels.

Essentially, lime putty is mixed with an aggregate, such as sand, to create plaster, which is applied as a thin layer (about 1/8-inch) to a rigid support. Unglazed tile, cement board or wood panel (covered with Tyvek moisture barrier paper and metal lath) provide a suitable support for the plaster. Once the plaster has set (but not dried), you can begin painting in thin, washes of pure pigment dispersed in water. The pigment is absorbed into the wet plaster. Once the plaster dries, the painting is fixed and permanent. It is a wonderful although somewhat daunting medium to work with, but very rewarding.[/FONT]

[John Kennedy]

Because weare talking about a child here, it would be interesting to know what age child. The reason I am saying this is mainly because children often change their minds as they get older. Prior to doing frescos the old masters would do a medelli or medello (drawing or painting) first, of what their work would look like and represent. I would believe that as a child I would make sure his interests are true and will be long lived and get them into the drawing and paint on panels first, before purchasing a major expense for doing fresco work. If the child still continues to show an overwhelming interest in fresco work in a year then the expense might pay off. Fresco is a very expensive art form and there is no real demand for it in todays world. It would be something that the child would what mostly for himself. These are just a few thoughts to be considered, especially when dealing with a child.

[Donald Jusko]

I taught a whole class of 7th graders how to paint buon fresco. Haleakala Waldorf School on Maui set aside a week to do it. They fired their own lime before I got there. We painted a 8" and a 12" tile, some of them used permanent primary colors only, others used the full palette.
http://www.realcolorwheel.com/frescowaldorfschool1.htm

This is a 82"x155" buon fresco done in Upper NY with only 3 transparent primary colors, yellow, cyan and magenta.
http://www.realcolorwheel.com/fresco1mural.htm

Here is a link to 30, 12x12" buon frescos I painted.
http://www.realcolorwheel.com/frescopaintings.htm

[Donald Jusko]

I think I read somewhere here of a guy making bone black pigment burning chicken bones.
Today I came across some parts of old cow skeleton. There was a classic old time guy here on Maui many years ago. Here's how he made his charcoal sticks. The wood from his used brushes he cut to length to fit into a small metal candy box, closed the lid and put it on the stove. He had beautiful charcoal.
I'm going to cut this cow's nee joint into a thin slice, cut it down to stick size, or make a triangle and put it in a sealable small metal box to air-less-ly cook.

[John Kennedy]

Donald, Looked at your fresco work- very , very nicely done. You are very talented. Thanks for sharing. Blessings, John

[Fresco]

Hi we have been teaching fresco painting for the last 17 years.

You can view a list of available classes and programs or schedule your private workshop at www.FrescoSchool.org.

You can also view (purchase) available "Buon Fresco Painting Foundations DVD Tutorials" at www.FrescoSchool.com or here at the store :)

iLia Anossov (fresco)