Faux Painting

Links to Other Finishes

Faux Painting - Color Washing, Sponging and Woodgraining (31)
Faux Stone, Tile, Brick, Concrete and Block (21)
Faux Finish Retouching and Repair (8)

Faux finishing examples featuring faux painting techniques including ragging, antiquing and the use of metallics and pearlized finishes.

Ragging . . .

in a sense is self-explanatory - it's the use of rags to apply and manipulate paint on a surface. However, depending on the type of fabric used and just how it's used, a wide variety of finished effects can be achieved. A common technique is rag rolling where the fabric is formed into a ball or a sausage like shape and then rolled across the wall. Depending on the fabris quality and the number of colors used, this alone can produce very different textures and appearances. Ragging can also be used as the basis for more complex finshes such as marbling and other stone finishes

Antiquing . . .

is the application of a tinted glaze to give the appearance of aging and dirt. While it might sound rather unsavory, the effect can provide character and warmth to an otherwise bland surface. This technique can be a useful way of warming up a room and disguising minor imperfections as an alternative to applying a new base coat. And depending on how the glaze or paint is applied, it can produce a similar effect to colorwashing. Although any darker color can be used depending on the effect you wish to create, for an aged antiquing effect, dark brown or black tend to be the most commonly used colors. A similar technique can also be used to add a contrasting color to highlight

Metallic . . .

paints can be used in combination with other materials to add sparkle and shine to a room and either on their own or in different shades to provide a rich, opulent and, if applied appropriately, an elegant accent.

Pearlized . . .

finishes provide similar characteristics to metallics bit with a softer sheen. They make excellent protective top coats, while giving an all-over shimmer that allows the under colors and textures to show through. I often use them in Fantasy Marbling as a way of blending the surface before the final veining is applied.

Venetian faux . . .

is a term I use to describe a finish achieved by combining layers of Venetian Plaster and layers of paint - whether regular or metallic. Applied either with a rag, brush or a trowel in the same way as Venetian plaster, the combination enables a different range of visual effects than traditional Venetian plaster and can be significantly cheaper while providing the same smooth, marble-like feel.

Click on the faux finishing images to the right for larger pictures and more detail about each project. Some of these are big files so they may take some time to show up.

For more information, to see my portfolio, request a free consultation or estimate, or simply to ask a question, contact me: Doug Morris: 480.232.9778 | doug(a)fineartdecor.com.