FRESGO'S

FRES-GO'S

Fres-go Box, close-up

I haven’t made a mistake in the title of this posting. Fres-go's is the actual name I have given to a technique I created several years back.

Since most of us do not live at one place long enough to watch a fresco age, or even own a fresco, I decided to create smaller frescoes that can be transported to any new surrounding. I have used the techniques of painters such as Botticelli, Giotto and Masaccio. Like the masters, I painted into the plaster and limestone while it was wet. This is a difficult process since I am forced to work a lot faster than I would otherwise. I sometimes add embellishments to each fresco and finish with a light varnish to help preserve them for the oncoming centuries, and, since they will be "to-go" I have named them..."Fres-go's."

Fres-go box, full view

My goal was to construct fresco pieces but I did not want to go to all the trouble of grinding limestone and sand. Later, I decided that I DID want to go to the trouble and I DID want to create fresco in the true Italian style.

After much searching for a fresco teacher, I found the acclaimed Alma Ortolan. She restores fresco’s in churches and facades on building fronts and lives in an adorable village in northern Italy in the Vittoria Venuto region. You feel as though you stepped into a fairytale when you enter Serravalle. I’ve never seen an entire village made of stone before and was delighted to have the opportunity to live there in Alma’s pallazzo for over 2 weeks.

In an earlier post, I show pictures of the village and Alma. You can see Serravalle and read more about it by clicking here

Serravalle

After I got back, I decided to create a fresco using the method I learned from Alma. I wanted my piece to entail all techniques used by the masters of old. I decided to do everything exactly like they did.

The masters of old used large walls in cathedrals as a backdrop for frescoes such as Michangelo's Sistine chapel. A fresco is actually a painting that has not been painted on a wall but rather into a wall. This painting is finished while the plaster is still wet. Therefore; the painting and the wall are one!

When a fresco is painted into a wall, it takes on all the changes that occur in that particular atmosphere and building. That is what makes them so unique and special. The cracks and crevices that occur within the fresco are a result of many years and changes beneath and around it, just as our own exterior is a living testimony of what has occurred during the course of our lives. I have said that I am actually proud of each wrinkle on my face..they are a result of what I have given and endured. I have earned them.

By using this method, I created a Buon Fresco. Buon means true and Fresco means fresh. In other words, I had to paint into the sand and limestone while it was still wet. The opposite of Buon Fresco is Secco Fresco. The term Secco, means that you paint onto the sand and limestone once it has dried.

Getting the material together took some doing. It was like a scavenger hunt! I had to order limestone that had been aged for 6 years from Italy. I gathered sand from the river, I used pigments I bought while in Italy, I made a grinding tool out of a glass beaker I had and used a glass mixing tray.

Here I am applying the limestone and sand over base

After a very labor intensive 8 months, I finally finished my Buon Fresco of 3 angels. I named it, Angels of wisdom, love and strength. It is 6’tall x 4’w. Normally frescoes are created on and in a wall but I wanted mine to be mobile, just in case I ever needed to take it with me at some point so I had to go to great lengths to build a support for it.

Finished Fresco

I now have reverted back to making fres-gos. I find the Buon Frescos are too hard to transport and not cost effective at all. It takes a tremendous time to finish them. I am so glad that I learned how to create them the proper way though. I have heard it said over and over, “You have to know the rules, before you can break them.” Break them I do for sure and in this case I broke the rules before I knew them.

Below is a simple tutorial on how I created my box using the fres-go method.

l. The first thing to do is find a simple tile.I found the one shown below at Lowe’s.

2. Next, use a trowel and paint joint compound over the surface using a sleek even stroke. Let tile partially dry for Buon or completely dry for Secco.

The picture below shows the plain tile and the one I painted with joint compound.

Unfinished tile on left and one which I applied joint compound to on the right

3. Draw a sketch and then trace the picture of the item you want to place “into” the tile or draw your image directly onto the tile without the use of tracing paper. I mostly always create women’s faces.

Tile with joint compound, tracing paper and original image drawn on paper

4. Once the image is drawn into the partially wet surface start to paint it with acrylic paints for Buon fresco. For Secco fresco, wait until the tile has dried completely.

5. You can paint as long as the tile remains wet for Buon. The Italians call this time Santo D’Oro or the hour of the Saint. The reason is that the mortar stays wet for only about one hour. You can also work on it after it dries for Secco.

6. Once the tile has completely dried, apply matt Golden Gel Medium or Modge Podge thinly over the top to seal. Or, alternatively, if you want a very slick looking tile, you can use gloss Modge podge.

Finished tile, ready to be used in artwork. Notice the imperfections in the surface

Now you are free to use your tile in any manner you wish. The sky is the limit.

Inside of finished box

For anyone interested in Alma’s class in Buon fresco, you can check it out by clicking here

To purchase or see other views of my fres-go box, click my Etsy shop here.

Last but not least and back by popular demand (LOL) Here are 4 more of my Angels of Antiquity. You can click on each number, which will take you to my Etsy shop.

Angel number 1

Angel number 2

Angel number 3

Angel number 4