Contemporary Fresco Gazette

Deterioration of fresco paintings results from the open, porous nature of their support (walls and ceilings of buildings or other carriers) and their interaction with the surrounding microclimates.

The porous mortar backing provides an easy route for the movement of dilute salt solutions. Salts contained in the building materials or the surrounding area can be readily transported to the plaster underlying the painting. Old leaky roof, clogged gutters or subterranean walls and/or semi-buried walls - anything that would cause water to soak and remain in the wall will eventually bring salts from adjasent areas into the plaster. The wall and fresco can get wet from the rains and not be affected as long as it is exposed to freely moving air that would dry it naturally.

Expansion in volume associated with crystallization of these salts disrupts the plaster-pigment adhesion and leads to disintegration of the surface. Such crystallization depends on the identity of the salts and the moisture content of masonry which is subject to seasonal variations in atmospheric humidity and the amount of rain.

Introducing Fresco Lath - Clay (brick) Lath, a product that combines innovation with tradition! "Fresco Lath," is the ideal base or foundation for small frescoes, mosaics or any job requiring a plaster base. Fresco Lath is a thin wire lath with clay heads at the cross points. The Fresco Lath comes pre-cut in 3' x 3' size (www.FrescoShop.com) and 15' x 3' rolls and is a true plaster carrier, meaning that its attributes far outweigh the modern metal lath and is revolutionary for many scopes of artistic application.

October 24 - 25, 10AM - 4PM. The "Wall As Canvas II" painting event to be held on the grounds of the Page Museum, 5801 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Join iLia Anossov (fresco) of The Fresco School as he paints frescoes on sections of The Wall Across Wilshire as part of the 20th Anniversary celebration of The Fall of the Berlin Wall Project. After a fresco demonstration by iLia, viewers themselves are encouraged to participate in painting frescoes on actual section of The Wall Across Wilshire. On November 8, wall segments will be joined to form "The Wall Across Wilshire." That evening, during a midnight ceremony, artists will topple the Wall as it is broadcast live on German television.

Since 1997 The Fresco School in Los Angeles, California has been the world's premiere institution for instruction in the "Mother of All Arts," the (buon) true fresco technique. Now the school is growing in even more new and exciting ways. "Our goal is to see fresco being painted in every town" - says iLia Anossov (fresco), founder of the Fresco School. To achieve this goal Fresco School is proud to announce diverse expansion with a new facility, private fresco class options and an in-depth DVD tutorial series. Classic fresco paintings, like those by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, are the oldest, and at the same time, the most endangered form of art. Learn the only pure "organic" method of painting - no solvents, glues or man-made materials are used. Paint with molten marble like the magnificent Renaissance masters. Discover the most permanent art form, one that lasts through the centuries or millennia!

Originally established in 1997, The Fresco School - www.FrescoSchool.org, dedicated to providing every facet imaginable for an authentic (Buon) True Fresco education, has constructed a full size, 8' x 16', four-coat Fresco Wall. Now students enrolled in Advanced Level Fresco Workshops and Programs can practice multiple Giornata Frescoes, Fresco removal methods, strappo or calicot as well as alternate techniques such as lime painting, distemper, Secco and Mezzo fresco methods all at one convenient location in the premiere arts district of downtown Los Angeles. The Fresco Wall supplies a chance to explore a medium that becomes part of a permanent structure. Fresco - the ultimate fusion of art and architecture.

LOOK Gallery is proudto announce its inaugural show, "THRILLER: The King of Pop Meets the King of Cool," an exhibition of works seen and unseen, small and large, by L.A.'s pre-eminent muralist, Kent Twitchell, April 2 to 24, 2009.

For the first the time ever, Twitchell will publicly show his Michael Jackson mural. Commissioned by the Hollywood Arts Council in a move to symbolize the neighborhood's cultural renaissance, this 80' tall mural was originally slated to be shown on the side of the Barker Bros. Building (now the El Capitan Theatre) on Hollywood Blvd. in 1993. This public debut of the work at LOOK Gallery will be accompanied by lightboxes containing photos from Jackson's original portrait sitting for the mural.

Work on stately home will save historic frescoes
Bury Free Press - Bury St. Edmunds,England,UK
By Jo Thewlis Emergency repair work to the roof at Ickworth House could save neo-classical frescoes which are peeling away due to damp in the walls. ...

The Arts Center - Exhibit 'Storylines' by JS Bird
Corvallis Gazette Times - Corvallis,OR,USA
... cave painting, Meso-American sculpture and architecture, Oceanic sculpture and early Renaissance fresco's are a few of his many sources of inspiration. ...
 

The eternal female: Worship of the mother goddess
Independent - London,England,UK
Frescoes at the palace of Thera, on the island of Santorini, 100km north of Crete, show women standing on balconies overseeing processions of young men who ...

The museum at the Ramona Bowl Amphitheater is a trove of photos, scripts, costumes and other mementos of past productions of "Ramona." The venue's signature outdoor play is an annual San Jacinto Valley tradition dating to 1923.

Tucked at the back of the museum is a little-known artistic treasure associated with a noted painter, Milford Zornes, who left his mark across the Inland area.

Looming above an organ dating to the late 1800s that was used in bygone productions of "Ramona" is a fresco depicting scenes from California's mission period and the story of how white settlers interacted with native Californians. In 1942, Zornes helped oversee the painting of the fresco.

Fresco School is proud to announce the official release of the DVD Tutorial - "FRESCO PLASTER" from their "BUON FRESCO FOUNDATIONS" video set.

"Buon Fresco Foundations" - Fresco Plaster DVD video introduces the student to foundational principles and techniques of the preparation and application of slaked lime plaster for True (Buon) Fresco Painting. Topics illustrated include the step-by-step process of plaster preparation filmed in real time without omissions. A student will be able to see exactly how long each step takes and what tools and methods each requires. iLia Anossov (fresco) guides the student by a thorough and clear demonstration of the foundations of calcium fresco plastering relevant to any size fresco.

Volume 1 "FRESCO PLASTER" is the first video in the set of 5 full length (140min each) DVDs detailing the foundational principles of Fresco Painting. Volumes 2-5, "Fresco Cartoon", "Fresco Pigments & Paint", "Fresco Painting - Verdaccio" and "Fresco Painting - Color" are planned to be released the end of the first quarter of 2009.

"Our goal is to have Frescoes being painted in every town! By very modest estimate this will take at least 10,000 artists a lifetime to accomplish."
iLia Anossov (fresco)

Fresco School Video Channel at YouTube.com presents two new fresco videos!

"Albuquerque Fresco" - video vignette of over 400 sq. feet buon fresco painted by iLia Anossov (fresco) in 1999, filmed by Emmy Award winning cinematographer Amy Marash (Bowers) for "Albuquerque Fresco - Inside Look" documentary. Also presented - "Dolphin Fresco" Parts 1 and 2 - a step-by-step journal of the Dolphin Fresco by iLia Anossov,

The Albuquerque Fresco by Ilia Anossov is a paradigm of a brilliant modern fresco. Its technique is on the Grande scale. Viewing it is reminiscent of watching a gigantic film, for this fresco incorporates not only cinematic techniques, and reminders of the most brilliant art, but also resounds of the painting of late modern artists with a flair for whimsy, like Jean Miro, and Paul Klee. At the same time there are images and techniques which evoke paintings of early masters.

Blake Gopnik
The Washington Post

PARMA, ITALY

Until about a hundred years ago, there were five godfathers of Western art: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian -- and Correggio.

Correggio, possibly the greatest artist we've almost forgotten.

Correggio: Born Antonio Allegri in about 1489, in the northern Italian hamlet of Correggio (whence his nickname), dead by 1534 and a favourite of art lovers for the next three and a half centuries. And now, virtually unknown.

When most other organizations are asking you to spend your hard earned money to spend even more later in the year, the PDPA is asking you to spend money to make more money and grow your business. The PDPA works on two fronts; one is to help the people within the industry through our initiatives and the other is to work on promoting decorative painting as a whole to new clients and other industries like the design, architectural and building trades.

Our local chapter focus is to get you in front of new customers and sell more jobs. In 2008, the PDPA Colorado chapter hosted our first professional decorative painters exhibition with brilliant success. Sheri Hunt, Colorado president, led the way with an amazing show of what decorative painting is really about.

Capitalizing on the Colorado chapterʼs momentum, the Texas chapter hosted a decorative painting exhibition at the Austin AIA headquarters under the leadership of
Catherine Oʼ Toole. With over 100 designers and Architects in attendance, members displayed their talents to the public and building trades communities. 2009 will bring more exhibitions and fundraisers designed to help our members find new clients and grow in their success as professional decorative painters.