Product Description

Home is more than a simple shelter; home is a sanctuary. Sophisticated Surfaces illustrates how to enhance simple shelters by applying paint imaginatively to create aesthetically pleasing home environments. Rooted in traditions that date to the Italian Renaissance in seventeenth-century Europe, decorative artists use contemporary tools and materials to interpret age-old techniques—marbleizing, graining, and glazing furniture, walls, and ceilings. Inspired by early masters, these same artists go on to create new finishes—cracked linens and textured wall surfaces among them.

This book is divided into three categories: Faux Finishes, Painted Furniture, and Murals. Each section focuses on works by decorative artists who excel in translating precisely executed techniques into exquisitely painted surfaces. Beauty and harmony are vital to our psychological health and well-being. Sophisticated Surfaces is designed to inspire readers to view ordinary living space in new, innovative, and creative ways.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #698113 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From the Inside Flap
Home is more than a simple shelter; home is a sanctuary. "Sophisticated Surfaces" illustrates how to enhance simple shelters by applying paint imaginatively to create aesthetically pleasing home environments. Rooted in traditions that date to the Italian Renaissance in seventeenth-century Europe, decorative artists use contemporary tools and materials to interpret age-old techniques - marbleizing, graining, and glazing furniture, walls, and ceilings. Inspired by early masters, these same artists go on to create new finishes - cracked linens and textured wall surfaces among them.

The book is divided into three sections: "Faux and Fantasy Finishes"; "Painted Surfaces"; and "Murals and Trompe l'oeil". Each section focuses on works by decorative artists who excel in translating precisely executed techniques into exquisitely painted surfaces.

Beauty and harmony are vital to our psychological health and well-being. "Sophisticated Surfaces" is designed to inspire readers to view ordinary living space in new, innovative, and creative ways.

About the Author
Karen Aude is an arts writer and collage artist. Her articles have been published in several regional and national magazines and newspapers, and she is the author of Heather Braginton-Smith, a posthumous retrospective on the work of the trompe l’oeil artist.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"Sophisticated Surfaces" is designed to inspire readers to view their own homes as more than mere protections from the elements. It is about applying paint imaginatively to create aesthetically pleasing environments. "Sophisticated Surfaces" is about beauty and harmony. It is about encouraging readers to view ordinary living space in new, extraordinary ways. Home, then, is a nest with an eye toward aesthetics, a shelter uniquely composed to satisfy practical needs while, at the same time, nourishing the soul.

Sophisticated Surfaces is divided into three sections: "Faux and Fantasy Finishes"; "Painted Surfaces"; and "Murals and Trompe l'oeil". Each section focuses on work by decorative artists who excel in what we call the "art of transformation". Using readily available materials, each artist translates the ordinary into the extraordinary. Approaches vary with each artist and range from deceptively simple applications of paint to complex multi-layered techniques.

Customer Reviews

Trompe l'oeil and Faux at it's finest !
This book provieds beautiful pictures of some of the finest faux and trompe l'oeil finishes I have ever seen. However this book is NOT a step-by-step guide for the do it your selfer. I would however highly recommend this book to any Decorative artist looking for new ideas.

Beautiful compendium of work by many talented artists.
This is one of the most beautiful books I've seen on professional decorative painting. Far more than a "how-to," it provides examples of unusual and creative finishes by some of the most talented artists around. Together, they all present a great resource for ideas on color, texture, the use of materials, and incorporating decorative painting into an allover design scheme. I'd highly recommend this book for professional painters and interior designers as well as the more discerning homeowner. But beware, this is not for the do-it-yourselfer and does not provide step-by-step instructions.

Interior Design artistry at its best!
As a professional interior design artist, I particularly enjoyed the section entitled "Faux and Fantasy Finishes". One of the biggest challenges I face is educating clients to the difference between a faux finisher and an interior design artist. I look forward to using this book now as a supplement to my own portfolio in helping clients make the distinction. Until now, I have had to rely on pages torn from high end magazines, but Karen Aude has done an excellent job of including a fine example of all the most requested high end finishes. No professional should be without this book if they want to spend more time working and less time selling!