The Fresco technique has thrived everywhere although it evolved differently not only along geographical and time lines but also according to the specific mineral and organic ingredients found locally. Defects in lime compounds, one of the major elements of the Fresco material, created unexpected effects that became a signature. Lack of metal tools propelled the use of ingenious instruments made of leather, wood or even stone, some still in use today. The Romans perfected the technique and used it profusely in their palaces, villas and even baths. Tibetans decorated entire grottos with it and like the ancient Egyptians , created masterpieces in spaces only lit by candles or reflecting mirrors made of sheets of mica.

For a long time it was the only artistic support for humans to share and illustrate their beliefs and their daily life. Due to their mineralization within the fresco compound, colors and pigments used with the Fresco technique have kept their richness and brilliance over a very long period of time, even thousands of years if protected from sunlight. What an ideal support when trying to demonstrate the immortality of the gods or the accomplishments of a civilization!

Fresco (from the Italian, meaning fresh) is the art of applying pigments mixed with water to damp, freshly laid plaster. As both plaster and pigment dry they become completely integrated. A fresco, therefore, is not paint on a wall. It is pigmented plaster that, through a natural process of crystallization, has become part of the wall itself. This is why it has such depth and play of color. This is why it grows more, not less, beautiful with time.

With fresco, a blue wall can be blue in the same sense that an eye is blue. Thoroughly blue. Blue from within as well as without.

As centuries pass, frescoes become even more beautiful under a rich patina of age. Colors oxidize, lime withens, minerals and pigments combine with oxygen and time to produce a beauty that -until now- took centuries to occur. The background itself of some elaborate frescoes could be a never-ending source of inspiration as it contains surprising and rich combinations of texture and oxidized colors. Motifs are not really necessary anymore when confronted with such an intricacy and abundance of effects. History, time and chemistry created them for us to enjoy and emulate.

Arkeos FRESCO FINISHES capture this timeless beauty by recreating, in advance, the naturally aged look of the traditional fresco.