Saturday, March 22, 2014

Pompeii No.4: Painting Around The Window

In my last posting, I shared the Pompeii Room's color scheme with you. If it were possible to remove the roof from the house and look down into the room, it would look like the image below.

"A" leads to a hallway and the griffin overdoor I posted about on February 24th, "B" leads to my kitchen, and "C" is a window that looks out into my back yard. I'll paint the areas that are colored tan to look like masonry, and that way I think the doorways will make more sense to the rest of the mural.

As I walk through my front door, I face the window, and so I thought it would be important to tackle that rear wall first. There's a 9½" space above the window, and that could make a window frame look a little top-heavy. But the space is also perfect for a torus.

A torus is simply a rounded moulding, but it is most often associated with this design, which is an oak torus.


I'm painting the torus in a rather loose way because I want to give a little momentum to the project. I'll come back later and define those leaves and acorns better, and darken the shadows. I'll also come back at the end of the project and put colorful marble in the plaque, and an inscription. For now, anyway, the window is presentable.

As this photograph was taken, I was repairing a little water damage to the ceiling, so it wasn't painted blue yet. The window also boasts venetian blinds that detract from the illusion of Pompeii, so until I come up with an appropriate window treatment, I'll PhotoShop-mask the window in gray.

Speaking of PhotoShop, the computer is an important tool in the whole process, and in ways that the casual observer would never guess. For example, the ceiling rises approximately ¼" on the right, meaning that my oak torus would have a disturbing gap above it on one side.

However, in PhotoShop I can skew the whole design just a tad so that the torus will  fill and correct the space in an imperceptible way (unlike the exaggerated example above) .

The window frame itself is looking three-dimensional, less for the rendering of stonework than for the shadowing, which gives the appearance of the shadow changing according to the different colors "underneath."

Since my last posting, I've also painted the baseboards a gray that complements both the carpeting and the Greek key. I talked about that Greek key in an early blog posting, here. The design comes from an Irish castle, and I hand-painted it throughout much of my house. That required many hours lying down on the job, with a curious pet rabbit nearby, wondering what I could possibly be doing!

Here's the Pompeii Room as it looks today. As you can see, the ceiling is now all blue, and I'm pleased with the progress of the window wall. Now I can concentrate on blocking in the rest of the base colors.

Next week I'll be painting the columns and the frieze that connects them. The columns, which are very particular to Pompeian design, might be unlike any you've seen before!
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24 comments:

  1. The top view you've provided really helps me to understand this room and what you are doing. The torus is a brilliant touch as are the Greek key baseboards in gray. I can't wait to see what you come up with for a window treatment. Love this project, Mark!

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    1. Hello, silverinthebarn,

      I originally thought of creating a 3-D model of the room, but I think this diagram works even better. Now you can see that my canvas is more of an alcove than a room, so any dining room furniture that I put into it will need to be on a smaller scale . . .

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  2. Mark - We were out of the country for a week....just got back. Wow - you've made great progress!! That oak torous is very handsome. Maybe someday you can paint a little tone on tone grisaille for me :) I love this project! Happy spring - Loi

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    1. Hi, Loi,

      I would absolutely love to paint a Tone on Tone grisaille. In fact I'm planning on incorporating grisaille (or a more sepia version of it) into the room!

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  3. Dear Mark, What a fantastic project you are tackling. Only you, with your amazing drafting skills, could accomplish such an amazing feat.
    Could one of your friends please take a picture of you and your rabbit as you are laying on the floor painting?

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    1. Dear Gina,

      Thank you for your confidence in my ability to undertake this project!

      The rabbit mentioned in this posting was named Herschel Hopkins, and he has long since gone to The Big Bunny Meadow in the sky (because I painted the Greek keys in my house years ago). But you can see a photograph of him here:

      http://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/2011/04/needlepoint-collaboration.html

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  4. Hello Mark, Your project is really taking shape. Your technical discussion not only helps us appreciate the end result, but also shows how much work and thought is going into this, in addition to talent and inspiration. I love how the texture in the walls improved the effect of the trompe-l'oeil stonework, although it must have made it harder to execute.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello, Jim,

      The texture of the wall is not that apparent, in large part because I'm using flat paint. Even satin paint would have been too distracting. At this stage of the project much of my work is in the planning of proportions — math and measuring. And like the old expression, I am measuring twice before I commit!

      Mark

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  5. Dear Mark - I am amazed at how much you have managed to accomplish so far. You must be delighted with your progress - already it seems to be creating the illusion of a larger space. I like the way you have given the 3 dimensional depth to the window frame with the subtle touches of shadowing.
    I am wondering what solution you might come up with for your window dressing.
    I think I know what I would do!

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    1. Dear Rosemary,

      I would be delighted to hear any and all suggestions for the window treatment. My own thought is to remove the venetian blinds and put up a Roman shade, one that has a simple band of trim around it. But I'd love your input!

      Incidentally, I thought of you and H this past week when I had dinner on Anna Maria Island!

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    2. My brother and his wife are staying on Anna Maria at the moment.
      We ate at the City Pier or the Rod & Reel Pier, and a restaurant called Mr. Bones, I think that was the name.
      I like your idea of a Roman blind - would the trim have the Greek Key on it.
      I was thinking of either an opaque or translucent roller blind depending on how much privacy you need. I know that you can now have blinds digitally printed. My thoughts were that you could do an illustrative sketch of something like the Roman Forum, or a view of Pompeii and then have it digitally placed on the blind.
      It should also be possible to carry the same pattern as the walls digitally across the blind too.

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    3. Great minds think alike. Yours was a suggestion that my brother also made, and I have already looked into that possibility. Nowadays I often see buses that have film like that, so that one can see through what appears to be an opaque window, with a design on it.

      The problem is that for the idea to work on a translucent blind, the design would have to be on the side facing outward, and there would be no design facing the room, only a rather clear blind.

      On the other hand, your idea should work on a completely opaque blind, and that has many possibilities.

      Were I to use a Roman shade, I might edge it with a ribbon of a Greek key, though I'm thinking of something plainer (because I know the design of the room is going to become more complex). I might be needing visual relief! But there's plenty of time to still consider the window treatment, and I will seek your input again after several layers of detail have been added!

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  6. It seems like you've made amazing progress since your last post. I never noticed the detail of your Greek key border in your previous posts. I love that. And It seems like you're moving right long on this project.

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    1. Hi, Steve,

      The Greek key meanders through more than half of my house. My walls were originally a light gray, what is now the lightest color in the key. I'm glad I have been able to retain the key through other paint schemes, and new colors in fact have always been predicated on whether or not they worked with the key.

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  7. Very impressive talent. Do you have the commissions flooding in?

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    1. Dear Columnist,

      Thank you for the compliment! Regarding commissions, I think it is still too early in this project for anyone to see the scope of what I enjoy doing, though the Egyptian door from last month would be a good sampling.

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  8. I am swooning, Mark. Quite literally swooning!! You'll have to figure out a way to charge admission to those of us who want to see this beautiful project upon its completion. :) Maybe a little booth just outside by the garden? With those old fashioned paper tickets handed out. Or how about a Grand Unveiling?

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    1. Dear Yvette,

      I don't think my insurance covers swoons or squalls, so please be careful!

      I like your idea of the tickets, but more likely I'll need to produce a guide. That's because I'll be introducing a number of details from Pomeian and Roman history. Rather than a Grand Unveiling, I will be happy to simply start dining in this room!

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  9. I am giddy over the fact that you are finally doing this room! You are way more disciplined than I am....I love the colors so far and I know I will enjoy watching this process!

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  10. Hi, Theresa,

    I remember that it was quite a while ago that you shared color reference for this room, and I want to thank you again for that! The fact that this is a much smaller space (the room you shared was a cavernous bedroom) will make it a lot easier to add a lot of detail, which I promise is yet to come!

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  11. Oh LOVING this -cant' wait to see it further realized. I think more people should do this faux 'architecture' in their developer houses, don't you think? Of course we don't all have your talent but I've seen it done to lesser degrees that was still successful. Love the unfolding of the painting too - the process so to speak.

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    1. Hi, Stefan,

      I find that a lot of people think of painting as a big hassle, when in actuality it is probably the least expensive way to create a huge change in your house. I'm glad you are enjoying the process of the unfolding! I have to admit that I'm enjoying the process of the painting.

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  12. I have always loved decorative painting-as it were. I think magazine editors etc. have convinced many that it's not current-but that's the problem-with magazines. Your project is inspiring-awe inspiring! pgt

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    1. Dear Gaye,

      I agree with you (obviously) that decorative painting is never out of style. Perhaps you know my site well enough to guess that I spend a lot of time immersed in decoration of the past, and I see this particular form of decoration (wall painting) as the height of Classiscism.

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