Marble Painting - Brèche-Grise Step By Step: Not Entirely In White

In the sixth episode of the decorative painting series, Friederike Schulz shows how the marble painting by Brèche-Grise can be implemented with modern materials.

Author: Friederike Schulz | Photos: Lars Krüger

The white-gray Brèche marble is a good introduction to the complex world of marble painting. The rock is very light. But between the white pieces of rock there is always a “gray gap”, which literally means “brèche grise”. While the Portor marble looks rather picturesque, the Brèche marble (breccia) hides a far more complex structure. A breccia is a rock that consists of angular rock fragments that are cemented by a fine-grained matrix. The imitation of the Brèche Grise is a good basis for a variety of stone replicas.

What is needed for marble painting

The basis for the work is a white-primed surface that should be as homogeneous and weakly absorbent as possible. The following high-quality acrylic colors are available on a palette: white, black, ultramarine blue and oxide yellow. For the so-called painting medium, a part of water is mixed with a part of binder in a mixing beaker. Tools include a badger hair distributor, a French ring brush (glaze brush), a modler with acrylic hair (relatively firm), a synthetic hair tractor and a sponge. And of course a bucket of clean water for the brushes and sponge used should not be missing.

Other episodes of the decorative painting series:

Black gold: imitation of Portor marble

Wall in a tartan skirt

Painted mahogany wood

Painted fabric

Three-dimensional painting