Day three and four of painting and everything went to plan. I was starting to feel like real fresco painter, except for the fact I didn’t have assistants (or even slaves, as the Romans did).
As I went on, I found I could tackle larger areas, so decided to finish in four sections. I have got faster, more decisive and more spontaneous. The thing I find most trying is that I can’t go back over the previous day’s work. The first section I did very much dictates the way it has to continue.
I made a rather bad decision with my choice of shape for the third giornata. Why did I leave such an indented triangle to plaster into the next day? In the end, it wasn’t as tricky as I had anticipated, but I will be more careful next time.
During the week or so of plastering and painting, I have had quite a few conversations with passers-by. One thing that strikes me is that not many people know what a fresco is. Why should they? Many mentioned other murals they knew and asked what kind of paint I was using. Sometimes I thought it would be so much easier to just use masonry paint on primer! I think I managed to educate few people, though. Fresco is like no other mural technique- it is ecological, spontaneous yet methodical and the colours are beautifully natural.
I am looking forward to doing some more and am on the look out for unpainted brick walls- preferably indoors-so if you know of any that are crying out for a fresco, please let me know.
