What is a Photo Fresco?
A unique image made combining the ancient techniques of fresco painting with the contemporary tools of digital photography.
Fresco, from the Italian word "alfresco" is a technique of painting on a freshly plastered wall or ceiling. The earliest frescoes were painted around 2000 BCE by the Minoans during the Bronze Age. Michelangelo's murals in the Sistine Chapel are examples of this type of work.
At Head Shots, a proprietary fresco mixture is prepared in our studio, using course-ground Italian Carrera marble powder and super fine artists' marble dust. It takes five days for the mixture to properly "cook".
The image is printed on a special film with pigment inks.
Wood blocks are prepared to accept the fresco mixture.
The image is transferred to the wet fresco surface and as it dries, the pigment inks become embedded into the marble mixture.
The photo fresco is left to dry for a week and then hand-work is done to the fresco surface.
From start to finish, the Head Shots' photo fresco process takes about three weeks to create our specialty product: a one-of-a kind archival picture in marble!
Fresco, from the Italian word "alfresco" is a technique of painting on a freshly plastered wall or ceiling. The earliest frescoes were painted around 2000 BCE by the Minoans during the Bronze Age. Michelangelo's murals in the Sistine Chapel are examples of this type of work.
At Head Shots, a proprietary fresco mixture is prepared in our studio, using course-ground Italian Carrera marble powder and super fine artists' marble dust. It takes five days for the mixture to properly "cook".
The image is printed on a special film with pigment inks.
Wood blocks are prepared to accept the fresco mixture.
The image is transferred to the wet fresco surface and as it dries, the pigment inks become embedded into the marble mixture.
The photo fresco is left to dry for a week and then hand-work is done to the fresco surface.
From start to finish, the Head Shots' photo fresco process takes about three weeks to create our specialty product: a one-of-a kind archival picture in marble!
