The essential reference for amateur and professional alike, The Handbook of Painted Decoration is the first book to cover the whole spectrum of trompe l'oeil decorative painting, from classic marbling and wood graining to ancient techniques of decorative painting that have been nearly forgotten.

All Trompe L'oeil painting uses light and shadow to create illusory forms and surfaces. This how-to manual introduces the techniques of painting with monochrome washes, a key element of Trompe L'oeil painting. It gives step-by step instructions for a variety of grisaille effects, shows how to utilize such avant-garde materials as sheet steel and plastic foil, and offers a collection of classical and modern motifs to copy.

Examines contemporary examples of trompe l'oeil murals by such artists as Richard Haas, Garth Benton, and Graham Rust.

From the coauthor of the best-selling Handbook of Painted Decoration comes this advanced exploration of trompe l'oeil art and technique.

From a countryside panorama in a windowless room to a faux mosaic wall, an intricately painted Oriental carpet to a soaring cathedral dome in a single-story room, Trompe l’oeil painting offers an art form ideal for contemporary interiors, adding color and aesthetic atmosphere and responding to specific architectural needs and situations. Trompe L’Oeil Today offers a fascinating overview of the range of styles and techniques of illusionistic painting for private residences and public spaces, restaurants and other commercial interiors, and even indoor swimming pools. It covers unusual techniques, such as anamorphism, and bold geometric patterns, as well as more traditional Trompe L’oeil subjects, including Pompeian-style wall paintings, classical arches and colonnades, landscapes, statues and reliefs, and elaborate ceiling treatments. The book defines the categories of illusionistic painting: material imitation, or faux finishes, ranging from marble and wood finishes to snake and crocodile skin; grisaille, including imaginary moldings, reliefs, and statuary; small-format trompe l’oeils, such as those painted in niches and on doors; and large panoramic murals. Experienced professionals, the authors address practical questions and offer helpful tips and tricks for choosing the right materials, technique, and style. They examine the use of perspective and the psychology of visual perception, presenting a visually beguiling array of painting possibilities. Trompe L’Oeil Today is an essential reference for artists and designers working in trompe l’oeil and in search of suggestions or inspiration, interior architects and decorators looking for an outline of what can be done to create new and different ambiances, and clients who plan to commission a work. Over 150 four-color photographs illustrate the architectural and aesthetic impact of professional illusionistic work. Trompe L’Oeil Today is an invaluable survey of an impressive, popular art form.

:"Visual deception" can open up space, solve a decorating problem, or create exciting objets d'art to enliven your home. With just a few tricks of perspective, shadow, and color, anyone can usetrompe l'oeil to change the appearance of furniture, ceilings, walls, or an entire room! It's easy, and you don't have to be a skilled painter to get fabulous effects; this basic primer guides you through all the materials; preparing surfaces; mixing colors; and the laws of perspective from background to mid-distance to foreground--even an aerial view. Beautiful projects include a projection of a window overlooking a park, extremely suitable for beginners; painted stones; decorative panels; and classical forms like arches and columns. You won't believe how fast you can get great results!

A unique seventeenth-century account of painting as it was practiced, taught, and discussed during a period of extraordinary artistic and intellectual ferment in the Netherlands. The only comprehensive work on painting written by a Dutch artist in the later seventeenth century, Samuel van Hoogstraten’s Inleyding tot de hooge schoole der schilderkonst, anders de zichtbaere werelt (Introduction to the Academy of Painting; or, The Visible World, 1678) has long served as a source of valuable insights on a range of topics, from firsthand reports of training in Rembrandt’s studio to contemporary engagements with perspective, optics, experimental philosophy, the economics of art, and more. Van Hoogstraten’s magnum opus—here available in an English print edition for the first time—brings textual sources into dialogue with the author’s own experience garnered during a multifaceted career. Presenting novel twists on traditional topics, he makes a distinctive case for the status of painting as a universal discipline basic to all the liberal arts. Van Hoogstraten’s arguments for the authority of what painters know about nature and art speak to contemporary notions of expertise and to the unsettled relations between theory and practice, making this book a valuable document of the intertwined histories of art and knowledge in the seventeenth century.

Italy possesses a mythical aura: in no other country do antiquity and modernity, history, art, landscape, and the graceful art of living coexist with such elegance, providing a rich cornucopia of images for creating striking interiors. In this third volume in the trompe l'oeil series, Ursula and Martin Benad offer Pompeian motifs for stylish entrance halls. Venetian vistas for luxurious bathrooms, and Tuscan landscapes for kitchen and dining areas, as well as tips on painting technique. They show how to design and build up a landscape step-by-step ; create authentic-looking antique frescoes ; paint a ceiling in the style of Tiepolo, ande ; re-create the popular "Mediterranean" atmosphere by using trompe l'oeil painting in a way that is practical and at the cutting edge of modern-day design.

A how-to craft book that shows how to use simple stenciling, template and faux finish techniques to create trompe l'oeil paintings.