# aging/texturing a "painting"



## natebish (Apr 4, 2011)

i doing a show which calls for a portrate. so instead of commitioning a peice from an artist i plan to get a large color print out at kinkos and use that. my question is how do i make it look like it is acrylic on canvas that is at least twenty years old.


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## seanandkate (Apr 4, 2011)

Never done it, but might some varnish yellow it up nicely? Maybe a little gloss medium beforehand to give it some texture?


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## 65535 (Apr 4, 2011)

Photoshop has some cool brushstroke effects you can play with.

Then fade it, I don't know if you'll be able to get any real texture out of it. Keep in mind when you blow up images they start looking bad fast.


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## JBrennan (Apr 5, 2011)

There are companies online that will print a photo on canvas for you and even manipulate it to look like a painting. I've seen coupons offered online for $25 to $30 bucks for a 17x20 ish canvas.


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## jglodeklights (Apr 5, 2011)

First, knowing the needed size and the distance the portrait will be from the audience will be useful, because that will allow us to help you evaluate the required level of detail.

Second, most paintings that are no older than 20 years honestly shouldn't look very different from the way they did when they were painted. Even up to 30 or 40 years they should have maintained their colorfastness. Beyond that they may start to lose some if they haven't been properly stored/maintained.


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## Van (Apr 5, 2011)

I think what ^ he said is true. If you lare looking to push reality then, Shellac is your friend. Get clear shellac and spray a couple of coats. < Highly flammable Follow all manufacturerers instructions> After two medium coats of spray use some shellac with a bit of orange, ad or black pigment mixed in. Brush on this new mix. After it dries you should be able to give it a cracked finish just by manual stimulation.... This worked really well on a Creche set I did last year. I printed it on an HP1055cm on 20# Bond, with water based ink. the important thing is to not 'work' it too much or it will eat into the ink and cause bleeding.


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## MPowers (Apr 5, 2011)

A Painting 20 years Old!!!......!!!! Practically brand new. A painting of me 20 years ago would be 22 years after I got out of grad school. You don't need to make it old, only "textured". Take the Kinko print and match the color with acrylic. Add a touch of thickness/texture to the hair, nose, brows and edges of jacket or clothing edges. You're not trying to make it look old, only like a painting instead of a print.


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## natebish (Apr 5, 2011)

jglodeklights said:


> First, knowing the needed size and the distance the portrait will be from the audience will be useful, because that will allow us to help you evaluate the required level of detail.


 
it will be roughly 20x36 and it will be veiw from at least twenty feet (first row)

the reason i was thinking aged was because it is set in 1850's russia in a rather small village and i kinda got the feeling that things didn't really last that long so 20 years would be a long time


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## MPowers (Apr 6, 2011)

Ah Ha! So, set in 1850, things should look old? Actually, anything made after 1830 should look relatively new to the people in the play and the audience watching. Think King Arthur, his armor should be new, not 1500 years old. Cleopatra, her things should look new, not 2100 years old. 

Things should age relative to the time and place of the show. President Abraham Lincoln, looking at the Declaration of Independence, is looking at a 90 year old document, looking at the Treaty of Versailles, 55 years+- into his future, although it is 80 years or so in our past. Unless the director is trying to make a statement or some kind of point, new should equal the time when the play is set by the script or the director.


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## BrianWolfe (Apr 6, 2011)

I think the effect you are looking for is called craquelure. They actually make a product with that name that creates the aaged cracked look of an old oil painting. I have used it and it works well. Here is a video:

YouTube - crackle glaze and craquelure decorative aged paint effect


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## erichart (Apr 6, 2011)

Like Sean Stone said above, a gesso or gloss artist's medium laid over top (I like Rosco Crystal Gel myself) will give it the appearance of brush strokes. 

Keep in mind that acrylic paint only really became available in the 1950s, a good hundred years after your play is set. Most major paintings in 1850s Russia were oil on canvas.

Oil paintings become yellower over time, and can develop craquelure as others have mentioned above. I like to use a coat or two of amber shellac to make things yellower and older looking.


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## jonliles (Apr 6, 2011)

erichart said:


> Keep in mind that acrylic paint only really became available in the 1950s, a good hundred years after your play is set. Most major paintings in 1850s Russia were oil on canvas.
> 
> Oil paintings become yellower over time, and can develop craquelure as others have mentioned above. I like to use a coat or two of amber shellac to make things yellower and older looking.


 

Since the OP did not specify OIL painting, it could be Tempera (egg & acid based). Tempera was common in Russian Inconography AND it is much cheaper than oils. Think of it this way, the "The Last Supper" frescoe is tempera on plaster and is many centuries old (side note: if ever in Milan go see it at the Santa Maria del Grazie). It does not normall yellow as it tends to become more powdery and fade. Oh yeah, never wash with water. I learned that one the hard way on a 60 yo tempera painting I had.


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## erichart (Apr 8, 2011)

jonliles said:


> Since the OP did not specify OIL painting, it could be Tempera (egg & acid based). Tempera was common in Russian Inconography AND it is much cheaper than oils. Think of it this way, the "The Last Supper" frescoe is tempera on plaster and is many centuries old (side note: if ever in Milan go see it at the Santa Maria del Grazie). It does not normall yellow as it tends to become more powdery and fade. Oh yeah, never wash with water. I learned that one the hard way on a 60 yo tempera painting I had.


All good stuff to know. The OP did say it was a portrait, which wouldn't have been painted in the style of an Icon. Other than Icons, oil painting was pretty universal during this time period in this part of the world.


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