Creating Faux Marble

     This is a cute table, perfect for a faux marble top. Sis and I, also, gave it a simple glazed finish.
     If you are a decorative artist, creating convincing marble finishes is part of the job. Some are more challenging then others, but I find creating Carrara marble simple to do. And with a few special tools and supplies, you can create your own.

 
     If this is your first attempt at painting marble, you might feel overwhelmed. That is okay. But I promise, you will feel better when the task is broken down into layers. So let's gather up some needed supplies. 
    On the table top, I used acrylic paint; however, you can use oil paint as well, which stays wet longer, so manipulating the paint is a lot easier. If you are more comfortable using oil paint, do not hesitate in using it because the steps are the same with either oil or acrylic. 
     1) You will need a glazing medium, either oil or acrylic. I used Perfetto, but any acrylic/oil glaze will do. I also like the Folk Art floating medium. 
     2) Stipple brush, primarily used to soften paint passages and backgrounds. If you don't have a stipple brush, use a regular house brush in a perpendicular fashion. 
     3) An assortment of brushes, large ones for brushing on glaze and smaller liner brushes for creating marble veins.
     4)  Sponge for creating backgrounds. 
     5)  Badger brush......to create any marble, you HAVE to have a softening brush. Depicted above, there is a small Badger brush and Hake brush (If you do not have one of these, you could try to use a soft-haired cosmetic brush that is normally used for applying powdered foundations or a fan blending brush from a craft store.)
     6)  A piece of real marble to use as a reference. (Sis loves Carrara marble, and this chunk of marble was once part of her coffee table. Yes, it is still a painful subject.) This is not mandatory.  You can use a picture from the internet as well.

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CREATING THE BACKGROUND

      Although we are creating Carrara marble that has a "white" background, painting a pure white background would be a bad start. 
1) White being the predominate color, notice that my pallet is in colors of creams and varying shades of light gray. Use your damp sponge to create a pleasing background while softening the colors with your stipple brush.  
2) When you are happy with the background that you have created, let it dry completely. 
Notes: If you are particularly fond of one of your marble layers, and you feel that it might be destroyed in subsequent layers; seal that layer with a sealer before proceeding on. 
I used white, satin interior house paint as a base. 

 

 THE FIRST LAYER

     Study your reference marble. Notice above the background, there are striations of blue/gray marble veins. That is what we will create next.
     Also in the picture above, notice that I have placed some glaze on the left hand plate. With a large brush, lay down a layer of pure glaze on your work piece. While the layer of glaze is still wet and using a liner brush, begin to strike through the glaze in a diagonal fashion with a light shade of blue-gray paint (white+black+blue= blue/gray). Quickly soften your brush strokes with a Badger brush or softening brush. When you are happy with your marble veins, let this layer dry. 

Notes:  
1) When using your Badger or softening brush, the vary tip of the brush should be the only part that strikes the work; use a very light touch when softening your colors.
2) If you are using acrylic paint, work in smaller sections because of the rapid drying time. 
3) Notice on the second plate, on the right hand side, that I have placed my acrylic colors on a damp piece of paper towel. This keeps the colors wet longer. It also helps to have a small spray bottle of water handy and spray your palette occasionally during your work period (This is not necessary when working in oil).  
4) While I am mixing my colors, I put a dab of glaze in the mixture.

   THE SECOND LAYER
   
     From the second layer on, you have to study your reference marble; and on the second layer, I see that we need to create some marble veins that are predominately colored a warm gray (blue-gray + brown= warm gray). So you do exactly what you did on the first layer, which was to paint a thin layer of pure glaze; next, using a small brush, create or emphasize marble veins with your warm gray. Then quickly soften your strokes with a softening brush. If there is a certain veining pattern in your reference marble that you find interesting, try to copy it. 
      I am calling the sample done on the second layer. But you could let this layer dry and continue adding more detail, using the same technique as in the first two layers. It's your call; you are the artist.  ~Sandy~