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Decorative painting in early America in the style of Trompe L' Oeil was done primarily in wood graining, marblizing, stenciling and architectural elements such as moldings, panels , and ornaments, all to decieve the eye into thinking that something was there that actually was'nt. In early America, it was easier and less expensive to have a cheap piece of pine painted to resemble a fine mahogany wood. Some "faux" is still done today for the same reasons, but for the most part it is the other way around when it comes to price! With artistic impression added in, the painted object quite often is more interesting than the real thing.

The history of this art form dates back to around 1850-1890 (Victorian Era) in America. In Canada it dates back to 1790. Trompe L’oeil, meaning “that which deceives the eye”, can be dated as far back as 400 B.C. as part of the Greek and Roman frescoes.

This type painting was done in the fashion of niches, fine art, murals, fake windows, theatrical sets and architectural details and still is today. In early America, the most common of the trompe l’ oeil painting techniques were of wood graining, marbling, stenciling and architectural details. This was done in America and Canada by European immigrants experienced in this type painting so as to make ordinary furnishings and buildings look more expensive. If you could not afford mahogany, paint the pine to look like it!

In the late 1800s it was a very popular and very high end wall and ceiling finish mainly done for the wealthy. Churches, hotels, some public buildings, and mansions would commission artists to paint these panels and moldings, and ornate plaster renditions on there flat walls, giving a 3-deminsional illusion. The majority of these paintings were done in distemper paint, a mixture of water, whiting and glue with pigments added. Because this paint isn’t very stable, a lot of the art work was destroyed by simple cleaning or just painted over. Some were done in oil. We have to remember there were no “paint stores” during this time and each decorative painter would have to make there own. Not until 1875 did pre-mixed paint appear in stores. Paint already made! (They invented the paint can.) What a great idea. This was the start of commercial oil paint. Also the start of the “do it yourselfer”. I should also mention that to get the best effect out of this type trompe l’oeil, a flat paint is the best as reflecting light tends to ruin the illusion. I did see fluted columns done in trompe where the surface of the flutes I will attempt to explain painted with a slight gloss, and the inside of the flute was painted in flat, that gave a wonderful realistic look.

Trompe l’oeil is hand painted, but there are many techniques for aiding in rendering that have been forgotten. The architectural trompe l’ oeil of paneling, molding, crown molding, is done by the method of “striping”. This is the road I’m taking you down. This is my favorite form of painting and currently our major work in restoration. This method requires a striping board and striping brush. They have also been called a lining boards or sticks. These tools are used to create elements such as crown molding or other straight forms of molding, of various complexities. To see gallery photos, visit Charles Schumacher pages for examples of molding painted with a striping board. Stripes are painted using the board with the bevel facing the painting surface; a striping brush (flat, angular) is pulled along the edge using very even pressure. The beveled edge keeps the paint that collects on the board from bleeding onto the wall. Also, the direction that one is working in must be carefully considered, if painting stripes next to one another, so that the board doesn’t rest on wet paint.

When choosing colors for trompe l’oeil elements it is essential to have a range of tints and shades created from a base color, or the overall color for the walls and/or moldings, and other decorative elements, though they don’t all have to have the same base color. Highlights are commonly created by adding white to the base color, and shadows adding the appropriate darker hue, depending on the color. The project we are currently working on has 2 highlight tints, the base, and 5 shadows. The more highlights and shadow in the range, the more depth and fluidity, the greater the illusion.