Create a stone wall effect with just a few shades of paint and some creative sponge painting.
Centuries ago, artists were sometimes hired to paint the illusion of elaborate ceiling fixtures and domes on cathedral ceilings. This hyper realistic painting technique, known as trompe l'oeil, was often done to save money. Today, artists who specialize in trompe l'oeil faux painting may still be hired to paint the illusion of brick or stone on an otherwise flat, empty wall.
Instructions
1. Choose the colors of the stone. You will need a base coat (this will also form the color of the grout), then two shades of darker paint for the glaze on the stone.
2. Paint the base coat on the walls and allow it to dry. Use a roller for the large expanses of area and a paintbrush for the corners.
3. Mask off the edges of the stone using painter's tape. Where the painter's tape should be is where the grout will be on the finished wall.
4. Dip your sponge into the darker of the paint colors, dab the sponge to get rid of excess paint, and paint the outside edges and parts of the inside of the individual stones on the walls. This process is known as glazing. The sponge should start to create a shadow effect, creating the appearance of a rough texture on the stone.
5. Dip your sponge into the paint color you haven't yet used, dab the sponge to get rid of excess paint, then dab paint on the areas of the stone you left unglazed in step 4.
6. Smudge and blend together the fresh paint on the stones with a cheese cloth, to lessen the contrast between the two colors and to soften the sponge painting effect.
7. Remove the painter's tape from the walls.
8. Choose an imaginary light source--ideally, in the direction of an actual window in the room--and imagine light hitting every stone you just painted in the room. One edge of the stone would be lighter and one edge would be darker. Paint a strip of light paint (possibly the base coat) on the edge of the stone closest to the imaginary light source, then paint a strip of the darkest paint on the opposite edge of the stone to represent the shadow. This will give the stone the three dimensional look it needs.
