"In order to succeed in fresco, the one should understand it's medium."
Michelangelo

Our curriculum explores The Medium of Fresco where pigment is bound to the surface via the process of carbonation of calcium hydroxide in the wet plaster. It is focused on the traditional buon (true) fresco technique (What is Fresco? - Fresco Painting Introduction article). Fresco School offers a full spectrum of boun fresco workshops and classes from introductory level lessons to advanced fresco programs and private fresco tutoring as well as DVD Video Fresco Painting Tutorials. Our curriculum also includes supplemental fresco restoration and mural painting seminars.

The True Green & Organic Method of Painting. As Applied and Fine art industries in modern society move more toward the use of green products, fresco stands as the original and truly pure "organic" method of painting. Fresco painting uses no petroleum-based solvents, glues or synthetic materials, therefore, none of the toxic fumes associated with volatile organic compounds (VOC's) are created. True frescoes are made of slaked lime (calcium hydrate) and paints prepared from natural pigments. Pigments, a ferric oxides, ochres, umbers are made of minerals and various clays. Calcium hydroxide, or lime patty, is not only a crucial element for plaster, but also has been used in agriculture as soil conditioner since the beginning of written record. Any plaster and paint debris from fresco painting can be dispersed safely and harmlessly into the ground since it contains only natural elements that directly benefit the earth, came from the earth and essentially "the earth itself" (clays, ferric oxides, calcium carbonate, sand).

Enrollment is open year around for everyone, class limits, schedule, descriptions, fees and availability are listed on corresponding pages of this site (see menu on the left). You can choose from:

• Private Programs - predefined sets of private (one-on-one) classes and assisted studio sessions spread over time with customizable schedule.

• Workshops - grouped together sets of consecutive classes offered periodically with fixed schedule.

• Classes - segments of programs and workshops that can be attended individually.

• Supplemental Seminars - conference style lectures on fresco painting related topics conducted by expert professionals.

Paintings as well as drawings created in oil or other non-fresco mediums have a relatively short life time. Examples of which can be traced back only for a several hundred of years. Historically frescoes were the only remaining "records", references to the techniques, methods and styles serving artists as the ultimate "study books". Since the Renaissance Fresco is referred to as "The Mother of All Arts".

Even a brief experience in fresco will dramatically improve your work in other mediums. The fresco experience an artist receives using our "Buon Fresco Foundations" video tutorials and/or attending a fresco workshop is invaluable for a better understanding of the classic principles of visual arts as it applies to painting and drawing. During just a few days of a hands on fresco class, intricate and refined technical details of any medium become evident to the student, while it can take years to understand the same principles when using other mediums.

The time constraints dictated by the chemical reactions that occur during fresco painting demanded efficiency and precision. Classic Painting system/techniques developed through fresco are the most efficient and refined painting methods in visual art.

To contact Fresco School use Contact Form or call:
(310) 779-5079 10 AM - 6 PM PST