Arundel Eccentrics at Liberty, London

Last year Arundel Eccentrics  used Handover brushes, gilt creams and our Applicraft Cracquelure glazes to create these beautiful chests and tables for Liberty, London. Craquelure is the fine pattern of dense "cracking" formed on the surface of materials, either as part of the process of ageing or of their original formation or production. The term is most often used to refer to oil paintings and ceramics, where it is often deliberate, and usually called "crackle". It can also develop in old ivory carvings, and painted miniatures on an ivory backing are prone to craquelure. In this case Arundel recreated the natural cracking effect using our craquelure varnish system, which is applied as a two part application which then reproduces the delicate effect of cracked varnish. Applied to a decorated surface it will create fine web-like surface cracks within hours. The cracks are then coloured with artists' oil colour (for example raw umber) which will give an antique look. We offer a choice of three mediums, one for small fine cracking, one for medium and one for larger cracks. It is the base coat used that determines the size of the cracks so select one which is most appropriate to your project. Craquelure is not an exact science and you will find that no two surfaces will be exactly the same. The thickness of the base and top coats will affect the size of the cracks so always experiment first. [gallery link="file" columns="2" size="large" ids="1492,1490,1489,1487,1486,1485"]