The Painted House: Over 100 Original Designs for Mural and Trompe L'Oeil Decoration [Paperback]

Graham Rust (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Stunning trompe l'oeil paintings grace the walls of dozens of stylish homes in Europe and America. This fascinating style book showcases the best of Rust's work--from dramatic entryway scenes to elaborate murals for the bedroom. Includes projects for every home, from small chimney boards to folding screens to full-room scenic paintings. 260 color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beautifully designed and illustrated, and accompanied by a concise text, this book offers a curiously limited but enticing glimpse of the possibilities of interior wall painting. Rust, an English muralist, has compiled reproductions of over 100 of his murals designed for a variety of spaces, complete with handsome watercolor sketches illustrating the development of each design. His work, while masterfully executed, is largely derivative, relying on the art of antiquity and a trompe l'oeil painting technique. Most of the murals depicted are grand and fantastical and aspire to an old-world luxuriance better suited to hotel and restaurant walls than the average home, but contain details easily adapted to the needs of humbler spaces. Only a small portion of the volume is devoted to actual painting technique and practice. This is clearly not a do-it-yourself book; only an experienced painter could realize a mural based on information gleaned from the text. As a designer's sourcebook, it is limited by the homogeneity of Rust's own style, but offers valuable information on design considerations and conveys a refreshingly magical eccentricity.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

These three books look at decorative painting on a grand scale. Wrigley provides an overview of the art in her mostly inspirational rather than practical guide. She gives an international look at mural and trompe l'oeil painting in historical and contemporary settings, even including work by Rust. In his own work, Rust details his approach to trompe l'oeil by showing planned and in-situ projects that he has designed. He gives painting and planning advice as well as his sources for the inspiration of his designs. His book will be useful for experienced decoraters. Buckingham offers the amateur more detailed instructions for decorating walls, beginning with a review of necesarry equipment. She provides instructions for smaller projects before approaching larger-scale stenciling work such as painting mosaic floors and trompe l'oeil fireplaces, although stenciling is covered in better detail in Jane Gauss's Stencilling Techniques (LJ 5/15/96). While all are recommended where there is an interest, Buckingham and Rust should be the first choices for how-to collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821224549
• ISBN-13: 978-0821224540
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Painting & Wallpapering

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring but not helpful., June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Painted House: Over 100 Original Designs for Mural and Trompe L'Oeil Decoration (Paperback)

The incredible work that Graham Rust has produced is not at all a dissapointment. However, he doesn't in the least try to show you how to acheive any of the effects he has created. I have been painting murals for a couple of years and have found it hard to find a resource for learning Trompe Loeil, which would be my passion. I would have greatly appreciated some help from someone I admire in this field. All in all a great portfolio for Graham Rust if you want to pay to see his work, but if looking for a learning tool, this is not it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful artwork. An Inspiration Factory for muralists, August 31, 2000

By 

Jason and Melanie Danio (Poway, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Painted House: Over 100 Original Designs for Mural and Trompe L'Oeil Decoration (Paperback)

I just kinda stumbled upon this book and thought it was amazing. Rust displays murals for every type of room. As mentioned in some of the other reviews, this is not a "how-to" book per-se. But the reader can learn quite a lot from seeing how this master goes about his art. Everything you need to know is there except the actual rendering techniques. But he does explain how most of the murals were set up and designed. I highly recommend this book. Especially if you can find the hardcover. The softcover is a little too soft and I'm afraid its not the most durable book I've ever seen. But get it anyway and just be careful with the covers.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just beautiful!, August 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Painted House: Over 100 Original Designs for Mural and Trompe L'Oeil Decoration (Paperback)

This artist is incredible and the book, print, designs, layout -- everything is top notch. I doubt I could ever reproduce such an incredible level of expertise (not exactly a how-to book) but I would buy again just for the sheer pleasure and inspiration!