how to lazure paint?

In Lazure Painting, many thin layers of transparent colors are applied with a rhythmical movement using special, wide brushes. The final result is achieved from many layers of sheer color painted over a white surface. The light white reflects through, giving the colors a living and breathing quality.

Lazure is layers of paint prepared nearly as thin and transparent as watercolor, consisting of water, binder, and pigment. It is applied with a rhythmical movement using large brushes. The final color is achieved using varied colors applied in several layers, over a white surface. Light passes through these thin layers of color and is reflected back, giving a pure color experience. Flat, monotone colors are tiring on the eyes while color with variation of hue and tone stimulate and balance the activity of the eyes. The lazure method offers a creative and conscientious use of color that provides nourishment for the eye and the soul. It can achieve aesthetically beautiful results and act as a powerful healing influence amid the stress and tension of modern life. Lazure painted walls have enlivened many schools, as well as offices, restaurants, residences, curative and medical establishments and places of worship.

RUDOLF STEINER Rudolf Steiner encouraged artists to paint walls with transparent radiant color. He used the word “lasur” to describe this new way of coloring walls—where color would feel as though it were in the space and not just on the wall. This provided a pure experience of color—as though one could “spiritually pass through the walls.” In 1907 and 1908 Steiner spoke of new impulses in the arts and demonstrated these new directions. In a lecture given in 1911 he spoke especially of the importance of transparent color on walls. The early attempts were often unsuccessful because the application of fluid color on vertical surfaces had not previously been achieved. Rudolf Steiner developed organic paints to be used on the two interlocking domes of the first Goetheanum building: first the white coats, then the medium to carry the pigments. Plant colors were also developed and used for the murals on these domes. Although Steiner’s original formulas lay dormant many years, research continued to re-establish organic mediums and plant color production. These were available in the 1970’s and further developed in the 80’s and 90’s and used in the completion of the second Goetheanum.

THE PIONEERS & EARLY EXAMPLES OF THE WORK The question of using lasur in the Stuttgart School came up in 1953. Dr. Schwebsch saw the future potential of this impulse and convinced the faculty to use the lasur method in the reconstructed main building of the school. Manfred Ziegler and Julius Hebing were responsible for the work. By 1954 a few rooms in the Weleda building in Schwabish Gmud had also been painted. The first Waldorf School to be completely lasur painted was the Kristoffer School in Sweden, painted by Arne Klingborg and Fritz Fuchs in 1956-57. They used acrylic medium for the lasur work. During World War II, when linseed oil became scarce, developments were made by the inventors of artificial resins. These were used for general wall paint as well as for preparing acrylic medium that could be used for the lasur technique. This provided the boost needed for the lasur development. Still, the preferred materials would be organic, or natural, and not synthetic.  It is well worth noting that the curative home “Mikaelgarden” (Jarna, Sweden) is one of the earliest examples of lasur. It was painted by Arne Klinborg and Helmut Lauer in 1935 using tempura paint. It is also an early example of the complete integration of glass, form, and color. The Swedish artist Arne Klingborg, and the English architect Rex Raab living in Germany, were very strong pioneers of the lasur work. Klingborg inspired Fritz Fuchs who subsequently became the best known lasur artist in Europe. In Jarna, Sweden many projects have been accomplished by Fritz Fuchs. His work can be seen in the Vidarklinneken, an anthroposophical hospital; several Waldorf Schools; many residential settings; and the Kulturhaus, a very large and beautiful building serving the larger community of southern Sweden. Naturally, many others have followed in their respective countries and huge projects have been accomplished. Uwe Janke, of Germany met with Fritz and Arne in 1961 about lasur work. Seven years later he patented the first professional grade large production paint products for lasur. Later Fritz got production rights to provide these paints in Sweden. The Farbygge Company became established in Jarna, Sweden. Perhaps the largest project to date was the Herdecke Community Hospital in Germany. The lasur work for this  facility, with approximately 650 rooms, was planned and executed by Uwe Janke  while  Walter RoggenKamp painted the facade.  Another large project was the Swiss curative community of Ekkarthof with nearly 300 rooms.

ROBERT LOGSDON’S   INTRODUCTION TO LASUR While a student at Emerson College in England (1973-74) Robert participated in painting several classrooms of the Michael Hall Waldorf School in Forest Row, Sussex. In the summer of 1973, through arrangements by Anne Stockton, painting teacher at Emerson, he was able to work with Fritz Fuchs on the Ekkarthof project in Switzerland, designed by Rex Raab. In 1974 he joined Anne Stockton on a tour of conferences in the U.S. introducing lasur and painting  classrooms. After another year at Emerson and more lasur work in England, Robert returned to the U.S. in 1976 and founded ColorSpace to facilitate the work. Since then, others have taken up the work and now several professionals work in the U.S.

If you’ve been inside a Waldorf school somewhere in the world then you’ve seen Lazure painting. A layering of translucent interplaying colors to create murals or subtlety color-filled rooms. They change with the light kind of like a pastel James Turrell piece. The strength of the technique is in slowly adding multiple thin coats of color, that when complete gives the room an ever shifting tone and movement that normally applied opaque paints could never achieve. Of course to get there you’re talking a minimum of 10 layers of action from primer to finish coat.

This week I got the chance to practice the technique for the first time on someone else’s wall!! All right, that’s not quite as bad as it sounds for the homeowner! I did go to a Waldorf school for 8 years and had loads of experience with “veil painting” and amazingly had Chuck Andrade, the world renowned lazure painter, for an elementary and high-school art teacher. The best part was one of his adult students, Susan Henson, would be teaching us this technique today!

Most important for the multi-layers of pigment is beginning with an utterly white base. Having previous wall color show through or off-white undertone will disrupt the clean interplay of light you’re going for–so prime, prime, prime!

The materials are pretty basic. You’ll want a clear acrylic glaze that will be the medium for your pigment, we used Benjamin Moore Aura egg-shell with no tint. For the tint we used Lazure by Andrade part of a great DIY kit. You can also use any artist grade acrylic.

For the application of color we used 2 large soft bristled brushes (black in the picture). To soften and blend the color we used 2 larger softer pool cleaning brushes (blue in the picture). We also had a bag of rags for streaks and drying the brushes as we blended the wet color. Drop clothes everywhere, an assortment of containers — 2.5 quarts, plastic shoebox, 5 gallon, 2 gallon and multi-opening. As well as step ladders to reach the ceiling.

Start by mixing your glaze medium with water in a 1:5 ratio, about 1 pint glaze to 5 pints water, stir, stir, stir so nothing settles, pour some into the shoebox container. Grab a pigment brush and in a circular motion work the watery glaze onto the brush. Beginning at the center of a wall at the ceiling or a ceiling corner, gently but quickly apply the clear glaze. Brush it on, back and forth in a figure 8 pattern. Stand back and look for drips, they tend to form, a minute after application, in the places where you began with a freshly dipped brush. Simply smooth back over them with your brush. Once one wall is complete go on to the next wall. Starting at the top and moving over and down. Next go to the opposite wall and then finish with the back wall. This clear coat will be the base that your tinted layers adhere to.

To mix your first tint glazes choose your colors! Mix a 2″ squeeze of tube paint or 2 Tablespoon of concentrated tint from a kit with a small amount of your 1:5 clear glaze mixture. Stir until well mixed. Add a quart of your 1:5 glaze and stir again. Add 1 quart of water to make a 1:10 glaze ratio.  Pour in a small amount of latex paint extender to keep the paint from drying to quickly.  The consistency of your glaze should be waterier than watercolor.

Pour your two starting colors into either side of the two sided bucket, dip the brush you used for the clear coat, starting with the lightest color. Begin adding color to the wall starting in the same center or corner that you started the clear glaze. You always want to start with light colors then work your way darker. We began with a sunny yellow around the window then wet blended it into a cadmium orange and ended with a magenta on the far wall’s corners. Once you have a few feet of paint on you need to quickly (and very gently) dry brush it–except by the paint edge, that needs to remain wet. Add your next patch of paint blending in to the wet border.

We had 1 person laying on the very wet glaze and 2 people dry brushing behind them. It moved quickly as we needed to get the paint up and blended while the glaze was still wet. The most important aspect of Lazure painting that Susan taught us was always having a wet border–never blend or paint onto a dry surface. Once you’ve scrambled around your room, dry brushing out any streaks, let it dry completely. This is great time to go to lunch!

For the second coat of glaze paint you can add a bit more tint to your mixture if you like. Apply the next layer in the same way as the first: Start at the top and move down and around, start with lighter colors then blend in darker, dry brush until no streaks and colors are well blended.

Let the 2nd layer dry completely then you may go back and add accent colors to certain areas (use a wet clear coat border to blend into the previous layer) dry brush and blend. Once the walls are dry seal it with a clear coat of your 1:5 mixture.

• Prep room for paint. Remove/cover furniture.
• Paint ceiling with roller. 1-2 coats as necessary.
• Paint trim and baseboards (and doors if necessary) with a 4 inch roller.
• Cut in along ceiling and around trim/baseboards with angeled paint brush with wall color paint.
• Roll paint on walls.
• Touch up and clean up.