Another question I hear very often is “are your mosaics painted?”

The short answer is: NO.
The only part of the mosaic I paint is the frame.

When I cut open a piece of stone or a marble and all the beauty inside is revealed, I choose the part of the material that I want to work with further. Natural stones are often very uneven in colouring and what’s on the outside does not necessarily appear on the inside. I regularly find surprises such as veins in contrasting colours, crystal mini-deposits, hidden rusty patches and all sorts of “extras”. The real fun is to find a piece in a perfect shade and then shape it into the form I want. I love to carefully inspect each piece in terms of colour, form and texture…. And that’s why mosaic making can be so time consuming!

Of course not all the projects require this kind of mental exercise but “Gradients” is a perfect example of the “painterly effect” that’s achieved by a lot of playing around with shades and hues.

Hands up if your first thought was that I painted over the stones. To me it is not surprising at all that you might think that. In fact “fauxsaics” are quite common and have been used in art for centuries.

For example this classic fresco of Raphael called Prime Mover (1509-1511) in the Vatican. The entire background is marked with mosaic-like squares. It’s not meant to trick the viewer but to give the otherwise flat and even background a softer texture.

And have you seen the work of Nick Misani and his amazing pictures of mosaic floors? Only they are not marble mosaics but digital illustrations!

And my personal, all time favourite “fake mosaic maker“ is Paul Klee and the painting “Ad Parnassum” from 1932. Inspired by divisionism as well as his trips to Ravenna and Venezia, which were and still both are considered prominent mosaic art hubs.

Never say never but currently my mosaics are made entirely with a hammer in stone and glass.