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What is a bas-relief? The ratio of bas-relief and sculpture, types of relief:

Answering the question of what a bas-relief is and what types of relief there are in general, I have long been giving a clear example through a speculative experiment, after which everything immediately becomes clear.

Let's start with the generic definition. Bas-relief is a kind of such genre as sculpture. Only in the case of sculpture do we have a 360-degree viewing area, we create a copy or interpretation of the subject that can be walked around and viewed from all sides. Whereas everything that has a foothold on the wall already belongs to such basic types of sculpture as bas-relief, high relief, low relief and counter-relief.

What is the difference between the varieties of convex images? I explain this with the example of an apple. Take an apple, cut it in half and glue it to the wall, and you will get a bas-relief. That is, in the case of the bas-relief, we pulled out up to half the volume of the real object, recreating its image. If we cut off a third of the apple and glue three quarters to the wall, we will get almost a whine.

How to take care of the bas-relief? Practical advice.

There is no doubt that we want the bas-relief to always look like the first day it appeared in your interior and delight with its whiteness. In order for the work to retain its primary appearance, several simple tips for caring for a plaster art object should be followed.

Each bas-relief that we produce or that you will create with us at the master class is covered with a water-based, washable paint. It not only gives it a finished look, but also protects it from negative environmental influences. Such a coating assumes that the bas-relief can be wiped.

However, the general recommendation is to start with dry cleaning. The most important thing is to remove dust from the bas-relief so that there are no streaks on its surface. And for this purpose, you will need such a wonderful tool as a pipidaster, familiar to many housewives.

We usually give a pipidaster to each of our customers so that you can easily take care of your product yourself!

Is it possible to use the bas-relief in humid rooms? What is the plaster afraid of?

It is a well-known fact that gypsum can collapse, accumulating moisture in itself. So is it really impossible to place bas-reliefs in damp rooms and outdoors? The answer is yes! And now I will tell you why and how to do it correctly.

In our practice, we have already integrated bas-reliefs into bathrooms and into the pool, and even found such projects where the bas-relief had direct contact with water. In order for you to have no fears, and the water calmly descended from the bas-relief, we use hydrophobizers.

After manufacturing, the bas-relief undergoes a three-stage treatment - impregnation with a hydrophobizer, painting and another layer of coating with a hydrophobizer on top, for reliability. This system allows you to avoid undesirable consequences that may occur when the plaster gets wet.

What is this mysterious material with a complicated name? The principle of operation of the hydrophobizer is simple and effective - it creates a very thin film that allows moisture to escape from the bas-relief, rather than accumulate in it. In this case, large drops of water will be.

How do I select the height of the relief for the panel?

Let's start with what height is. When we talk about the height of the relief, we mean its thickness. In other words, how far the relief is from the plane of the wall.

When making this decision, it is very important to take into account the layout of the room in which the work of art will be placed. In high-traffic areas, such as a corridor, we need to keep the relief as low as possible so that it is less traumatic.

If we put a high relief in such an area, especially if the passageway is narrow, even without additional blocking elements, there are two major risks that you may encounter. Firstly, the occupants or visitors to the space are likely to be injured by the protruding parts of the bas-relief. Secondly, the bas-relief itself will be traumatised and destroyed in such unpleasant situations.

Therefore, for us, the creators whom you trust to fill your interior with aesthetics, it is essential not only to create the image itself, but also to take into account the layout and the flow of light. This is the next important point, which I will discuss in detail in a separate topic. For now, I would like to say that in the case of low relief, i.e. when creating a bas-relief with a slight deviation from the plane of the wall, the most advantageous lighting option should be considered beforehand.

We are talking about the distance between the light sources on the ceiling or on the sides of the work of art. A simple formula applies: the lower the relief, the sharper the angle of the light beam. This allows us to add dramatic shadows and visually increase volume even at low heights.

The principles of lighting and the arrangement of light sources in a bas-relief

The play of light and shadow on the bas-relief is the result of the interaction of two types of light - natural and artificial.

The position of the artificial light sources depends directly on the height of the relief, and the height of the relief should in turn be chosen on the basis of the possibility of their position. The higher the relief is, the more obtuse the lighting angle can be. If the relief is shallow, the lighting angle should be sharper, i.e. at an acute angle to the plane in which the bas-relief is located.

However, I always say that the most advantageous light is not artificial light, but natural light. We must pay particular attention to this. So my recommendation for choosing a location for the bas-relief is this: choose a wall that is at right angles to the total luminous flux. It's easy to define: go inside, find a window. You will have two walls that form a 90-degree angle with the wall where the window is. This is the best place for a bas-relief.

The bas-relief, which is parallel to the plane of the window and therefore to the natural light flow, does not usually receive such an advantageous oblique illumination. Natural lighting is good because it creates a lot of interesting light reflexes on the plaster, breaking up the dull, flat shadows - an important effect that can make the relief come alive in a new way.

Another lighting option worth mentioning is the use of a single artificial light source from above the panel. Many people find this solution attractive because it creates dramatic shadows. They look really cool in photographs, but in real life they do not allow the bas-relief to show its full potential and versatility. It is therefore very important to use several light sources to emphasise all the advantages and beauty of your bas-relief.

So my advice is to think about several lighting scenarios at the same time. It's good if the spots, the side lights and the general lighting work. And most importantly, it gives a certain variability of perception. You will never get bored with your work of art if you can look at it with a fresh eye every time and explore the sides from which it can open up to you.

The bas-relief can look great in the daytime, disappearing quietly into the room. And that, too, needs to be understood. You should not expect it to be a permanent feature in the interior, because its role is to complement the overall picture, not to attract all the attention. Sometimes customers would come to me and say that they liked the way their panel looked at night, but during the day it was not visible at all. They asked me to decorate the plaster and add shadows. I am fundamentally opposed to such interventions, which disturb the natural life of the bas-relief. Besides, I know that you yourself will get tired of the constant accentuation. Imagine that your interior is a well-coordinated orchestra and that the bas-relief is not always the first violin.

Recommendations for placing a bas-relief in a living space

The best option is to place the bas-relief in a plane perpendicular to the natural flow of light. In other words, on a wall turned 90 degrees from the window. In this way, daylight can be captured by oblique rays and volumes can be extracted.

If, on the other hand, we install a bas-relief directly opposite the light flow and the light falls on it from all sides, it will emphasise all the volumes and the beauty of your bas-relief will not be visible during the day.

Of course, you can concentrate on artificial light sources if this is not essential for you. But I always recommend using a combination of all the light sources available to show off your artwork to its best advantage. It is always better to adapt the interior to the location of the bas-relief than to place it in an unsuitable location. We will be happy to advise you and help you make an informed decision.

Placing the bas-relief on the wall - as a painting or as part of the wall?

The bas-relief can be mounted directly on the wall or it can be a mobile painting in its own right. Most of the time we use the first option, but the gallery format has many advantages.

Firstly, it brings the panels as close as possible to an art gallery format. This means that you get a work of art that can be picked up and moved to any new space, rather than being left hanging on the wall. Life in the modern world is often very fast-moving, so some customers ask for this option. Another reason why people turn to us for an art format is the desire to leave the work of art created to their children and grandchildren, wherever they may be. Here, the tendency is to think in terms of art investments.

However, there are several technical nuances that we rely on when recommending a particular format to a client. When we choose the format of the painting, it is constrained by certain limits of size and weight, which cannot be said of the bas-reliefs, which are an integral part of the wall. Accordingly, our artistic endeavours must fit within these limits.

The conventional size for such a panel is 2 x 1.5 m. This is due to the fact that the bas-relief itself is executed on a rather thick, rigid base, the pedestal. Imagine that this is the same stretcher for the painting, only more rigid and dimensional, and therefore very heavy. In addition, the size of this base is limited by the fact that it cannot fit into all rooms. When we make bas-reliefs to cover part of a wall, we can easily cut them into pieces and assemble them at the installation stage, but the panel painting is a complete finished product.

The maximum size of a picture bas-relief for an apartment is regulated so that our specialists can load it into a goods lift and pass through all the openings without hindrance. In addition, two people should be able to easily lift the product, based on the calculation of a maximum of 40-50 kg per person.

If we are talking about the format of an integral part of the wall, then we usually do this work on a lightweight 12mm plasterboard base, which we then integrate into the wall - we cut out the stain and reduce the base to the plane of the wall. Another option is to dispense with a skirting board altogether. If the bas-relief has a clear outline, then we can draw the outline of the object to be executed, for example a flower, not on a plinth, but on a cellophane base, which we then glue directly to the wall.

As you can see, each format really does have its pros and cons and each has its place. We will be happy to help you decide which is more suitable for you.

Can you paint bas-reliefs different colours?

I have long since formulated my principled position on this subject. Firstly, I believe that the introduction of colour into a bas-relief can only be done by a practising painter. It is a very difficult task and I personally know literally two artists who can do it competently. It is important to understand that working with colour is an entirely separate field and body of knowledge.

Secondly, I have followed a certain path in terms of my creativity. It lies in the fact that I use completely different means, based on lighting solutions, to reveal the bas-relief. We are talking about the correct positioning of the bas-relief and the light sources, which I have described in detail in the corresponding topic. When I look at the bas-reliefs, on which some airbrushing methods have been used to create great depth, I do not feel any incongruity, especially in daylight. I understand that the graphic and lighting problems are not solved in such works, and the presence of colour seems like a crutch.

However, the possibilities of introducing colour into bas-relief are appropriate where low relief, medallion or perspective is used. Due to the lack of volume, when it is not possible to emphasise the height by sharply picking up the light, it is appropriate to use colouring methods in the form of lamination, patination or a mixture of the two.

These are pictorial techniques that can be combined with each other. The only thing that matters to me is that I prefer a noble and classic monochrome solution. That is more than enough. It is possible to consider adding some nuances and colour inclusions, but there is no point in colouring the bas-relief as a picture. This means that I will never make a landscape, for example, where the grass is green, the sky is blue, the mountains are brown, and so on. It all begins to devalue the work immediately.

What do the techniques listed look like in low relief? They look like the natural ageing effect you would see on a coin. Think of coins and medallions that start to wear with age - dust and dirt get into the recesses of the volumes, naturally exposing and accentuating the relief. A similar principle and effect is used in laminating and patinating.

What is intellectual art?

Our studio's projects are divided into purely decorative and conceptual ones. For a better understanding, I usually use a very simple metaphor about pies. Let's say we have pasta pies and meat pies. Outwardly, they may look the same - both are visually attractive, toasty, reddish-brown. But only the customer can know what they really need. They may want a visual, decorative feature, regardless of what is inside, and they do. Or the filling is fundamentally important to him and he wants our art to reflect some of his inner experiences or values, which he will uncover together with me as an artist and guide.

Of course, such intellectual art, that is, art with a hidden meaning embedded in it, requires a deep immersion of all participants in this act of creation. Myself in the first place, but also the client, the designer or the architect. Uncovering inner meanings and building a story is a long process. Also, not everyone is ready to open up to me as in a psychological session. So sometimes I have to really pull information out of them and collect it bit by bit, or even make up a story for the client from scratch and make sure they respond.

Here, as an actor, I create not only the bas-relief itself, but also its story, I compose something that grabs the viewer's attention. For the client, this whole process can be like an interesting game, because he is also an active actor: by telling me his fantasies, which I will embody in an art object, he already involves his own viewers. As a result, the conceptual work has a cumulative semiotic effect, i.e. it contains many meanings that are further interpreted, forming a hermeneutic circle of meaning.

However, as the laying of a special filling involves such a deep dive, we emphasise this option - the creation and opening up of meanings - separately. Of course, we are not devaluing beauty for the sake of beauty, but "meat pies", i.e. intellectual conceptual work, require more research and spend more time in the stages of searching for an idea and creating a sketch, so they are more expensive. It's just a different level of commitment and waste of intellectual resources. Nevertheless, from the point of view of visual and aesthetic value, each of our projects, with or without hidden meanings, is equally good.

How do I choose the paint for the bas-relief?

Normally, we use any simple water-based emulsion paint that can be bought at a DIY store to paint bas-reliefs.

There are now a huge number of water-based and water-dispersion paints on the market, but don't let this variety fool you. The most important rule when choosing a plaster paint is that it must be water soluble.

It is also a good idea to opt for deep matt paints, as glossy paints are more difficult to work with. Gloss brings out many pores and possible flaws, and it takes special skill to apply it evenly. You can certainly consult the specialists and managers in the store to understand how the paint works and make a rational choice. I also share an observation - the way the paint market has changed now suggests that there is a fairly convincing correlation between price and quality in this area.

However, when it comes to choosing a particular brand, I have noticed that each painting professional prefers a particular brand based solely on their subjective opinion and experience. So, I repeat, you can buy the paint in any large DIY store. Where you are guaranteed to find high quality materials and tools that are comfortable to use.

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