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The colour of marble (or just B&W)

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Michael Markomanolakis

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Hello, I've managed to sketch from an old photo of mine the structure of the national library in Athens (metro station Panepistimio). Question is how to represent in colour the marbles. Is it better to try only liquid graphite for the shadows and disregard painting it in colour? I hesitate colouring it...

Alan Bickley

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It would help if you posted the photo! It can be done, I’m confident that I could get something reasonably close if I tried… but let’s see what you are copying from… And that’s the keyword here… copying! Nothing wrong with using your photos for reference, a great idea in fact. But, it’s always best if you can put your own take on it, you don’t want a slavish copy, or do you? So… does it matter if you can’t get it exact, which you can’t anyway, it’s a painting!

Michael Markomanolakis

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Here it is.  I forgot to mention that is from B&W film I think I took my own on it by not using ruler for the straight lines so it has something unique already. Thank you for the reply
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Liquid graphite, or liquid charcoal, would work as well as anything; or you could use a limited form of colour with conté crayon, use coloured pencil, it hardly matters - it's your vision of the structure after all, so please yourself about its colour. If you're thinking of using paint to represent it - is it really marble? - then, if you're looking for verisimilitude, you're going to have to go and look at it, because from this photograph it could be almost anything.  Otherwise, same thing applies - your picture, your choice of colour.   Marble tends to be of a cold, creamy look, so a grey tending towards blue might capture it: but in fact, I really doubt that this construction is built from marble - it would have cost a fortune.  PS - Wow: It really IS marble - no longer the home of the bulk of Greek national library collection, but the building still stands (I should hope so, too!).  Marble tends to be a cool white, but this building, standing since 1888 apparently, will have aged in the Athens city environment: to paint it, you need to really see it in order to do it justice.  

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by Robert Jones, Napa

Michael Markomanolakis

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I did not know the whole history of this building till now.  Indeed quite old and funded for its construction by individuals (not the government). From wiki I also found a picture that depicts its colours.

Alan Bickley

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These colours are easy to replicate… Off- white for the buildings and columns /  same mix with a hint of raw sienna/ a tiny touch of cobalt perhaps to tone it down for the balustrade and steps etc… Get mixing, and stop procrastinating, it’s simple enough! Trial and error is the keyword here, it’s better than asking for advice, because we aren’t involved with it, you are!

Edited
by Alan Bickley