Description
Marble Statues and Columns Layered in Gold Leaf Paint by Numbers Kit
The canvas is built like a collage, and nothing quite lines up. Panels of different colours overlap one another all the way to the edges: a slab of deep terracotta red on the left, a broad block of cobalt blue below it, a pale yellow field in the middle, a dark maroon block at the upper right, a violet panel on the right edge, and an olive green band running along the bottom. Across these flat fields are scattered fragments of the classical world. In the bottom left corner, a marble head of a young man looks sideways, its features painted in cool grey and lavender with a shadowed eye socket. Next to it, a small black circle sits on the blue panel. In the upper right, a fragment of a draped female figure in profile, sculpted in pale stone, is framed by a thin white border. Behind it, more drapery, a hint of a second face, and a square blue and gold spiral motif. On the right, a small seated figure in violet holds a broad round shield, and at the lower right a carved stone rosette sits in a terracotta square. Down the middle, a golden column capital and an urn glow against a blue green painted sky, with a tiny white statue on a distant plinth. Everywhere across the whole surface there are ragged flakes and patches of gold leaf.
The gold leaf is nothing more than small, irregular patches of ochre, cadmium yellow and deep bronze placed flat against their surroundings, and the trick is to keep them opaque and slightly rough-edged rather than blended, because softness destroys the effect instantly. The marble fragments, by contrast, are the places where real shading is needed: cool grey and lilac in the shadow, warm cream and pale yellow in the light, and it is worth keeping those two temperatures separate so the stone never looks like putty. The flat colour panels should stay genuinely flat and the boundaries between them crisp, since they are what makes the composition read as a collage rather than as a scene.
What Is Included in the Kit
- One pre-printed canvas with numbered sections, sized 16×20 inches
- 24 numbered acrylic paint pots covering golds, bronze, marble greys, blues and terracottas
- Three professional detail brushes for the faces, filigree ornaments, rosette and gold flaking
- A colour reference sheet showing the completed artwork
- Printed instructions suitable for complete beginners
Sizes and Options
Available as a 16×20 inch canvas with a 24 colour palette. Choose No Frame – Rolled if you would like to frame the finished piece yourself, or Pre-Stretched Frame if you would rather begin right away and hang it as soon as it dries.
Rich, Timeless and Wonderfully Theatrical
Large flat panels mean this canvas is quicker than it looks, and the gold leaf gives it a warmth that ordinary colour cannot match. The finished picture suits a living room, study, dining room or hallway, and it looks superb in a wide gold or black frame. A distinguished gift for anyone who loves classical art and rich colour.