Secco

Currently on exhibit at the Forum Gallery are the paintings of Peter Krausz. His medium, called Secco, is an ancient one. and means 'dry' in Italian. Here is a little bit about it from the Forum Web page http://www.forumgallery.com/2005/e_krausz.html

The difference between fresco and secco:

In painting, the term fresco (pl. frescoes) comes from the Italian phrase buon fresco, ("really fresh") a technical term in opposition to in secco ("on dry surface"). True, or buon fresco, technique consists of painting in pigment in a water medium on wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster. In secco painting is done on dry plaster and with the pigments in a binding medium, like egg. The difference between the two techniques is that the wet plaster as it dries absorbs the pigment and the painting becomes part of the wall surface rather than resting on top of it. This makes a very durable work of art; if the wall is destroyed the painting can often be reassembled because of the size of the plaster parts.