FAUX FINISH:
Faux finish, or ‘fake’ or ‘false’ finish in the French language, historically is a technique that re-creates surfaces found in nature as a scenario or presentation where it would more than likely be expected.
Faux finish has been utilized for centuries to present a visual re-creation where the actual material desired or required would present a most difficult choice: Exceptional, protected or extinct woods; Weighty limestone, marble and granite; Valuable semi-precious and precious stones and metals; Impossible structuring of beams, angles, cantilevers or dimensional shapes; Re-creations of historical and/or famous artworks; Protected hides, bones, exoskeletons or shells – and rare, logistically difficult or poisonous materials – all better left untouched; Delicate and time-sensitive materials; or Quantities or amounts that are impractical or unnecessary.
Current understanding defines faux finish as anything that has been altered finish-wise by color, glaze or visual texture. But in actual definition, faux finish is the visual re-creation of reality.