Gold
The gilding is made of thin 24k gold leaf, which does not tarnish. The gold leaf is applied over a coat of "bolo armenico" (a mixture of red clay and water), which in turn is spread over a layer of gesso or plaster.
materials
Woods
The wood used by the panel painter is critical in achieving the refinement of the finished painted panels. The wood has to have very distinctive features: It must be aged at least 30 years and be completely smoothed and leveled before work can begin. Poplar, chestnut and walnut are the woods most commonly used. Wood from the fir tree is never used as it is too striated.
Punzoni
The decorative patterns, the halos and other gold embellishments are created using "bulini" or "punzoni," which are small steel punches with handmade images on the tips. These images are stamped on the side of the panel that is to be decorated.
Colors
Marco Caratelli carries out his art work following the best pictorial traditions: the color pigments he uses are absolutely natural and are historically accurate. He uses no chemical or synthetic materials but rather egg tempera (a mixture of yolk and pigment) in order to produce the same kind of paint used in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.