The Gambier Parry process is a development of the classical technique of fresco

Fresco

Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

 for painting mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s, named for Thomas Gambier Parry

Thomas Gambier Parry

Thomas Gambier Parry, J.P.,D.L., was an English artist and art collector. He is best remembered for his development of the Gambier Parry process of fresco painting....

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In some environments, conventional fresco colours can rapidly accumulate dirt and grime. Gambier Parry developed a spirit medium for use on a specially prepared plaster or canvas ground. Originally it used beeswax, oil of spike lavender

Lavender oil

Lavender oil is an essential oil obtained by distillation from the flower spikes of certain species of lavender. Two forms are distinguished, lavender flower oil, a colorless oil, insoluble in water, having a density of 0.885 g/mL; and lavender spike oil, a distillate from the herb Lavandula...

, spirits of turpentine

Turpentine

Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...

, elemi resin and copal varnish, and was complex both in preparing the wall surface and applying the paint. With commercialization the process was simplified and became widely known. http://www.parishofmorpeth.org.uk/stjames/pc01.htm