Paint Technique: Venetian Plaster Instructions

Materials and Tools:

paint: satin latex base cost; highlight paint
Venetian plaster
painter's blue tape
drop cloth
wide, flat putty knife
drop cloth

Steps:

1. Apply the base coat and let dry. Tape-off the ceiling, baseboards and any side walls that won't be covered in the plaster so they stay clean and don't forget a drop cloth.

2. Use the flat putty knife to scoop up some of the mixture and slather it on the wall in small areas, spreading it to cover as much area as possible. It's best to work it in a couple of directions to create a random texture.

3. Once the first coat is dry, which may take several hours, apply a second coat in the same manner to fill in and even out some of the missed areas. Let dry.

4. The last coat is a mixture of half Venetian plaster and half highlight paint added to lighten the plaster for highlights. Scoop up less of the mixture and add a few strokes where desired for color variances to give the technique some extra pizzazz. Let dry.