Decorative painter Kevin Walsh makes his living covering walls with designer techniques that include Venetian plaster and faux finishing.

But Walsh wanted to go beyond the faux painting so three years ago he "decided to go to Europe to find the real way to do it." He came back with Venetian Plaster -- a centuries-old method to create silky-smooth walls that could be mistaken for marble or other stone surfaces.

Interior designer Tre Michel, has be working with Walsh Decorative Painting for years and really appreciates the company's added abilities.

Michel collaborated with Walsh on the Venetian plaster that's displayed in the Florida West Coast Symphony Association's 2003 Designer Showcase house at Hawks Harbor. The master bedroom has six layers of mottled, off-white Venetian plaster topped by a clear-coat emulsion and a layer of polished wax. "I wanted it to look like alabaster, and I think that's what we got," says Michel, whose late father, Bill, worked with Walsh on projects 20 years ago. 'Return to classicism' was the theme. We want people to go in and feel the walls."

Just a slight texture can be felt where Walsh went over spots with extra plaster to create the mottled appearance. The rest of the wall is smooth as glass but more pleasing to the touch.

A permanent finish

Venetian plaster is permanent and washable. Walsh starts the process by applying two coats of domestic plaster as a primer.

"Then we start adding on the Italian plaster," he says. "We start laying in the calligraphy, which is the look, with our beginning coats of plaster."Walsh imports Venetian plaster -- a combination of plaster, lime and linseed oil -- from Italy. Working with the interior designer, he adds pigment to achieve the desired color. Burnishing enhances the appearance and adds to the sheen. He finishes with a clear-coat and wax.

"In some situations, the plaster looks like big sheets of marble or granite," says Walsh.

"It's that shiny and translucent. In marble, you can see through thousands of years of time. It's the same way with plaster. You can set all these values of colors, and then keep putting on more translucence."

It's a labor-intensive process. Walsh and his craftsmen, Italian and Brazillian craftsmen took three weeks to do the large master bedroom of the Symphony Showcase.

Costs range from about $5 to $20 a square foot, "depending on what kind of look you're after and how many coats you want," says Walsh. "It's expensive," says Michel, "but I can call Kevin and say 'this is a two-step job' to get as much of the look as we can. He can look at the space, look at the budget, and tell people what he can come up with in that realm."

Achieving a delightful finish is part of the artistry.

"Nothing is ever done by happenstance," says Walsh. "We plan the look and we build continuity into the job. If you deviate, it's going to show. Sometimes it's nice that way, but serendipity in our business is best planned."