A Living Room made lovelier by Painted Stripes. Click to see room before painting.   This room was featured in color photos on 4 pages in Washington Home & Design Magazine Fall 2002.  The 'Damask Stripe' finish using Custom Color Paint, Studio mix, has won Buon Fresco more editorial photographs than any other paint finish in our repertoire.  Learn how to master the nuances of this timeless finish in the Painting  & Glazing AND The Color Intensive classes

.   Little that is done with paint, is more elegant or Classic than Damask Stripes.  Yet there is more to gorgeous striping than meets the eye.  Learn to use aspects of color such as value, temperature and compliment to turn Damask Stripes in to a masterpiece. [Paint/Glaze Class]

The Trilogy is a combination of the Classic 3 Courses being those most basic and necessary classes for the serious professional or do it yourselfer - desiring to be able to produce the high end of decorative painting & finishing.  The Academy courses are technique driven assuring you of the finest quality of instruction, independent of product choice.

• Painting and Glazing - The 4 Most Essential High End Finishes

• Gold & Metal Leafing for the Interior Finisher -           The 4 Essential Decorative Gold & Metal Leaf Applications

• Italian Plaster Intensive.   The Venetian Plaster everyone wants.

 Students prepare sample boards of each of the demonstrated techniques   and graduate with highly professional  boards ready to show to architects, interior designers, custom builders and homeowners. 

Scroll down for course descriptions and to read comments from graduates.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  FOR THE BENEFIT OF DISTANCE STUDENTS, THE ACADEMY SCHEDULES A NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE DAY TRILOGY COURSES ANNUALLY, THOUGH THE 3 TRILOGY COURSES MAY BE ALSO BE TAKEN SEPARATELY ON ALTERNATE MONTHS.

PAINTED GLAZING

For the Painting Class Buon Fresco teaches the 4 most elegant  finishes that we use the most frequently in our high end work;   

1. STIPPLING:  The basis for Faux-Leather, distressing wainscoting and more, Stippling may also be used as simply a decorative effect for Library walls or ceilings.

2. SCUMBLE GLAZING - In 1 or 2 Colors, an eminently useful and beautiful finish , that has many many uses on walls, ceilings, moldings and cabinet interiors.

3. STRIE: A fabric 'effect' finish for Living Rooms and fine Bedrooms is also used for finishing: Furniture, wood-work and wainscoting, which no portfolio should be without. [Also see wainscoting photo below left]

4. DAMASK STRIPES: Which has garnered this studio more magazine pages than anything else we do with the exception of Venetian Plaster designs.  Color choice and Geometric Precision has everything to do with the astounding success of this classic finish.

Above ^ Scumbled Glazing

[Painting/Glazing 'Class]

The understated elegance of Strie'.  

..... Complete the look of wainscoting with a Strie' glaze. Bring out the details of the molding relief with the subtle coloring. [Painting/Glazing 'Class]

GOLD&METAL  LEAFING  FOR  THE  INTERIOR FINISHER

The Academy of Wall Artistry is proud to say that our school was selected to teach the government craftsmen the art of Gold & Metal Leafing.  These craftsmen are currently gilding ceilings and architectural elements in both the Supreme Court and the Capitol buildings.  One of the features of our training that brought the 'Architects of the Capitol' to our school is the comprehensive program we have in place for teaching the 4- critical fine gilding forms that we utilize daily in our own finish work.

  The Gold Leafing instruction teaches the gilding techniques which use both water and oil based sizes, though this is NOT water gilding.  Water gilding is a much more involved process of gilding which is considerably more difficult to learn.  Gold leafing for Interior Finishing is truly easy to learn.  The Gold Leafing methods you will learn in this class may be applied to Gold, Silver, Copper and Variegated Leaves so that they may be applied to Flat, Ribbon, Ornate and Relief surfaces.  The names of the different forms of gilding for interior finishing are:

• Flat Gilding  -       For ceilings, walls, pictures, niches etc.

• Ribbon Gilding  -  For architectural moldings & door detailing.. .

• Ornate Gilding -   For ornate frames and architectural details.

• Tip Gilding  - .....To bring out the details & relief on architectural elements and moldings.

To provide the most accurate training, students will be working with genuine architectural elements provided by Petitsin Interior Ornaments by JP Weaver,  as well as  genuine Gold Leaf & Ribbon of anywhere from 16 to 23 Karats.           ... ... Photos above;  Ornate and Flat Gilding

Close-up of Ornate Gilding with Antique distressing.  [Gold  & Metal Leafing Class]  Example show Petitsin Ornamental Swag finished with gold.

   The fire of light shines in the highly polished Italian Plaster.  The Gold ribbon on the crown molding and finials caps the beauty of the 'Mirror Finish'  Italian Plastered room. [Venetian Plaster Intensive] Southwestern Clay Colored Italian Plaster ASE Corporate Headquarters, Leesburg, VA

Tuscan Kitchen As Seen on HGTV [For Additional views click on the photograph]  

             . ... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ITALIAN PLASTER INTENSIVE COURSE

For very good reasons, the Italian Plaster Intensive Course has been the Academy's most popular course.  Since Buon Fresco introduced 'Venetian Plaster' to our repertoire several years ago, the wall finish material quickly became the most requested of all of our offerings. 

NOTE:  During instructional segments of The 'Buon Fresco® Method' of Italian Plaster application, you will work with those particular plasters that Buon Fresco has selected from the wide range of plasters available as providing the finest result.  A genuine Italian Plaster product may be distinguished from the artificially named 'Venetian Plasters', sold at any number of home product stores, by the genuine polish which results in a 'mirror' like shine.   The artificial product is 'shiny' in the same way that a high gloss paint is shiny, but fails to provide the characteristic 'reflective' surface of a true Italian Plaster.  The visible difference is profound. 

There is no wall finish material introduced to the USA in the last 100 years as exciting as Italian Plaster.  To learn more about the material, turn to the description page: 'VPDEFINED'

We go into considerable detail about the Venetian Plaster Course on the Venetian Plaster Course Description Page, and we recommend you visit this page to gain this information.  A quick review of the aspects of the class follow. You will learn:

 .......  ......... Above ^ View to the soft glow of Matte Italian Plaster - Project winner of Walls & Ceilings Magazine's Excellence in Design Awards 2005

See Schedule Page for class dates

SCROLL DOWN FOR CURRENT CLASS DATES                 REGISTRATION CARD

"It was like opening up a Jewel Box!"  F.E

"The course added tremendously to my portfolio."  L.P.

"I LOVE Gold Leafing! and it was difficult to find where to learn it - Finally I DID!"   M.B.

"ALL of the information was important to me". C.O.

"The Gold Leaf Class will add very high end finishing to my portfolio."  F.E.

"The advantage of custom mixing my own colors will certainly set me apart".  L.P.

"I will benefit professionally a LOT, because Color is the beginning of everything with Decorative Finishes."  M.B.

"The presentation of the color boards are very professional and beautiful."  L.P.

"That's EVERYTHING! Color is what will make the difference!"  F.E.

"The technique you taught us for Venetian Plaster is fabulous".  L.P

The technique you taught in this class will help me get the best clientelle!  M.H.

"I didn't want the class to STOP".  M.B.

"I enjoyed the class enormously".  C.S.

The Class was wonderful."  G.G.

'LOVE IT!"  F.E.

"WONDERFUL!  And I loved meeting Tom Warnock!"  L.P.   [Editor's Note:  Victoria Bingham, the instructor of the Intensive Trilogy, took time off Friday morning, February 20th, to be interviewed by HGTV for a Spring segment of 'Dream Builders'.  The students received a surprise and a treat in the form of a substitute teacher stepping in to instruct that morning's session of  'The Gold Leafing Intensive'.  The substitute was none other than Tom Warnock, owner of the internationally famous 'Warnock Studios'! .}

FINALLY,  WHEN ASKED IF THEY WOULD RECOMMEND THE CLASS TO OTHER DECORATIVE PAINTERS...

'ABSOLUTELY!, but.. in consideration of competition, I'd be a bit reserved". 

Definitely!  Because of the Finished Product!

"Honestly no.  Because I would prefer to remain unique in my area." 

"I would give a great reference of you because I liked it, but I would want to keep it a secret in Puerto Rico where I live. 

"YES! To anyone that is not in my area". 

YES!  If they are not in my area". 

ABSOLUTELY! 

"Most definitely!" 

"Definitely!" 

If you think the graduates are onto something good, you are right!  For upcoming classes please refer to the training schedules as posted on the instruction pages of this web site.   Trilogy classes of:  Decorative Painting,  Gold & Metal Leafing and The Venetian Plaster Intensive, may be taken on individual weekends as scheduled.

RETURN TO  INSTRUCTION PAGE

.                      BUON FRESCO & THE ACADEMY OF WALL ARTISTRY   ........             308 HILLWOOD AVENUE,  FALLS CHURCH VA 22046

Studio:  703.914.5605   Toll Free: 1.888.637.3726

Fax. 703.942.6666

The studio/school is located just outside of the Nation's Capitol in Northern Virginia.  We are close to Reagan National and Dulles International Airports.