How can i get a plaster texture in oil painting without it looking fake?

[AbigailYJ]

I’ve been trying to capture the texture of old plaster walls in my oil paintings, but my usual glazing techniques just look flat and unconvincing. I’m wondering if anyone has managed to get that gritty, matte feel of real deterioration without it looking like a simple dirty wash.

[Sofia_L]

I spent a while chasing that gritty matte feel and glazing alone never looked right. I tried a very thin neutral underlayer then a few dry brush scrapes to let bits of the underlayer peek through. It read more like a wall that is aged than a dirty wash, but it still wasn't convincing.

[MarkTJ]

Maybe the problem isn't the glaze at all but the lighting and tonal balance in the piece. When a surface looks dusty in a photo, the fault can be elsewhere in the painting, not in the glaze.

[GeorgeS]

I did try something like a light cool underpaint and a barely there patina on top, but it felt tentative and unsure in the end. It is hard to tell if it is texture or just a surface smear. I keep circling back to the same hesitation.

[StevenCR]

I once drifted onto a city wall scene and the roughness caught the light in a way that made the texture feel real, but then I got lost chasing a memory of a wall rather than the wall itself. Not sure if that helps, but I question whether we are chasing the right problem.