Have plenty of color on a plate and, holding the piece of china over it, take up with a piece of soft cotton as much color as it will hold, and drop it over the part of the china to which the oil has been applied. Care should be taken to hold the piece flat that is to be decorated, for if it is held upright, the color will naturally drop off. A good amount of color should be kept on the cotton while applying tint. After the oil is covered, dust with clean cotton several times. If any superfluous color remains, remove it with a soft brush.
Now turn to our chapter of cutting out. If anything of this nature needs to be done, now is the time to do it.
After firing this ground should be heavy and have a strong glaze.
By adding turpentine to the oil and mixing well a medium, heavy or light ground can be obtained. By the use of turpentine the oil is made lighter and less color adheres to it.
Sometimes the powder colors will be found hardened from packing in the vials and come out in hard pieces. Pulverize these pieces well and sift them through a cheese cloth if necessary. Various colors can be blended together beautifully on grounds by applying the lighter tint first and carrying it over slightly onto the part which is to be tinted with dark colors. In applying the darker colors use sparingly as it approaches the lighter tint and avoid leaving a sharp line. Blend the two colors together until the combination is of very smooth and soft appearance.
The more turpentine mixed with tinting oil the thinner will be the coat of powder adhering to it, naturally a lighter ground is the result. For purple, violet color, maroons and pinks use light oil for grounds. It is difficult to remedy a scratch or imperfection on dusted grounds. If it is done with moist color and brush, bear in mind that dry powder applications fire much darker than colors applied moist with brush, and gauge the color accordingly.
For a brilliant effect, dust the unfired background with a flux or glaze. For warm colors such as browns, red and flesh tones, this is not necessary, but it will improve dark greens and blues. It is unsafe to try to paint over dry unfired grounds. To lay grounds in Matt colors, proceed in this manner. Use a little turpentine with the oil for Matt color dry grounds. These colors are opaque and it will not be noticeable if there is a slight variation in thickness in applying them. It is advisable, however, to have just a medium application.
DUSTING
In other chapters we have explained the process of dusting in underglaze work and ground laying, but the particular feature of it to be dealt with now is its use in altering and strengthening tints that have been applied with wet colors. This process is very similar to that used for underglaze work. For illustration, we will assume that you have a decoration in green or light ivory—and that you desire a warmer tint. In this case any warm color such as yellow-brown or yellow-red can be dusted on the decorations that are already dry. The color may be applied with a dry brush or piece of cotton and rubbed very gently. A small amount will adhere to the china—and thus the desired effect will be obtained. Any number of colors can be applied in this way and blended well together. Heavy grounds can be strengthened by the use of dark colors, such as browns, purples, greens and blues. While the delicate tones are softened by the use of lighter shades.