The modern method of painting in fat oils on a prepared ground induces in any but the most accomplished a cramped and finnicky style. The best and really most beautiful results are seen in the delicate vertu of the eighteenth century. Snuff boxes and ladies’ knick-knacks exhibit the loveliest miniatures in an impressible medium. How far it is desirable to decorate pots with such pictures depends on the sophistry of the craftsman. (For, ever since painters were pampered by princes each erstwhile honest craftsman must needs try to turn painter!)
The Chinese who laboured with infinite patience upon their pots still seemed to preserve a spirit
lacking in the works of their western imitators, and their avoidance of realism saved them from the many pitfalls that yawned for the Occidental.
The manner in which the Persians and Dutch preserved their freshness has been noticed already, but the encountering and surmounting of similar difficulties is at the bottom of most successes. A few of the methods of painting pots are here set forth, with some odd variants.
The colourants described under Glazes are also used for painting. Very finely ground and prepared, they are mixed with a flux or other vehicle and applied in various ways under or over the glaze. Simple colours can be made from the metallic oxides. They should be finely ground in a mortar well mixed with a little of the glaze with which they are to be used. This will do for the simplest work. For more subtle colours rather involved processes are necessary. The range of manufactured colours, both over- and under-glaze, is wide enough to suit all tastes, and when working on a small scale are infinitely to be preferred on the score of economy and dependability.
A method of painting entirely suited to beginners is as follows: A simple palette is prepared with the colours ground upon a slab of glass. The medium employed is a solution of gum arabic and water, the colours being applied directly to the green shape with a brush. The difficulty of firing glaze on the
raw clay deters any attempt at high finish, and the absorbent ground develops a desirable freedom and directness of touch. When painted, the pot is dipped or poured in a transparent glaze and fired. The gum prevents the colour shifting during the immersion, but does not prevent the glaze adhering. This method can be satisfactorily employed on biscuit. More finish can be obtained and a richer glaze used without risk. Much skill and practice will be required to produce good stuff, as each touch, although not apparent before, will stand out distinctly and often disagreeably after the fire. The gum must be used sparingly; any excess will cause peeling and prevent the adhesion of the glaze.
For a still higher finish the biscuit is sized with a solution of gum tragacanth. This is smoothly applied until the pot is non-absorbent. The design, if elaborate, should be drawn upon the pot with a fine graphite pencil or, better still, India ink and brush. A common pencil is likely to show after firing, but the ink disappears entirely. The colours are then well ground and laid in with fat oil of turpentine or lavender oil.
To prepare the first oil, half fill a cup with pure turps, stand it in a saucer, and spill a little over the sides of the cup. After standing a little the fat oil is deposited in the saucer and the clear turps left in the cup. Long, flexible brushes holding plenty of
colour are used and the fat oil thinned if necessary with clear turps. The colour should flow easily from the brush, being neither tacky nor too fluid, and constant retouching is to be avoided. Keep all free from dust. Heavy, greasy-looking masses should be scraped off and repainted, otherwise they will flake off.