How to Create Watercolor-Inspired Brushwork with Underglazes Sarah Leckie

Color Prep

Plan what colorways you’d like to try. I look at previous work to see what I might like to try again, as well as ideas for new experiments. I try to keep some looseness in my planning and execution to allow new ideas to flow.

I mix my own Mason Stain Wash (see recipe below). Fill small containers of underglaze and Mason Stain Wash just deep enough to dip a full brush into, so you don’t have to toss out too much when the colors get muddy. I let the stains mostly settle, so I have thicker and thinner parts to work with; a little stain goes a long way.

Watercolor Brushstrokes

I brush the pieces at the bone-dry stage, when the clay absorbs color the best, and I use a mop brush to apply the color. First, dip the entire brush in one slightly thinned underglaze or stain, then half again in another thicker underglaze (1). This creates a subtle variegated color pattern (2). To get the watercolor effect, it is important that the brush be fully saturated so that the stroke does not become dry. For some strokes, I dip the brush fully in the first color, either thinned underglaze or thin stain, and then add thicker underglaze or stain to the edges of the brush with a knife (3). The thicker underglaze comes first and the base color is released later (4). I then dip the brush into another color for the next stroke.

I do not wash my brush between all applications, so there is always the ghost of the colors from the last stroke, especially with dark blues and greens (5). I have to be sure to work my colorways in series that do not get too muddy too quickly.

Do not use too many strong complementary colors together, or else you just end up with brown. Once the color becomes muddy, wash your brush and start again. When I work with a complementary color combo like yellow and purple, it has to be done alone. I will start with a clean brush, dip it in a purple stain, add yellow underglaze (6), and then pull the brush stroke just once (7). When I finish the stroke, I wash my brush before starting again.

After you’ve painted all the pieces with the mop brush, come back in with a small brush to add fine details, either with black slip or colored stains (8).

Photos: Zsofin Sheehy.

Sarah Leckie is a ceramic artist working primarily with porcelain. She holds a BA from the University of Victoria and studied ceramics at the Kootenay School of the Arts. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre, the Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture, the James Black Gallery, and The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China. Her work has been shown in galleries both locally and internationally. She is a founding member of the Victoria Mud League and currently maintains a full-time studio practice on Hornby Island, British Columbia. You can find her on Instagram @sarahleckieceramics or on her website sarahleckie.com.