The majolica watercolor technique is very similar to painting a watercolor on paper. Both techniques require that you use soft brushes, mix pigment/stain with water, and apply them to an absorbent surface. While painting on glaze, your colors will absorb instantly and stay where you have dropped the brush stroke.
1 Mix stains on white plates. Group blues and reds to make shades of purples, and group yellows with blues and greens.2 After applying a wash, fill in the light yellow of the lemon within the pencil lines, working from light to dark.
3 Once the basic shapes of the fruit are defined, it’s time to mix colors for the darker elements like leaves and stems.4 Start painting the leaves, mixing stain colors on the plate and double loading the brush with greens and yellows.
5 Finish painting the leaves, adding darker shading to the outside edges by double loading darker greens and blues.6 Shade one edge of the lemon with light green to create a sense of depth and roundness of form.
7 Shade the opposite side of each lemon to create depth, then add a little blue wash to the bottoms for a darker shadow.8 Mix manganese dioxide with water to create a wash, then outline everything using a fine liner brush.
9 Touch up anything that needs extra color, paint a wash on the bottom, and paint the rim.
From the Pottery Making Illustrated July/August 2014 issue.
We understand your email address is private. You will receive emails and newsletters from Ceramic Arts Network. We will never share your information except as outlined in our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
You have read of of your complimentary articles for the month.
For unlimited access to Pottery Making Illustrated premium content, subscribe right now for as low as $3.60/month.
We understand your email address is private. You will receive emails and newsletters from Ceramic Arts Network. We will never share your information except as outlined in our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Subscribe to Pottery Making Illustrated
The majolica watercolor technique is very similar to painting a watercolor on paper. Both techniques require that you use soft brushes, mix pigment/stain with water, and apply them to an absorbent surface. While painting on glaze, your colors will absorb instantly and stay where you have dropped the brush stroke.
From the Pottery Making Illustrated July/August 2014 issue.
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
Click the cover image to return to the Table of Contents