Painting pottery - Basics - clayly.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between glaze and underglaze in pottery? ›

A glaze is a paint composed by a bunch of chemicals that, when added to a bisqued piece, it will make that glass shiny cover. An underglaze is a paint composed by a bunch of chemicals that you can add to greenware or bisqued pieces to add color but it will not add the glass part.

In order to refine this porous and rough layer, glazes are used (before or after painting with colors). These seal the surface and make it impermeable to water. To bond the glaze to the raw ware, it must be fired – usually in a special kiln – at a maximum of 1080 °C or 1240 °C, depending on the raw ware.

Paint Your Design

Select from a variety of colors or stencils to decorate your ceramic. Additionally, you can use strips of painter's tape to create straight lines or easily shade in sections of your piece.

As mentioned above, porcelain paint is an excellent choice for glazed ceramics as it sticks to the surface better than acrylic.

Underglazes are commonly applied underneath another glaze which creates designs and patterns that come up through another layer of glazing that covers it.

Often dipping the piece into clear glaze will not affect the underlying design either, but you should test as some underglazes do "dissolve" or "smudge" easier than others when a glaze is applied to it. Unlike glazes, underglaze colors can always be mixed together to create new colors.

Allow each coat to dry completely before applying the next. It is important to remember that each brush and glaze is different. Most colors should look their best after 2-3 coats, but you should make several test pieces whenever you are trying a new color or combination, to find the thickness that works best for you.

No water is needed to apply the paint and there is no need to wash off the pottery before painting. Water should only be used to rinse brushes of a color before switching to another color, or for getting paint off of the piece.

The surface of air dry clay is very porous once dry so you may wish to seal the item before painting. Applying one or two coats of gesso to the clay will help seal it and stop your chosen paint from soaking in too much.

In fact, many ceramic sculptors use a combination of glaze and acrylics, or acrylics exclusively to finish their pieces. We have always carried the Duncan Acrylics which were designed specifically for painting on bisque.

How do you seal painted pottery? ›

Finally, seal the paint

After the finished pot has dried completely (this may take several days, as the drops of paint on the celestial pot are much thicker than a coat of paint), apply two coats of a clear water-based spray acrylic to seal the paint and protect the design from scratches.

After painting, leave your creation to dry for 24 hours and then heat in the oven for 30 minutes at 140 degrees to “fix” (the paint will harden and bond to the material). If your ceramics aren't oven-safe, skip this step and leave it aside to dry for a little longer.

Use sealers like Mod Podge, Liquitex Acrylic Varnishes.or a permanent clear spray like Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Aerosol Sealers to seal after fully cooled down to keep colours vivid and avoid chipping. Recommend hand wash items, no dishwasher. Treat painted item with care.

Clean the ceramic thoroughly with water and cleaner.

For ceramic tile, thoroughly scrub the area you plan to repaint with an abrasive cleaner, and wipe it down until it's clean and dry. For pieces of pottery and dishes, simply wipe down the surface of the item with a wet rag until it's clean of dirt and debris.

A: Under glazes are designed to be applied UNDER glaze; these are not shiny on their own. The texture of the underglaze without anything over it is chalky, much like bisque ware itself. Application of a clear glaze will provide the durable shiny coat as well as intensify the appearance of the colors.

Commercial underglazes are pigmented using ceramic stains (not metal oxides) and they are costly compared to prepared glazes. To have good brushing properties underglazes are heavily gummed and gelled (e.g. CMC gum, Veegum CER) and thus dry slowly and hard.

Stroke & Coat will have a shiny finish, while underglazes will have a matte finish unless a laver of clear glaze is applied. Both types can be mixed to create different tones or colors.

Painting with underglaze on pottery can be done either during the greenware phase, or the bisque phase. Nikki Mizak chooses to do her underglaze painting on bisque fired clay and enjoys building up layers as you do in watercolor painting.