Glaze Painting Tips…
TIP 1
Preparation : Before you begin painting, take a sponge and make it slightly damp with clean water. Wipe off your pottery to remove large dust particles. Be sure that your pottery does not get too wet.
TIP 2
Multiple Coats : For a solid, even coat of colour, apply 2 to 3 coats of the glaze. After painting the first coat allow the glaze to fully dry before painting the next coat (it air dries reasonably quickly, but you can use a hair dryer to speed up the process). Try to apply each coat at a different angle to the preceding coat to hide any brush strokes.
TIP 3
Dark Colours over Light Colours : If you want to overlap colours by painting one colour on top of another colour, it is always best to have the underneath colour lighter than the top colour. Darker coloured glazes tend to bleed through lighter colours, and the lighter colour will not show up clearly.
…and Techniques
Sponge Painting : You can use your sponge to directly apply coloured glaze to your pottery. The result is a nice "textured" appearance after kiln firing. You can also vary the texture density and mix colours.
Dots : Use the handle end of your brush to paint clean dots. Only one coat is required, and this is a very fast and easy method to cover your pottery with dots.
Splatter Paint : Coat the bristles of a tooth brush with coloured glaze, and then slide your thumb across the brush while directing the spray toward your pottery. This creates a coat of very tiny dots of coloured glaze. Or you can use paint brushes to create a more dynamic splatter effect - see the youtube video below.
Draw Patterns : Use a pencil to directly trace a pattern onto your pottery, the graphite of the pencil will completely burn away during firing. Do not erase the pencil marks if you make a mistake as the eraser can alter the pottery surface – just draw it again.
Straight Lines and Edges : Use masking tape to create straight lines and edges on your pottery. Place masking tape as desired, then paint over the tape edge. After the glaze is very dry, carefully peel the tape off. See example below.
