MASTERCLASS
- Mimic the ceramics
The base of the plate and the jug were
filled in with Brilliant Blue and Bone Black
respectively, taking care to paint around
the shapes. If mistakes occurred, I used
moistened cotton buds to keep shapes
and outlines crisp and clean.
The central flowers of the jug were painted
with highly-dilute Cobalt Blue to create a
watercolour-like transition that mimics the
look of the ceramic object, including the
hand-painted dots.
- Enrich colours
I continued adding colour to existing areas
to strengthen chroma and depth. This was
especially visible in the blue and black
shapes, as well as the Brilliant Blue
background of the plate.
Note that I did not cover each of the areas
completely. Instead, I left certain edges
untouched so that the lighter variations
of the same colours showed through.
White details and lines were also added
and reinforced, as I attempted to build up
the texture of the lustrous ceramics and give
them a bas-relief look.
- Begin layering colour
With the outer surface of the jug covered,
it was time to start layering the colours to
deepen the chroma and transform the values.
Many areas were reinforced with fresh layers
of the original colours, while Quinacridone
Magenta was added to strengthen some of
the pinks and Burnt Umber was used to warm
up the black sections.
On the gold rim and handle, I used Van
Dyke Brown for the darker shapes with a
glaze of Cadmium Yellow Dark brushed over
it, taking care to paint around the highlights.- Play with shadows
The inside of the jug was painted by first adding a translucent layer of
Brilliant Blue to the entire area. When that had dried completely, additional
glazes of Brilliant Blue darkened with Payne’s Grey were added to mimic the
shadows. A Titanium White glaze was added to areas close to the rim. I’ve
also lightened some areas of the plate by blotting them with Titanium White
and using drybrush strokes with the filbert brush to create a subtle highlight.- Outline the shapes
I used Neutral Grey 5 to paint the outlines of
the shapes on the plate, mimicking the
typical faux-cloisonné look of this ceramic
ware. I mixed a glaze of Titanium White to
add sheen to the gold rim of the jug and build
up highlights on certain colour areas to
create the feeling of depth.
Note that white acrylic paint often sinks in- in other words, it looks bright and opaque
when freshly applied yet appears toned down
after drying. With that in mind, I added
multiple (sometimes as many as 10) layers of
undiluted, full-strength Titanium White to
every area that needed clean highlights to
make sure they really popped.
Top tip
If a white glaze turns
out too stark, glaze
over it with colour to
tone it back down
as required