(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
2. Zoning: use light coloured ink to divide the blank into several zones.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
3. Outline: draw the outlines of the patterns with matte black ink.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
4. Colouring: to fill in the patterns outlined before with colours. The colour used can be water-based or oil-based. Oil-based paints are often wetted with camphor or frankincense oil.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
5. Gilding, filling green: to gild the areas that require gold colour or to draw shapes using lines of gold paint like golden threads; the filling green process refers to the process to paint the large area of green like the leaves and furs of flora and fauna, for example to the classic motifs of Chinese white cabbage or green dragon.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
6. Painting the border and adding colour: the border is coloured in this step, often in red and sometimes with gold; some motifs or patterns require adding another colour on top in areas already painted for a more complete design.
Painting the border (Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
7. Firing: after painting, the pieces are loaded into a kiln for firing at 750 to 800 degree Celsius. The pigment will undergo chemical changes, when fired correctly, the paint will blend with the glaze on the blanks and become glossy.
Electric kiln (by Szeto Wai Tak and his son. Collection of Yuet Tung China Works)
Effect of firing: Plate for wedding celebration (Collection of Tao Fung Shan Christian Centre)
(Left) The piece after outlining; (right) after colouring and firing, the patterns become glossy with colours
The above outlines the simplified procedures in porcelain painting; in practice, the painting process involves numerous steps and technicalities, as for certain unusual painting techniques such as creating multi-layered, gradient colour effects or thick glaze with an uneven surface, the process can be much more complex.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
2. Zoning: use light coloured ink to divide the blank into several zones.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
3. Outline: draw the outlines of the patterns with matte black ink.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
4. Colouring: to fill in the patterns outlined before with colours. The colour used can be water-based or oil-based. Oil-based paints are often wetted with camphor or frankincense oil.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
5. Gilding, filling green: to gild the areas that require gold colour or to draw shapes using lines of gold paint like golden threads; the filling green process refers to the process to paint the large area of green like the leaves and furs of flora and fauna, for example to the classic motifs of Chinese white cabbage or green dragon.
(Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
6. Painting the border and adding colour: the border is coloured in this step, often in red and sometimes with gold; some motifs or patterns require adding another colour on top in areas already painted for a more complete design.
Painting the border (Supplied by The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society)
7. Firing: after painting, the pieces are loaded into a kiln for firing at 750 to 800 degree Celsius. The pigment will undergo chemical changes, when fired correctly, the paint will blend with the glaze on the blanks and become glossy.
Electric kiln (by Szeto Wai Tak and his son. Collection of Yuet Tung China Works)
Effect of firing: Plate for wedding celebration (Collection of Tao Fung Shan Christian Centre)
(Left) The piece after outlining; (right) after colouring and firing, the patterns become glossy with colours
The above outlines the simplified procedures in porcelain painting; in practice, the painting process involves numerous steps and technicalities, as for certain unusual painting techniques such as creating multi-layered, gradient colour effects or thick glaze with an uneven surface, the process can be much more complex.
