THE ART OF HAND PAINTING CHINA

The painting techniques used resemble those of water colour in that they rely on the white of the background support material to create whites and the highlights, but resemble oil painting in that coloured minerals are ground up with a body (finely ground glass in the case of china paints) suspended in a medium - nowadays a mixture of aniseed and fat oil (pure turpentine allowed to evaporate to a thick residue) is used to allow the paint to be applied smoothly.

As in oil painting, layers are built up in a skilful way until the desired effect is achieved, except that after each layer is applied the china is fired at a high temperature. This softens the glaze on the china, drives off the medium, and allows the coloured minerals to undergo chemical changes and bind to the glaze. Colour changes occur during firing, so the china artist must know the behaviour of his/her materials very thoroughly. In high quality hand painted bone china a minimum of three decorating firings is required. Finally, the piece is often gilded with 24 carat gold, a process which involves one or more further firings, followed by burnishing of the gold.

The final result is a piece of art that is one of the most permanent of any artform.

Illustrated below are the stages required to produce a high quality hand painted china piece.
The design is drawn freehand straight on to the plate, vase, plaque etc. using a chinagraph pencil or pen and ink.
The first application of china paint consists of light washes of bright colour. The artist has to bear in mind the final effect required e.g. purple for shadows, strong orange as undercoat for red on fruit etc. It takes years of experience to be sure of the final effect. The piece is given a first firing.
The colours are strengthened and more detail is added before the second firing.
Fine detail is added so that the whole design comes together. The backstamp ( a decal transfer) and edition numbering are added and the plate given a third firing.
If GILDING is required a further firing is necessary. Pure gold in a black liquid suspension is applied - never has the saying been more true that it costs more than its weight in gold! After firing at 780'C, the gold is left fused into the glaze and has to be burnished by hand using fine silver sand or a burnishing stick until it shines.
If all goes well, the china piece is finally ready. Perfectionists like Steve and Terry set themselves high standards - if they are not entirely satisfied with the design, or the colouring, or detect slight flares or blemishes, the piece gets the hammer !
In total, a china piece may have undergone seven or more firings - 1 bisque firing, 2 glaze firings, 3 paint firings and 1 gilding fire. Firing takes place at 780 - 810 'C and takes approximately 8 - 10 hours to fire and to cool down afterwards. A china artist must be blessed with great patience as things can go wrong at any stage!