There is probably no feature in the painting of china that gives the
student more anxiety than the art of ground-laying.
He is confronted by many difficulties, but when the art is mastered,
feels well paid for all his work. The beautiful results are sufficient
reward. A perfectly even and lustrous ground is obtained by applying
powdered colors over a well padded wash of tinting oil. The results are
more satisfactory than a well padded ground made of color mixed with
oil before applying.
The best quality of grounding or tinting oil is the first essential. In
fact it is upon this, to a great degree, that the success of the work
depends. A tinted oil is usually used. Pour into a small dish the
desired amount of oil. See that no lumps or bubbles are in it. Then
with a clean square tinting brush apply the oil quickly over the
surface to be laid with color. It is not necessary that the work should
be very carefully done—but care should be taken to see that all the
space is covered. Have ready for use two medium soft pads, free from
lint. Pad the oil over and over again with one pad until it looks like
a smooth soft tint, then repeat with the second pad. This second
padding may not be necessary, but it cannot do any harm and it
certainly will improve the smoothness of the oil. Here the decorator is
cautioned to see that the oil is perfectly even, free from spots and
scratches, as these faults would be noticeable after the color is
applied. It is best to wipe off all the oil and make another
application instead of trying to correct a fault on the padded oil.
After the oiled china has stood for half an hour or so, the powdered
colors can be applied.
Have plenty of color on a plate and, holding the piece of china over
it, take up with a piece of soft cotton as much color as it will hold,
and drop it over the part of the china to which the oil has been
applied. Care should be taken to hold the piece flat that is to be
decorated, for if it is held upright, the color will naturally drop
off. A good amount of color should be kept on the cotton while applying
tint. After the oil is covered, dust with clean cotton several times.
If any superfluous color remains, remove it with a soft brush.
Now turn to our chapter of cutting out. If anything of this nature
needs to be done, now is the time to do it.
After firing this ground should be heavy and have a strong glaze.
By adding turpentine to the oil and mixing well a medium, heavy or
light ground can be obtained. By the use of turpentine the oil is made
lighter and less color adheres to it.
Sometimes the powder colors will be found hardened from packing in the
vials and come out in hard pieces. Pulverize these pieces well and sift
them through a cheese cloth if necessary. Various colors can be blended
together beautifully on grounds by applying the lighter tint first and
carrying it over slightly onto the part which is to be tinted with dark
colors. In applying the darker colors use sparingly as it approaches
the lighter tint and avoid leaving a sharp line. Blend the two colors
together until the combination is of very smooth and soft appearance.
The more turpentine mixed with tinting oil the thinner will be the coat
of powder adhering to it, naturally a lighter ground is the result. For
purple, violet color, maroons and pinks use light oil for grounds. It
is difficult to remedy a scratch or imperfection on dusted grounds. If
it is done with moist color and brush, bear in mind that dry powder
applications fire much darker than colors applied moist with brush, and
gauge the color accordingly.
For a brilliant effect, dust the unfired background with a flux or
glaze. For warm colors such as browns, red and flesh tones, this is not
necessary, but it will improve dark greens and blues. It is unsafe to
try to paint over dry unfired grounds. To lay grounds in Matt colors,
proceed in this manner. Use a little turpentine with the oil for Matt
color dry grounds. These colors are opaque and it will not be
noticeable if there is a slight variation in thickness in applying
them. It is advisable, however, to have just a medium application.
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