One of the most basic parts
of painting ceramics is choosing a color scheme. Some people have a
natural sense when it come to colors. They can blend their selections to
produce coordinated, appealing works of art. Other people find it a
little more difficult. If you are from the latter group of people, we
will try to offer some advice.
Sometimes all it takes to start painting an
item is to start with what is obvious. If your piece is a figurine,
start with the flesh color and go from there. The next spot to paint
would be the hair. Try to stay with a natural color brown, red, blonde
or black. Next, look at your piece and evaluate it to this point. Would
the rest of the figurine look good painted in primary colors which are
bright and crisp, or would the piece lend itself to a more pastel tone.
Perhaps you would like a combination of both. This is the point where
you just have to jump in with both feet. Make a decision for your first
color and go on from there. Let’s say you choose green. Green is an
earthy shade so you can be sure if you chose another earth shade such as
tan, brown, rust, gold or a mustard shade of yellow, everything is going
to match and look fine. Let’s imagine that instead of green you start
with blue. You can match this with the primary colors of red and yellow
and you will never go wrong.
There are times when all you need is to make
a decision on your first color, and everything else just falls into
place. Always keep in mind what is natural to the piece you are
painting. If you are doing a wall plaque in a spring theme the colors
would be light and fresh like spring. You would not see brown and rust
colored leaves on trees in the spring, they would be a fresh tender
shades of green. Likewise if you are painting a snowman, you would paint
the snow white not brown or red.
We do have one rule of thumb. If you are
using a lot of colors on an item and you just can’t decide what color to
put in that last spot; use "French Vanilla". We use this any time no
other color seems appropriate and it always blends perfectly. Try it you
will see it’s true.
One other item before we close. While you
are painting it helps to occasionally stand back from your piece and
check it from a different viewpoint. Sometimes being too close to the
item blurs your perspective. Be objective with your choices and don’t be
afraid to experiment with color. After all, experimenting with colors is
the only true way to perfect your color selections.
Dolly & Ernie Ceramics is a proud sponsor of this venerable craft.
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