Grapes

Mmmmm...... you can tell I love painting grapes!

(and roses!)

The outside of the circle was painted with French Black Green on first fire (same as the shadow leaves on the inside of the circle) and then a mixture of purple colours on the next two fires.

There is a little bit of base for gold on the outside of the circle, and platinum around the outside edtge of the plate.

Pears and blossom on a plate

I know that blossom does not appear the same time as ripened fruit does, but I liked the look of this design. (thank you Celeste McCall for the main design of the fruit)

The colour surrounding the circle is mixing yellow on the first fire, then finishing brown on the second fire which had been textured with plastic lunch wrap, and the last fire was painted with rich brown.

I love this plate, and wish I had purchased a dozen of them!!

Dusted Pansies.

This was a class project from the end of last year, by some of my students.

The pansies are dusted, one by one going around the circle.

After this leaves were painted and the plate was fired.

Second fire the leaves were darkened, the centres were painted in and the whiskers were painted.

It really looks very vibrant and stunning in "real life" !!

Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

I know that this is the year of the rat, however I painted these for last Chinese New Year which was the year of the pig.

These are dipped in lustre which was floated on top of a bowl of warm water. It is a fascinating process 'cos you are never quite sure of the end result until the kiln is opened after firing.

Grapes on my 12" Jug

Over the last few months I have been painting a lot of grapes, which I have loved doing. They are quite fiddly to paint and also time consuming, however most satisfying when I get them to LOOK like grapes!!

This jug is 12" tall and I have put many bunches of grapes around it. The neck took a lot of gold for a good coverage, but it sets the piece off don't you think?

It would have looked quite ordinary if the neck was white without the gold work.

Grapes on Bone

These grapes are on a 10" bone plate. I love the appearance that bone gives to porcelain painting. The finish is always so nice and shiny and it seems easier to get the depth I want when painting on bone.
The outside edge of the plate has raised paste, and then a burnished gold edge.