Portrait Painting on Porcelain

One thing I don't do much of any more is painting on porcelain. Stitching has caught my attention…but I still plan to go back to painting, as well, some day.

I thought you might enjoy seeing how the portrait takes shape. Each one is a challenge. I can push an eyeball around for an hour before I get it "just right" ;0)

I use dry, crushed mineral paints and mix them with an oil, called an open medium. This means the paints don't dry, they stay open or wet, until the porcelain tile is fired in my kiln - from 1380 degrees up to 1517 degrees F.

I make an outline of the portrait I want to paint using a fine-pointed stencil and graphite paper. Once the outline is on the tile, the first step is painted. Once fired, here's what it looks like.

First Fire:

Looks kind of spooky, doesn't it?  The graphite lines fire out, leaving the paint. It's important to smooth the paint so you don't see any harsh lines. Even the smallest one draws your eye and it looks, well, bad.
(The design you see around this portrait are holding spots for raised paste, enamel and gold work that I wanted to do - this would consist of three steps/firings - once the portrait is complete).

Second fire:

You can see how I've built up the colors, giving her more depth and life. Adding the pupils takes away the spookiness, doesn't it?

Third fire:

Again, I've built up the colors, enhancing her features.

Fourth fire:

This shows the final fire for this portrait. I painted this at a seminar. Depending on the subject, some portraits can take up to 7 or 8 fires to complete.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I hope you found this interesting.