Using Watercolor Pencils On Ceramics

Much more so than paint sets.

Using watercolor pencils on ceramics.

Just create your desired colors on the page first and mix in water to get your paint. But once you get used to that you can create beautiful watercolor like surfaces. Ceramic stains and underglazes mixed with water painted on unfired white glazed bisque is pretty similar to watercolor painting on paper. The image above shows arteza s water brush pens.

This results in darker colors. The main difference is that the glazed bisque surface absorbs the color and water mixture more quickly. On the test tile above you can see the difference one coat of clear glaze makes to the watercolor surface. Once the pottery piece is fired in a kiln it will look like it was painted using watercolor paints.

Using this type of underglaze can achieve painterly effects. Okay this isn t really a technique but one really nice benefit of watercolor pencils is that you can use them as on the go paints. Watercolor underglazes work best on bisque fired pieces since a great deal of water is needed to apply them. This will feel the most like watercolor painting except that instead of dipping your brush into watercolor paint you re using water to spread pigment already on the paper.

For example although you cannot apply actual watercolor paints onto ceramic clay pottery you can apply ceramic glazes onto the unfinished pottery work to look like it was painted with watercolor paint. Watercolor pencils are similar to colored pencils but use water soluble binders to hold their components together rather than non water soluble wax or oil. This process is called activation. Watercolor pencils are designed to be used with water which can be applied with a soft brush after making marks with the pencil.

Apply pencil lightly over very large areas and use the wet paint brush to fill it in. Pencil sets are compact and easy to carry. This allows the colors to spread like watercolor paint when painted over with water but it also makes them more difficult to blend without the use of water. I love water brushes as they are perfect to have for when you are on the go and inspiration strikes you.

Use smooth strokes as you use the brush to spread the pigment from the watercolor pencils. Apply water to an area then color in with a pencil. Guidelines also can be painted on with vermilion watercolor paint which also burns away. Once the material has been activated it behaves like watercolor.

The colors blend seamlessly providing more dimension in pieces. When using watercolor pencils you will need for sure some brushes. Apply pencil to the outside edges of a shape then fill in with a wet paint brush. Typically water is applied with a brush but sponges and other tools can be used as well.