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Orange China Paint.
Everyone knows that yellow, orange, and red suggest ideas of joy and plenty. I can paint you the skin of Venus with mud, provided you let me surround it as I will."----Eugene Delacroix, 1798-1863
When I created a witch shoe for a fall painting session, one of the designs needed the color orange. Before painting the final artwork, I decided to experiment with orange mixed from paint already on the pallet and also purchased ready made orange china paint powder from a supplier.
I am sharing the results of these experiments so that others who want to experiment with orange china paint can use the results as part of their research on mixing and firing color.
I used a 6" x 8" tile from the local hardware store as the first experimental painting surface. Some porcelain artists and/or china painters feel that the glaze on porcelain tiles from the hardware store differs substantially from the glaze on porcelain blanks and often use a porcelain blank plate to experiment with their color instead of a tile. Usually when testing a new color, the first surface I use is a porcelain tile from the hardware store and then the color is tested on a practice painting using an inexpensive white porcelain blank and finally it is used on more complex paintings. To date, in these numerous color experiments, I have not found any significant difference in color variations between using the tile from a hardware store vs. a "real porcelain blank".
The China Paint Orange Color Experiment
Are you ready for the Orange China Paint results? Use the photograph of the tile above to compare to the information below.
- 2/3 Mixing Yellow and 1/3 Yellow Red—This combination resulted in a color that visually reads orange.
- Mixing yellow slightly tinted with Yellow Red.—This combination appeared orange before firing, however, after firing it was yellow.
- 2/3 Mixing Yellow and 1/3 Pompadour Red—This combination resulted in a color that reads orange.
- Mixing Yellow slightly tinted with Pompadour Red—the color appeared orange before firing but was an intense yellow after firing. Good to know! I might need this intense yellow information later.
- Mandarin Orange (Cadmium Color )—Ready made china paint powder from Dallas China. No need to mix with other colors to make orange. This color is similar to the innards of an orange or cantalope. It would also be perfect for the stripes in the witch stockings.
- Bright Orange(Cadmium Color )—Ready made china paint powder from Dallas China. No need to mix with another color to make orange. The color is similar to the outside peel of a tangerine. It is vivid and perfect for stripes on witch stockings.
- In summary Mandarin Orange and Bright Orange are brighter or more vivid. The mixtures of Pompadour Red plus Mixing Yellow and Yellow Red plus Mixing Yellow are more natural like the orange you might see in autumn leaves.
When you mix your special blends of color for experiments, it is helpful to take notes so that it is easier to recreate the color later. If you mix a color you love, it is a great idea to mix enough paint to complete the painting from beginning to end.
After the experiments were finished, I used the following china paint mixture on the Fashionable Witch Shoe design; 2/3 Mixing Yellow plus 1/3 Pompadour Red. However, I stocked up on Mandarin Orange and Bright Orange just in case the painters who come to class would rather use a one of the ready made china paint powders for their paintings. The final decision by the artist depends on which orange is best suited for the artwork.