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claybeast In reply to DugStanat [2014-09-24 21:46:10 +0000 UTC]

DugStanat,

I'm sorry, I didn’t see your question the first time I read your comment.  The majority of my finishes are glaze and paint. 

I glaze everything with a cone 6 black gloss and then wipe it off, leaving glaze in the carved areas.  After the last firing I paint everything with thinned oil paint washes.  This allows me to get exactly what I want in color and intensity.  Thinning out the oils helps them to go a long way and dry quickly.  When dry, I scrub the paint off the gloss glaze to make the carving pop back out. 

Thanks for your interest in my work and don’t hesitate to contact me with more questions.

-Brian

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DugStanat In reply to claybeast [2014-09-24 22:30:08 +0000 UTC]

Hey Claybeast, thanks for your detailed response! It makes sense using paint after glazing...I have great difficulty getting good mid-tones with my oxide washes...the darks are dark, but the midtones often burn out so they are too light, leaving me with just light and dark. Do you find that the oil paint washes are very durable? It sounds like they must be if they survive the scrubbing you give to the glazed bits.

thanks again!
Dug

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claybeast In reply to DugStanat [2014-11-06 15:38:10 +0000 UTC]

Hey Dug,

I’m sorry I just saw your response.  I don’t  keep up with my Deviantart Art account much as I should.  To answer your question, I do find oil paint to be durable. 

I used to glaze everything from a library of 1,500 custom mixes I tested in school.  The problem was that I always wanted those same midtones you are after and I wanted everything to be dry and matte.  To achieve this in oxides and/or glazes you either have to apply them very lightly or slightly under fire them.  I have found oil-based washes to be just as durable as an under fired glaze. 

I have some glazed pigs with painted seams that have been outside for 6 years now in Tennessee.  When work is outside, nothing is forever.  But so far, the paint is holding up much better than the glaze.

Using paint also allows me to apply or remove color until I get what I want, instead of leaving it up to the kiln.  Lastly, the paint allows me to hide all the seams where I connect clay with alternative materials like wood, metal or epoxy.

Sorry again for the ridiculously late response.  Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll get on it sooner.

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DugStanat In reply to claybeast [2014-11-06 16:30:02 +0000 UTC]

No worries about the late response, and thank you so much for this response! Very interesting and it makes me rethink how I am finishing my ceramics!

I have never used oil paint. Is there a brand/line that you would recommend? When thinning oil paint to make a wash, what do you use?

thanks again for sharing your knowledge, I really appreciate it! and no worries if it takes you a long time to respond!

cheers,
Dug

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claybeast In reply to DugStanat [2014-11-07 15:47:00 +0000 UTC]

Dug,

To be honest, I use a mix of oil brands….only because I only use what I already have.  I thin with regular paint thinner. 

The key is to thin things out until they are really more of a stain.  This allows the oil to really sink into the clay and dry almost overnight.  I’ve been using the same small tubes of paint for the last 10 years!

If you start putting it on thick it might peel off, crack or take a looooong time to dry.

You also have to consider the stigma of painting ceramics.  Personally, I don’t care and neither do many others.  However, the purists out there will have objection to paint on clay.  You just have to make sure it works best for your work, you aren’t trying to do any thing functional and using paint instead of glaze or oxides doesn’t negatively affect your concepts.

Good Luck!

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DugStanat In reply to claybeast [2014-11-10 13:59:41 +0000 UTC]

Hello again Claybeast. I have yet another question. Have you experimented at all with acrylic washes? Did you find them to be less permanent than oil?

thanks once again!

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claybeast In reply to DugStanat [2014-11-14 18:26:06 +0000 UTC]

Hey DugStanat,

I have not experimented with acrylic washes.  However, most clay artists i know that paint their work use acrylic.  In fact, I'm actually the only clay artist i know that uses oil.  

I'm sure it would work fine and probably just matters more what you have and what you are used to.

Good Luck!

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DugStanat In reply to claybeast [2014-11-14 21:53:32 +0000 UTC]

thank you once again for sharing your knowledge!

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DugStanat In reply to claybeast [2014-11-07 17:37:08 +0000 UTC]

Great, thanks so much for all your help! And I'll say again that your work is beautiful! I'd love to see it in the flesh someday...given the scale I expect it the experience is almost overwhelming.

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