Ceramic painting ideas – Learn the upper glaze painting skills

The video below will show you the basic steps of painting on a ceramic plate using “xincai”—”the new color”, or upper glaze painting technique.

The very first step is cleaning. We wipe the surface of the white plate with alcohol. This may seem small, but it’s very important. If you leave behind fingerprints, or tiny specks of dust, they can show up as dark spots after firing. And once the plate has gone through the kiln, those marks cannot be removed. So always begin with a perfectly clean surface.

Next comes the painting. Before starting, it’s good to have a simple idea or plan in mind. In today’s demonstration, our teacher, Mr. Yuan, will show us how to paint two white radishes on the plate. This gives us the basic composition.

Once the radishes are in place, the third step is to add details—like the leaves, the small touches of green, and other finishing strokes. At this stage, you also check the overall picture, to see if anything is missing or needs adjusting. One nice thing about painting on ceramic is that if you’re not satisfied with a stroke, you can just wipe it away with a tissue and repaint. No need to worry too much.

The fourth step is to sign your work. After the painting is complete, the plate is ready to go into the kiln. These new color glazes are usually fired at low temperatures, between 700 and 780 degrees Celsius.

If you’re interested in learning more about ceramic painting and want to join our classes, feel free to write us email – potteryshowcase@outlook.com . Thank you for watching!