How to Blend Colors when Painting Pottery

It's fun and easy to paint pottery using different colors. But how do you blend colors effectively when painting pottery? Learn tips and tricks for blending colors that will give your pottery a personalized and beautiful appearance.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pottery
• Paints
• Damp brush or sponge

Blending Colors

1. 
   Make sure your pottery is clean and dry.

   Start with a clean, dry piece of pottery. If your piece is dirty and must be washed, use a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 plain white vinegar to remove any dirt, oil, or other coating. If you've painted any part of the pottery, let it dry before proceeding.

2. 

   Dampen your brush and dip it in the color of paint that you want to use. This isn't the time to be stingy with the amount of paint that you put on your brush -- make sure to pick up extra amounts of paint.You can also use a damp sponge to apply the paint to your piece of pottery. Again, be generous with your paint.

3. Apply the first color to your piece of pottery. Immediately add your second color, without waiting for the first color to dry. The paints need to be wet so that you can blend them.

4. Brush on the second color of paint. Begin blending the colors until they're blended to your satisfaction. You can repeat this step if you're using additional colors. Just make sure that the paints are wet when you're blending them.

Tips & Warnings

• You can blend as many colors as you wish. When you're done blending them, let them dry thoroughly before adding any other colors to your pottery.
• You can use any type of sponge or brush to paint your pottery. Brushes give you the ability to have clear, definite lines. The smaller the brush, the more details you can add. Large brushes are great for covering large areas of your pottery but not for detail work.
• Sponges let you dab colors onto your pottery for a speckled look, and create a design that has a soft appearance.
• For the best results, use ceramic glazes that need to be fired in a kiln. Glazes that can be fired in your oven at home produce marginal results.
• Carefully read the labels on any glazes or paints that you use. Not all paints and glazes are suitable to use for pottery that will contain food.
• Don't let the colors that you want to blend to dry. Once the paints have dried, you won't be able to blend them.