spectrum underglazes

[Beauty&artrox]

Hi. I am a potter and it's been a long time since I've used underglazes, however I am totally loving the new colors that spectrum has now and with wanting to dive right back in, I need to know a bit about how they work.  I use to be able to use underglazes like I use water color; mixing to get the right shade and depth as in painting on canvass, can I do that with these glazes? will they mix well or do they go muddy?  will the dark colors overwhelm the lighter ones when applied together?  Is there a youtube video that will show what these glazes can do and not do that I can watch?

 

I can already see that the glazes are beautiful all on there own and when I'm carving a design into them, it's beautiful.  I would just like to know what more I can do with these glazes. 

 

thanks so much for your consideration.

 

Cheers.

Artrox

[Roberta12]

I use underglaze quite often.  I mostly use Amaco and Duncan, but the others seem to be really good as well.  Yes, I blend my underglazes just like you would with watercolors.  I have mixed larger amounts of two colors together in order to get just the right shade of green/red/blue/etc.  Usually I just use smaller amounts in a little palette and blend or even water down if I am wanting more of a water color effect.   If you have watercolor experience, you will love what you can do with underglaze.  

Roberta

[neilestrick]

How well they mix depends on the brand and the color. Normal color theory doesn't always apply. If you mix blue and yellow, there's a chance you won't get green, but rather the blue will overpower the yellow. Some colors will get wiped out by others, other combos will get muddy. Some combos will work great. I tend to think of it more as 'tinting' colors, rather than mixing.

[Chilly]

Our favourite reply to this type of question is:

 

Test, Test, TEST.

 

Only by playing and testing will you find out exactly what happens with Your clay, Your kiln and Your firing schedule.

Enjoy the testing phase, it can be really therapeutic.

[Beauty&artrox]

I Know you are absolutely right Chilly, I am lazy and time crunched so testing is the least of my agendas of late. I fully appreciated Niels advice on 'tinting colors'.  I can already see that the darker, stronger colors can overwhelm others so I need to keep it in mind when working with with combinations.  Thank you all for responding.  I greatly appreciate it.  I like the new underglazes and will continue to experiment with them until I can use them on the items I wish to sell.  Wish me well.  I can use all the good vibes anyone has to offer.  

Cheers.

Rox  

[Min]

Just to add a bit to what Neil said,  the structure of the stains used in the underglazes will make a difference in how the underglazes combine. Some stains have a spinel structure like many of the blues, greens and browns.  Other stains are based on a zircon structure, like the vanadium turquoises and praseodymium yellows. If the stains are made from the same system they should be compatible and can be blended together to make predictable secondary colours. Chrome tin stains used to make reds, pinks and some purples are not going to be as stable as the two former methods. There is also the relatively newer method of getting the bright reds, yellow and oranges by using cadmium encapsulated zirconium silicate. With stains you can look at the info the stain company gives you and get an idea of which method was used for a particular stain. Examples would be if you took Mason Canary Yellow and Robin's Egg blue, they in theory should combine in a predictable way as they are both made using the zircon structure. But, if you used Delft blue and combined it with the Canary yellow you won't necessarily get what is predicted as each of those stains is based on a different structure.

Anyhow, just a bit behind why some underglazes (and stains) don't combine in a predictable way.

[Rae Reich]

On 12/14/2018 at 6:48 AM, Beauty&artrox said:

I Know you are absolutely right Chilly, I am lazy and time crunched so testing is the least of my agendas of late. I fully appreciated Niels advice on 'tinting colors'.  I can already see that the darker, stronger colors can overwhelm others so I need to keep it in mind when working with with combinations.  Thank you all for responding.  I greatly appreciate it.  I like the new underglazes and will continue to experiment with them until I can use them on the items I wish to sell.  Wish me well.  I can use all the good vibes anyone has to offer.  

Cheers.

Rox  

For a one-shot, time-crunched project where specific colors are essential, don't try to mix colors. If you want greater variety and flexibility in your results you must first test test test or risk disappointment and wasted time. 

[Bill Kielb]

To add one piece here firing temps and overglazes can and often affect the final color. Many artist prepare a color palette test strip with their common overglaze covering half the test panel to see the color change effect at a particular firing temperature.