When a friend told me that some of her fellow painters were using lamp oil in place of turpentine, it rang a bell. I recalled that my father, who was a house painter, used to clean his brushes in kerosene, which is what lamp oil is derived from .

I began using it and was pleased to find that it conditioned, as well as cleaned my brushes. I also found that painting with lamp oil will produce a watercolor effect. The secret to using it, as I did when painting the pieces shown, is not to try too hard to be precise: put the color on and let it bleed a little, one color or stroke into another.

Mix your paints with whatever mixing oil you prefer. Use lamp oil, scented or unscented, in place of your painting and cleaning medium. Don't press the oil out of the brush as you do for traditional painting. Touch the brush a couple of times to a cloth so it isn't dripping oil, than load it with paint. If it gets too far out of one, wipe it back with a damp cloth over your finger. Should it leave too sharp an edge, defuse it with a touch of lamp oil.

After you have your basic shape, fire it, and then define it with pen-work or a liner brush. You probably will need to practice a little, but should soon be getting the free flowing look you want....

.... Let your work dry before firing so it does not run in the kiln, and to be on the safe side, fire flat whenever possible. After you have fired the piece, study it carefully, and use a fine liner and or pen to define our design. Use a minimum number of lines, leaving as mush as possible to the imagination.
I sometimes add a touch of structure covered with liquid bright gold.

Using lamp oil as your china painting medium can give you the flow and freedom you see in a watercolor. Don't fiddle with your brush strokes any more than necessary or you'll lose the effect.

Paint from a tile instead of directly from your paint box because your paint is going to get soupy. I prefer a medium sized watercolor brush, but a half inch flat, soft one will do just fine. Should the paint spread, it is a little too loose; touch it to the cloth and then into the paint again.

You probably will need to practice a little to get the free flowing look you want. Once you have mastered the art of this watercolor technique, you may want to do subjects that need more detail than the flowers in this lesson .

The bird tile shows you how to lay in the color with single strokes, then bring the subject to definition on the second fire. The bird at the bottom of the tile was quickly laid in with the paint a little soupier than what it was for the flowers. On the second fire the top bird comes to life with a few strokes of water-based E-Z Pen Magic mixed with black paint and applied with a fine liner. Be sure you keep these lines to a minimum... just enough to define the subject.

As you can see, this is a very relaxed way of painting, and you may find it a welcome diversion from the traditional. I'd like to leave you with one last suggestion: try using lamp oil to clean your brushes in place of turpentine. Lamp oil will also condition them, eliminating the need to oil your brushes before storing.

The chrysanthemums were done in one fire, the leaves were detailed with a fine liner in a second fire. The plate was completed as follows.

1st fire: Oval painted with a wash of white and touch of blue green. Band incised with E-Z Incising Flux.

2nd fire: Flowers, stems and leaves painted with watercolor technique. E-Z Structure dots outline incised band, oval and chain.

3rd fire: Blue luster touched with Halo Copper and L.B. gold applied to band.

4th fire: Detailing of leaves and stems, gold applied to all structure dots, lump jewels held in place with household glue, rim covered with gold and fired flat.