Color Notes from the China Painting Diary of Annita Brown
December 1918
edited by Marci Blattenberger

I was lucky to have recently aquired some old china painting supplies: vials of paints, mediums and brushes ... and in amongst the paint vials was a battered notebook that belonged to Annita Brown of Susquehanna,PA. The notebook is dated December 1918 and in it, Mrs. Brown made notes about colors to use for various subjects. I would like to share some of them with you here.
( I'll be sharing more pages from this diary in another lesson.)
Just for a smile, I thought you also might be interested in the prices of a few items that she jotted down in the back of the notebook:
1 pr. salt and pepper : $ .40
1 pr. candlesticks : $ 2.00
6 soup bowls : $ 1.98
1 bon bon dish : $ .75

Forget-Me-Nots

1st fire: flowers: pen medium mixed with deep blue green for outline, centers of lemon yellow
stems: new green
leaves: new green shaded with shading green

Second firing: Background between flowers: banding blue
flowers: deep blue green
Leaves: shaded with shading green

Flushing :deep blue green around flowers, ivory yellow for rest of dish

Pink Rose

Flower: Peach Blossom shaded with American Beauty
Leaves : yellow green shaded with brown green
Stems: auburn brown
Centers of Roses: Egg yellow shaded (with) yellow brown

Second firing: Flowers touched up with American Beauty
Leaves: Shading green
Roses specks with Auburn brown
Flushing: deep brown green and new green around flowers...rest of dish with ivory yellow

Yellow Rose

Flowers: Lemon yellow shaded with brown yellow
Centers: same specks with auburn brown
Stems: auburn brown
Leaves: new green shaded with shading green

Second firing: Flowers: brown yellow
Center: yellow brown...specks with auburn brown
Stems:auburn brown
Leaves: shaded with shading green

Flushing: nothing listed

Pond Lily

First firing: Flowers: Outline with ashes of roses and pen medium
Centers: Egg yellow shaded with brown yellow
Leaves and Stems: Olive green leaving highlights

Second firing: Flowers: Shade with ashes of roses
Center: touch up with egg yellow and yellow brown
Leaves: shaded with olive green

Flushing: Around flower : deep blue green, rest of plate with ivory yellow

Violets

Flowers: Violet leaving highlights in center of each petal
Centers: egg yellow
Leaves and Stems: Shadow and outline with shading green

Second firing: Flowers: Re-wash with violet
Center: egg yellow
Leaves: wash with Olive green

Flushing: around flowers with Olive and Moss green...rest with ivory yellow

Poppy

First firing: Flowers: shadow and outline with Poppy red
Centers: New green
Leaves : shadow and outline with Olive green
Stems: New green

Second firing: Flowers: Wash with Poppy red
Center: New green dotted around green with Best black
Leaves: Moss green shadowed with olive green
Stems: new green

Flushing: Around flowers with olive green and moss green...rest of dish with ivory yellow

 

CLICK HERE to go back to the ON-LINE LESSONS PAGE

CLICK HERE to go back to the PPIO HOME PAGE

*on-line lessons and lesson pages are the property of PPIO and the contributing artists and may not be reproduced for distribution without permission from PPIO