Paint the illustration of a teapot. We are thinking about spending these long winter days, what’s better than a tea break with biscuits? Today’s tutorial has been designed for carving out an afternoon of art: we will paint a colorful tea set accompanied by some lovely biscuits, using Gouache Maimeri tempera. Let’s find out the characteristics of these beautiful colors with a covering and compact tone and how to use them!
The characteristics of Maimeri gouache
The Gouache paints are opaque and compact, with a rapid drying which creates a satin finish and uniform effect. Inside them and the pigment, white lead, and plaster are added to provide different opacity and opacity, compared to watercolors. Gouaches are defined as “opaque watercolors,” as if used more diluted with water, it is possible to obtain effects similar to watercolor. The tempera gouache Extra fine Maimeri is distinguished by thick paint and the depth of the colors. Ideal for those who love illustration. They are a versatile product used for various experiments, recommended for sketches and preparatory studies, even on colored paper—ideal on paper, cardboard, wood, canvas, and porous substrates.
In all, the series consists of 54 bright colors in the 20 ml tube format, from which to obtain infinite shades of color, even for the most demanding. The tubes are made of metal, have an airtight plastic closure, which guarantees the preservation of the color inside. Designed to be handy and practical, they come in convenient cardboard boxes that are easily resalable and, above all, eco-sustainable landscape drawing!
Aims of the guide
- Practice drawing
- Paint by the layering of color
- Mix the colors
The pencil drawing of the subject
I chose a lovely tea set with a porcelain teapot and cup with floral decoration, biscuits, and lemon for my composition. In addition, there is a downloadable table with the BASIC DRAWING that you will find at the end of the article for today’s tutorial.
Let’s paint the teapot
Let’s start by painting the base of the teapot with a very light antique pink. Prepare on a palette a mixture of Titanium White, Primary Yellow, a hint of Primary Magenta Red and Red Ocher. Dilute the color with a drop of water and mix until you get the shade of pink you want. Then, with the Princeton Neptune round brush n ° 4, start applying the first colored base of the teapot, leaving out the handles and the lid. In this first phase, spread the color on the sheet evenly, following the same direction.
Before selecting the color I chose for the teapot, I recorded the different shades obtained on cardboard, thus organizing a small palette of shades of pink and earthy tones to get an idea of the color combinations I’m going to make. Is this your first time using this technique? Here are 3 suggestions that may be helpful to you:
- COLOR: Spread the color evenly
- DRYING: Allow the color to dry completely.
- AIR: Avoid creating air bubbles on the applied color.
Now with the obtained pink paint following the edges of the pencil drawing. Spread the color with full-bodied brushstrokes and avoid brushing over the color already in the drying phase. Once the base of the teapot is completed, let it dry and prepare the color to paint the remaining parts of the teapot with a slightly darker pink that you can obtain by adding a hint of Red Ocher to the pink that you have already received previously, then mix until you get a homogeneous color.
Proceed by painting the lid of the teapot. Here, too, pay attention to spread the color evenly and compactly. Let it dry. Once the teapot is finished, we paint the cup with the same pink that we have already used for the teapot, while for the edge and the handle, we will use the pink of a few shades darker. Once the color has dried, thanks to the fantastic tip of the Princeton Neptune round brush n ° 4, you can define the edges of the cup and teapot with the Red Okra.
We paint the cookies
At this point, let’s move on to painting the first layer of the cookies. To get the classic biscuit color, mix on a palette of Primary Yellow, Titanium White, and a hint of Red Ocher. So, mix until you get a homogeneous color that we will use for the base of the biscuits. Once the base has dried, with the Yellow Primary, diluted with a drop of water, paint light glazes following the circular pattern of the biscuits, forming concentric rings. Leave the central part intended for the icing blank, which we will paint with a red obtained from the Magenta Red and a hint of Yellow.
The details of the teapot
At this point, let’s proceed with the Red Okra, dilute the color with a drop of water and paint the contents of the cup. That is our tea. Spread the color with the brush taking care not to come out from the edges.
We paint the lemons
Let’s now pass on to paint the base of the lemons with a light yellow tone that you will get by mixing Titanium White with a hint of Primary Yellow. Once the base has dried with Primary Yellow, paint the triangles of the wedges and the peels. Then, thanks to the tip of the brush, you can proceed to define even the details quickly.
The colorful decorations on the ceramics
Let’s now move on to the decoration of the teapot. To paint the flowers we drew, I selected Titanium White and Magenta Red which I mixed to obtain different shades of pink with which to paint the flowers on the cup and teapot. At this stage, we will paint directly on the dry color base.
Once the base of the flowers has dried, we obtain a tone of dark brown by mixing on a palette the Red Okra and a hint of Black. Finally, decorate the remaining part of the teapot to your liking with small scattered petals. Let it dry. Thank you for being with us, and remember that below you will find the original drawing to redo the illustration in your home!