The term “flushing” is sometimes used when tinting is used for a background.
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There is probably no feature in the painting of china that gives the student more anxiety than the art of ground-laying.
He is confronted by many difficulties, but when the art is mastered, feels well paid for all his work. The beautiful results are sufficient reward. A perfectly even and lustrous ground is obtained by applying powdered colors over a well padded wash of tinting oil. The results are more satisfactory than a well padded ground made of color mixed with oil before applying.
The best quality of grounding or tinting oil is the first essential. In fact it is upon this, to a great degree, that the success of the work depends. A tinted oil is usually used. Pour into a small dish the desired amount of oil. See that no lumps or bubbles are in it. Then with a clean square tinting brush apply the oil quickly over the surface to be laid with color. It is not necessary that the work should be very carefully done—but care should be taken to see that all the space is covered. Have ready for use two medium soft pads, free from lint. Pad the oil over and over again with one pad until it looks like a smooth soft tint, then repeat with the second pad. This second padding may not be necessary, but it cannot do any harm and it certainly will improve the smoothness of the oil. Here the decorator is cautioned to see that the oil is perfectly even, free from spots and scratches, as these faults would be noticeable after the color is applied. It is best to wipe off all the oil and make another application instead of trying to correct a fault on the padded oil.
After the oiled china has stood for half an hour or so, the powdered colors can be applied.
Have plenty of color on a plate and, holding the piece of china over it, take up with a piece of soft cotton as much color as it will hold, and drop it over the part of the china to which the oil has been applied. Care should be taken to hold the piece flat that is to be decorated, for if it is held upright, the color will naturally drop off. A good amount of color should be kept on the cotton while applying tint. After the oil is covered, dust with clean cotton several times. If any superfluous color remains, remove it with a soft brush.