China-Painting: Collecting Hand Painted China

My grandmother was a china-painter, she hand painted many china pieces in her lifetime and each of us grandchildren has a few pieces. She use to teach classes, giving instructions on how to turn blank pieces into artistic masterpieces, well that's my take on it anyway.

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I remember when I was twelve she had asked me if I wanted to learn to do china painting and I turned her down. I have never been artistic so the whole procedure and the thought of ruining a piece of china held me back. I didn't think I could ever do any thing like that, she was just so good at it. It's one of those things in your life that when you think back you could kick yourself for being so dumb.

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China painting is done on glazed china usually bought from an art supply store, my grandmother had catalogs from many different supply houses and usually ordered her pieces through the mail.
You do need to know some basic art principles like, line, balance, interaction, mix and proportion of colors. It’s important to know the proper procedure of painting, glazing, firing and the use and care of your paintbrushes. Then there’s the obvious fact that it is a big plus if you happen to have some natural artistic abilities.

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Grandma use to have a box filled with old pictures that she cut out of magazines and old greeting cards. She would like the design in one and the layout of another or perhaps the coloring would intrigue her, these were saved for future projects. After her death a relative that had taken her up on the china-painting offer took them home with her. I'm glad the clippings went home with somebody who could appreciate them and perhaps use them someday.

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Most china painters sign their hand painted pieces, so identification is usually easy enough as to who painted it but trying to set value to a piece is extremely hard. I know these pieces are usually quite expensive in flea markets, art shows and artists websites but then there is the cost of the blank and a lot of time and talent invested in each piece.

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Antique shops and websites of china painting artists are the best places to buy these beautiful hand painted treasures. There are many clubs that also have websites and the possibility of taking classes or buying local in your community is also an option.

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Sets of dishes are usually valued up in the thousands. Decorative plates and bowls usually start out about $75 and go up from there, hand painted teapots range in price depending on the size and amount of work put into it. I have seen them in the $100 to $200 range and tea sets usually start in about $200. Prices do vary; many times you can get a deal from a yard sale or auction and even a flea market.

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I have been quite lucky to find a few hand painted plates at a yard sale for a couple of dollars a piece and I found a lovely hand painted bowl in a flea market for $3.50 and grabbed it up. Since I usually buy things at bargain prices these are the only pieces I have ever been able to buy. The rest of my hand painted pretties were gifts from my china-painting grandma.

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Whenever I see a beautiful piece of hand painted china it always remind me of my grandmother. Most of her pieces are floral and most were done in soft pastels, she was very fond of pinks, blues and purples. There are many artists who prefer painting animals or people or beautiful scenery and those pieces have a beauty all of their own but I'll always have a special feeling for these floral hand painted pieces.

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