I have these two bisque Eberl “Esperanza” spanish mares in the studio, and I decided to sell one of them (which I did). Then I got all inspired to glaze the other one. I decided to try something which has so far frustrated/eluded me in chinapainting: dappling with a paintbrush. (Rather than the airbrush.)

First I airbrushed on two smooth layers of base color and fired that. I’m doing this directly onto the unglazed bisque, and had to add a matting agent to the overglaze paint to keep it matte. (The default on these overglazes is glossy.) Then using a drybrush technique to paint on the dappling, the photo shows the result so far. I can only do this on a matte finish because it has “tooth” to grab the paint. I have tried and tried something similar with a glossy finish and the paint just slides around. It doesn’t get that soft grainy look you want with realistic dappling. It looks a little shiny because the paint is still wet.

The above is not my usual “look” or painting “style.” I can’t decide whether to fire this and continue to darken it (it will be a bay). To fire or not to fire, that is the question!