Making Hand Painted Field Tile

Several readers asked us how hand painted field tile are made after seeing last week's post that provided Hand Painted Field Tile Tips. It's a great question. Today, you'll learn how hand painted field tile or brushed tile are made.

Hand Painted or Brushed Ceramic Field Tile in Navy Blue

Hand painted ceramic field tile are crafted one at a time. These solid color tiles have a distinctive brushed look and are often called brushed tiles. The variation in color value on each tile is unique. The color value variation occurs because the amount of glaze on the tile surface varies with each stroke of the brush in the artist’s hand. The process isn’t as labor-intensive as Making Hand Painted Decorative Tiles; but, you can see how each tile is touched by the hand of the artist – one at a time.

Glaze colors are mixed and unglazed tiles or bisque are prepared. Then, the artist dips the brush in the glaze and prepares to brush the glaze on the face of the tile.

An Artist Prepares to Brush the Glaze on a Ceramic Tile

The glaze is brushed on the tile with a few brush strokes.

The Glaze is Brushed on the Tile Face using Brush Strokes

Detail of an Artist Applying Glaze to a Field Tile

The tile is set down and another unglazed tile is prepared.

The Glazed Tile is Set Down

The process starts over again and repeated. Once enough tiles have been glazed, they are fired in the kiln for a few days. After firing, the tiles are ready to be installed!

The Process Repeats until enough Tiles are Complete

Brushed or hand painted field tile work best with decorative or patterned tile made by the same artisans or factory because the differences in color value are subtle. Mixing tiles from other manufactures is difficult because the differences in hue may make the installation garish.

You can’t help but appreciate the effort that goes into crafting each tile. If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy seeing how hand painted decorative or patterned tiles our made in our a previous post, Making Hand Painted Tiles Video. And, so see how relief tiles are made be sure to see our Making Relief Tiles Video.

Avente Tile has two lines of hand painted or brushed field tile: Barcelona Field tile and Spanish Field tile. If you are looking for a specific color value, let us know and we can check stock to better accommodate your design needs. The Barcelona Field tile is available in a 6"x6" size and the following colors: Blue, Green, and Yellow. The Spanish Field tile is available in a 6"x6" and 4"x4" sizes in Brushed Blue, Brushed Green, Brushed Natural, and Brushed Navy.