You usually need only a very little of the artist's oils or acrylics to color the paint, so proceed very cautiously and mix the colors first with a little white paint before adding to the whole tin. You can paint the entire pot, or you can coose to decorate it with surface patterning. Varnish protects the paint. You can achieve attractive and original results by hand-painting bought containers. Either paint the entire pot in one uniform shade or apply two or more colors in a geometric design.
Stripes are particularly easy to create and can look very effective.
There is a good range of colors suitable for painting containers. The best colors tend to be those with white or black added. Most terracotta pots look more attractive when they have been weathered. You can speed up the natural weatheriing process by painting the surface of the pot with a layer of yogurt, which will attract the growth of algae and lichen. Coat the pot with a thickish layer of yogurt and leave outside to dry for a week or so before planting it up.