Ti basta settare il foreground e cioè:

jTextField1.setForeground(Color.red);

La versione del codice precedente diverrà:

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;

public class Frame1 extends JFrame {
JPanel jPanel1 = new JPanel();
JTextField jTextField1 = new JTextField();
Border border1;

public Frame1() {
try {
jbInit();
}
catch(Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
setSize( new Dimension( 200, 200 ) );
show();
}
private void jbInit() throws Exception {
border1 = BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.white,1);
this.getContentPane().setLayout(null);
jPanel1.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEtchedBorder ());
jPanel1.setBounds(new Rectangle(23, 21, 331, 241));
jPanel1.setLayout(null);
jTextField1.setForeground(Color.red);
jTextField1.setBorder(border1);
jTextField1.setText("jTextField1");
jTextField1.setBounds(new Rectangle(35, 7, 159, 125));
this.getContentPane().add(jPanel1, null);
jPanel1.add(jTextField1, null);
}
}

Ciauz