Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/artrecreationsbeOOurbi_O ART RECREATIONS. WE GETTY CMYTf.lt LIBRARY f * Art Recreations: BEING A COMPLETE GUIDE TO Pencil Drawing, Oil Painting, Water-Color Painting, Crayon Drawing and Painting, Painting on Ground Glass, Grecian Painting, Antique Painting, Oriental Painting, Sign Painting, Theorem Painting, Ferneries, Moss Work, Papier Mache, Cone Work, Feather Flowers, Potichomanie, Leather Work, Hair Work, Taxidermy, Gilding and Bronzing, Plaster Work, Decalcomanie, Wax Work, Shell Work, Magic Lantern, Paper Flowers, Imitation of Pearl, The Aquarium, Sealing-Wax Painting, Panorama Painting, Coloring Photographs, Enamel Painting, Diaphanie, Charcoal Drawing, two kinds, Limneography, Heraldry, Flower Pa’nting, four kinds, Sorrento-Wood Carving, Illuminating, &c. BY Mme. L. B. URBINO, Prof. HENRY DAY, AND OTHERS. WITH VALUABLE RECEIPTS FOR PREPARING MATERIALS. Splendidly illustrated. BOSTON : S* W. TILTON & CO. N f I / 2 U 7 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, oy J. E. TILTON & COMPANY, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. presenting this volume to the public, the publishers would state that it has its origin in the fact that during the time in which they have been en- gaged in issuing pictures and dealing in artists’ materials, they have been in the constant receipt of letters, from all parts of the country, asking for information in various departments of ornamental work It has always given them pleasure to answer such inquiries, and they will cheerfully in the future furnish such information as may be called for. But with an increasing business, and consequently more extended correspondence, they have found it impos- sible to meet the wants of their patrons to the ex- tent they would wish, and therefore have prepared 1 * ( 5 ) 6 INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. this volume, which they think will be found, upon examination, to contain a great amount of valuable and original matter, in almost every department of ornamental work ; and they hope the book will meet with the approbation of their patrons and the public generally, feeling assured that long experience and an honest desire to make a valuable and instructive book for teachers, amateur artists, and the family circle, will gain for it a pleasing success. We are indebted for many of these receipts and valuable information to Professor Henry Day, a successful teacher for the past twelve years in this country, and formerly in England, Ireland, and Scotland. NOTE TO NEW EDITION. In issuing 1 a new edition of this book, we feel gratified in being able to say that “ Art Recreations ” has met with universal approval and a success beyond the most sanguine hopes of the publishers. We have, since its pub- lication, received and introduced some new things, a natural result to our continued labors, extending business, and constant intercourse with artists and teachers. Nearly all the matter from page 282 on to the end of the book is new. CONTENTS Autumn Leaves, Treatment of Page. 301 Anglo-Japanese Work ... 229 Antique Painting’ . 1S7 Antique Varnish, To make .... 341 Aquarium, The 327 Backgrounds, Painting 145 Broken-Cake Colors, To make moist colors of 316 Botanical Specimens, To preserve . 281 Bronzing 198 Brushes, To clean 322 Bronze Painting 199 Bronze Stencilling 318 Brushes, Choice of 131 Cabinet Work, To cleanse .... 343 Cabinet Varnish, To make .... 341 Chinese Raising 203 Chess Table Pattern, To paint 174 Clear Varnish 326 Colors, List of . 124 -156 Colors, Mixing for Grecian Painting 90 Colors, Mixing for Oriental Painting 171 8 CONTENTS, Colored Engravings, To varnish . 342 Charcoal Drawing .... . 291 Cone Work . 266 Crayon Drawing .... 65, 69 Decalcomanie . 282 Diaphanie ..... . 285 Draperies, Coloring .... . 141 Drawing, Elements of . 13 Drawing, Perspective 31, 41 Drawing, Crayon .... 65, 69 Drawing, Monochromatic . 67 Designers, Hints for ... . 293 Ebony Inlaying, Imitation of . . 320 Enamel Painting .... . 194 Engravings, To stretch, for framing . 343 Engravings, To varnish colored . 342 Engravings, To use upon Glass . 319 Engravings, Varnish for . . 326 Eeather Flowers .... . 264 Fernery for a short Purse . 335 Flesh Tints . 136 Foliage . 47 Flower Painting on Tinted Paper . . 300 Flower Painting, Permanent * . 299 Flower Painting in Water Colors . . 105 Gilding Signs . 186 Gilding on Satin, &c., . 205 Gilding . 206 Glass, Painting on . . 179 Grecian Painting .... . 77 Ground Glass, Painting on . 183 CONTENTS. 9 Green Leaves in Water Colors . 303 Gold Size, To make . 342 Ground Glass, Imitation of . 323 Grecian Yarnish .... . 324 Hair, Coloring The . 138 Hints for Designers and Illustrators . 293 Heraldic Emblazoning . . 310 Hair Work . 262 Horn Paper, To make . 113 Illuminating . 307 Japanese (Anglo) Work . . 229 Linnaaography ..... . 296 Leather Work . 209 Leaf Impressions, Taking . 280 Magic Lantern .... . 181 Mastic Yarnish, To make . 340 Monochromatic Drawing . 67 Moss Work . 250 Oil Painting . 51 Oriental Painting .... . 165. Painting in Oil . 51 Painting Panoramas, Maps, &c., . 63 Painting, Grecian .... . 75 Painting in Water Colors . 97 Painting, Theorem .... . 143 Painting on Glass .... . 179 Painting Photographs . 119 Painting, Oriental .... . 165 Painting, Permanent Flower . . 299 Preserving Yarnish .... . 326 Painting on Bice Paper . . 177 10 CONTENTS. Painting Signs 185 Painting, Antique 187 Panorama Painting 63 Paper Ornaments, To cut out 316 Papier Mache, as taught by Prof. Day 191 Papier Mache Yarnish 341 Paper Elovvers 271 Pearl, Imitation for Embroidery 270 Pearling 204 Potichomanie 275 Pencils, Choice of 131 Pencil Drawing, To preserve 73 Pictures for Grecian Painting 94 Photograph Painting . .199 Perspective Drawing 31, 41 Plaster Work 255 Rice Paper Painting 177 Receipts, Miscellaneous 339 Sea- Weeds 260 Sealing-Wax Work 325 Sorrento Wood Cutting . . . ■ 309 Scene Painting 63 Sketching from Nature 37 Shell Work 29 Sign Painting • .185 Tamarind-Seed Work 269 Taxidermy 227 Tints, Flesh 136 Tints, Hair 138 Tints for Photographs 157 Tinting Glass Positives, &c., . . . . . . .181 CONTENTS, 11 Tinting Photographs 184 Theorem Painting 113 Tracing Paper 339 Transparencies, To make 279 Transfer Paper, To make 340 Transfer on Wood 230 Transfer, Yarnish 324 Varnish, Spirit Sandarac 339 Varnish, Transfer 339 Varnish, Mastic 340 Varnish, Antique 341 Varnish, Cabinet 341 Varnish, Turpentine 341 Varnish, Papier Mache 341 Varnishing colored Engravings 342 Varnish, Transfer 324 Varnish, Grecian . 324 Varnish, Clear 326 Varnish, Preserving ........ 326 Water- Color Painting 99 Wax Work 233 Jlratoing. ( 13 ) HIS art, by which we imitate the beau- ties of the exterior world, and transfer to paper or canvas the creations of our im- agination, is not only a pleasing accomplishment, but of practical utility in every department of human life ; and while, as in every branch of study, all cannot expect to attain to equal excellence, there is no one who does not possess within him a germ which, with proper cultivation, ( 15 ) 16 DRAWING. will develop itself in some degree of artistic beauty. As in music, so in drawing, to become a master of the art requires a life-long labor and constant application ; and yet it is within the reach of all to acquire such a knowledge, and such an experience, as to produce pleas- ing effects, to cultivate and elevate our tastes for the beautiful in nature and art, and decorate our dwellings with representations of the outer world, and make per- manent with the pencil the dreamy imaginations which float in the ever-active mind. Drawing should become an essential element in our popular education, for while it conduces to our pleasure and amusement, practical advantages naturally flow from it; and although in an elementary treatise like this it is impossible to enter into the minute details necessary for high proficiency in the art, yet it is believed the attentive student will find here an incentive for further study, and that, by following the concise but systematic directions here given, he will, although a beginner, be enabled to produce pleasing pictures with a true artistic effect, and lay the foundation for a thorough knowledge of the principles of drawing. Success in any thing is in proportion to the exertion put forth, and the student- DRAWING. 17 artist who, with fixedness of purpose, and with patience, applies his mind and hand to the work may feel as- sured of the- most gratifying results ; and each suc- cessive difficulty overcome, and every new idea gained, add knowledge, experience, and encouragement. A perfect muscular control of the hand is of the first importance in drawing, as accuracy of outline and delicacy of expression can only be obtained by having the fingers in complete subjection to the will, so that the slightest volition will be properly interpreted by the pencil. This requisite facility in the use of the pencil or brush can be acquired only by patient practice, the length of time neces- sary for its attainment being in some degree dependent upon the natural ability, taste, or “ genius ” of the learner. Of equal importance, and as absolutely indis- pensable, is correctness of eye in determining distances and measurements — an attainment which can be carried to a wonderful degree of perfection. Thorough practice in making straight and curved lines demands the first attention of the beginner. Commence with short hori- zontal lines, gradually increasing the length, making the x line in a distinct, bold, and rapid manner, first from left to right, and then vice versa , thus : — - — ; 18 DRAWING. next, straight lines touching each other at different ; then perpendicular angles, thus : lines, thus : Too much practice cannot he given to these lines, and the difficulties at first experienced in drawing straight, continuous lines will gradually diminish. When these right-lines, horizontal, perpendicular, and at various angles, can he drawn with accuracy and with freedom of pencil, then practice the following, which is a com- bination of them all, thus : nations will suggest them- inventive mind, and the astonished in his practice in variety of forms and almost tions can he produced from It may he well to copy some posed of straight lines ; hut od is to draw from the store- Other combi- selves to the learner will be finding what a endless varia- straight lines, figures com- the best meth- house of your DRAWING. 19 own invention, taxing the mind for new combinations, and thus adopting one of the surest means of success. The power to originate, as well as to imitate, is necessary to make the true artist. Having attained a degree of proficiency in straight lines, the next step is the curve , with all its variations. Commence by drawing a horizontal line, connecting the ends by arches of different altitudes, then perpendicular lines, connecting the ends by arches in the same manner. In each Of these cases, the straight lines form a basis by which to determine with more accu- racy the true sweep of the arch curves ; and all irregular forms can best be determined by their relative positions to straight lines. A practiced eye will soon learn to detect right lines in all things, and thus have an unerring standard. Now draw straight lines, and divide them into equal parts, testing the accuracy of your eye by the compasses, — i — — and practice this until the eye can measure with great accuracy. Then draw arches, (without any base line,) and divide them in the same manner. 20 DRAWING. Forms of grace and beauty being dependent upon curved lines, great attention and practice should be given to them in the infinite variety in which they occur. Select simple curvilinear forms, and having acquired some profi- ciency in making them, advance to those of a more difficult character ; vases, goblets, shells, and numerous other forms combining curved lines will readily occur to the mind of the artist. It will now be found a good practice to draw straight and curved lines with their parallels, varying the spaces between the lines until the hand becomes steady and accu- rate in its motion, and the eye determines the equi-dis- Make the lines with boldness, and a certain degree of rapidity. Thorough practice in drawing these lines, and in divid- ing them at equi-distances, gives to the learner the whole alphabet of drawing. Too much attention cannot be given to the combinations of which these various lines are sus- ceptible, and patience and diligence are indispensable requisites to success. All mistakes should be carefully DRAWING. 21 corrected, not in imagination, but in reality, as thus the hand and eye gain experience. Fruit and flowers are in- teresting models from which to draw, and these can be followed by more complicated subjects. The drawing of the human head, and indeed of the whole human form, being wholly dependent upon curved lines, no more appropriate place will be found in which to give a few elementary directions on this branch of the art of drawing ; and it may be remarked, that in all the works of nature no straight lines are to be found ; trees, flowers, leaves, fruit, and every motion of air or water, are curvi- linear in their character. It is easier to draw a head in profile (side view) than in any other position, as in this way the features can be more readily preserved, and a little practice in profile drawing (strict attention being given to the originals) will insure a 22 DRAWING. creditable degree of proficiency. In drawing & front view, the artist should begin with the mouth ; and as a general rule, in the words of an artist-author, “ before making any attempt at expression he should become familiar with the actual form of the features, and be capable of delin- eating them knowingly.” The line made by the meeting of the lips is the first thing to be drawn. Draw a straight line, and upon it mark with a dotted or faint line the width of the mouth, center, thickness of lips, etc., giving careful attention to the form ; then develop these marks into a correct outline of the form to be imitated, and the remaining steps of filling up will come in easy succession. Repeated experiments should be made until the use of the straight or base line can be dispensed with ; and the same principle will apply to the drawing of the eye. Practice will enable the learner in a short time to preserve the relative proportions as well without as with this line. DRAWING. 28 In making the lines which give form or rotundity, com- mence with the most prominent ones, attending carefully to all the details of light and shade, and not attempting too rapid progress. The principles above given will apply with the same force to other features, and the pupil should practice with patience each and every feature before attempting to combine them. The accompanying diagrams will be of essential service to the pupil. Having attained some proficiency in these, the pupil can next proceed with the following, practicing patiently and thoroughly. It has been remarked that it is easier to draw a profile than a front view ; therefore it is recommended to the 24 DRAWING. pupil to commence a perfect head with a 'profile ; and here nature provides a base line or point of unerring certainty, by which to produce the head. With the head in an erect position, a line connecting the lower points of the nose and ear will be horizontal ; and thus is established a basis to which all the parts of the head must have certain fixed relations. Erect a perpendicular from one end of a horizontal line, and upon this mark the length of the nose, equal to one fourth the whole height of the head. This proportion will, of course, sometimes vary, but it forms a pretty accurate measurement. The oval , we mean the egg-shape oval, although of little use in profile drawing, in a full front view is of striking use and value. DRAWING. 25 The student unacquainted with the subject will be aston- ished to see how nearly the human face partakes of the oval form, and this knowledge, when acted upon, will be of great assistance. A single outline illustration will show better than pages of print the force of our remarks upon the oval form of the human face. The obtuse or elongated form of the oval must be deter- mined by the individual cases. 3 26 DRAWING. As a general observation, it may be said that just in proportion as . the head is elevated or depressed from an erect position, the line from ear to nose, before alluded to, will cease to be horizontal, and take a greater or less curvature ; still it will continue to be a governing line. Care and judgment in the use of the oval is necessary, as at every inclination of the head to the left or right, the perpendicular or center ceases to be a straight line, and as the curvature increases the line loses its position as a central line for determining the features, while the oval is gradually lost for an outline as the picture a^ proaches a profile. The imaginary central line of the head and face should always receive the careful study and con- tinual attention of the student, as it determines the gen- eral character of the head and its separate parts. Copying plaster casts is an excellent practice, and the learner should improve every opportunity for observa- tion and study ; and all attempts at imitation, either from casts, living heads, or paintings, will insure gratify- ing progress in the art. Proper subjects for copying are within the reach of all those into whose hands this book will fall. As the pupil passes on to advance pages, he will find various directions for the minutiae of draw- DRAWING. 27 ing, which will be of use in all his attempts to repre- sent the human head. LIGHT AND SHADE. A proper disposition of light and shade gives to drawing and painting the expression of form, and thus the eye receives nearly the same impression in looking upon the flat canvas or paper as upon the natural ob- jects. So Ruskin remarks, in speaking of color and shading, “ Every thing that you can see, in the world around you, presents itself to your eyes only as an arrangement of patches of different colors variously shaded ; . . . and the first thing to be learned is, how to produce extents of smooth color, without texture.” To acquire proficiency in effecting a true light and 28 DRAWING. shade, the pupil or learner must possess an accurate or a cultivated eye to aid him in giving true representa- tions of the objects to he painted or drawn. The variety of form and direction in nature can only be imitated by a corresponding variety in the lines and touches used in their delineation, expressing as nearly as possible the exact form and character of the original. For instance, an even, smooth surface requires an even- ness and regularity in the lines, approaching as nearly as possible to an unbroken surface ; and if it is desired to imitate a broken or uneven surface, recourse must be had to broken, curved, or uneven lines, such as DRAWING. 29 will best represent tbe object. It will readily be per- ceived by the learner that the lines (if the shading par- takes of the linear character) must vary according to the subject. The representation of a round object is managed by a careful disposition of the light upon the convex part, and the shade attending it. It is this difference in the shading which gives objects drawn on a plain surface their proper relief, and expresses space and distance. Indian ink, or sepia, is useful for this purpose. Pre- pare two, three, or more shades of either in small cups, lay on the shades with camel’s hair or sable brushes, putting on the lighter shades first, and work gradually darker until the required depth of color is secured. It is better to have the shades too light than too dark, as it is very easy to strengthen shades, but difficult to lighten them. As a general rule, it must be observed that the different tones are to be so blended together as to form a gradual shade, becoming fainter as it ap- proaches the light. In the disposal of the shades, the following direc- ♦ tions may be studied with benefit : — - 1st. All the shades of objects in the same piece 3 * 30 DRAWING. must fall the same way, that is, farthest from the light. For instance, if the light comes from the right side of the piece, the shades must fall toward the left, and vice versa . 2d. The part of an object nearest the light must have the faintest shades. This rule is observable in the folds of drapery, where the projecting folds appear light, and the inner folds dark. Titian observed, that “ the best rule for the distribution of lights and shad- ows may be drawn from an observation of a bunch of grapes.” 3d. Calm waters have either a faint shade or none at all ; but there should always be a line of shade near the banks. Agitated waters should have various shades. 4th. In large-extended views, as landscapes, the dis- tant objects are faintly shaded, and the more distant they are, the fainter the shades. 5th. With reference to the horizon and clouds, the clouds nearest the top of the piece are more strongly shaded than those more remote, the strength of shade decreasing as the clouds descend toward the horizon, where they become faint and indistinct, because at the greatest distance from the point of view. DRAWING. 31 6th. Some substances have the property of reflect- ing the light strongly, as satin, silk, and all po/isbed metals. In these there must be very strong light, and consequently a deep shade. All bright lights must be contrasted with strong shades, and fainter lights with weaker shades. The examination of basts and statues is of great assistance in establishing these principles in the mind ; and a critical attention to the effect of light and shade in the world around us, in the open air, or when the sunlight pours through the windows or door, or where the rays of the moon light up the evening land- scape, and steal in through the opening curtains, in- deed, the opportunities for studying the various phe- nomena of light and shade are ever present with us, and the observing pupil will in this way learn more than by pages of directions. PERSPECTIVE. Perspective is the art of drawing on a plain surface the true representation or appearance of any given ob- ject, as it would appear upon a pane of glass when held upright between you and the object. 32 DRAWING. The eye of a person when sketching from nature is presumed to he placed in the center of a circle of 360°, and the expanse of vision, while the eye is stationary, is an angle of 60° ; in other words, the eye embraces a range of 30° on each side of a center. This angle of 60° has no reference to the length of lines on either side, since they are regulated by the assumed width of the picture proposed to be drawn ; for instance, if your perspective plane he some distance from you, the ob- jects would be larger; if nearer, the objects would be smaller — both pictures representing the same scene. DRAWING. 33 If a person standing on the sea shore look far away over the expanse of water, he will observe a boundary line — the water apparently meeting with the sky by a well-defined straight line. This is called the horizontal line , and it is exactly opposite the range of the eye ; and that particular point of the horizontal line to which the eye of the sketcher is directed is called the 'point of sight. If he ascend to any hight on the shore, the line of the horizon must he placed higher in his drawing, because his eye is so much higher ; and the axiom laid down in the previous paragraph holds true, that the horizontal line is that line exactly on a level with the eye. Any person looking on a straight road which con- tinues into the extreme distance, may observe that the edges of the road appear to terminate in a point. Per- haps a better illustration of this may be found on the track of a railroad, in a part where it is perfectly straight. The rails, as they recede into the distance, converge until apparently lost in a point, and at the same time appear to rise up, the extreme point being just level with the eye. From facts like these Chapman deduces these ele- mentary principles ; that, — 84 DRAWING. “ I. The point of sight must be in the center of the perspective picture. “ II. All lines parallel to an imaginary line drawn from the eye of the observer to the point of sight, must terminate or vanish in that point. “ III. The line of the horizon must necessarily rise or descend with the position of the eye, and consequently with the point of sight. “IV. The base or ground line of the picture, and all others parallel with it, must be parallel with the line of the horizon. “ V. The diagonal of the square, perspectively repre- sented, directs to a point on the line of the horizon, the distance from which point to the point of sight repre- sents the true distance of the eye of the observer from the picture.” It is not too much to say that strict attention to these principles will produce the most gratifying results in the progress of the learner. One rule the true artist should always remember, that is, never to carry the point of sight outside the picture. The eye naturally seeks a point of view in the picture, and the nearer this point is to the center of the picture, the greater is the harmony between nature and art. DRAWING. 35 All objects appear to diminish in proportion to their remoteness from the eye of the spectator. Hence col- umns, posts, trees, etc., of equal hight, will appear to diminish as they recede from the eye. The lines which govern their diminution in perspective drawing are called vanishing lines , and if perpendicular to you, van- ish in the point of sight, or that point in the horizon exactly opposite your eye as you stand when sketching; if the lines are below the eye, they tend upward, as the rails on the railroad ; but if above you, as the ceil- ing of a long corridor, they would tend downward to- wards the horizon. The point of sight may be fixed at pleasure; and although, strictly speaking, the center is the correct place, it is generally better to place it a little removed from the center of the picture; for if the subject were a street, or an avenue of trees, the perspective would be very formal, and the scene would thereby be dimin- ished in interest. Many contend that all objects appear better with one than both eyes ; alleging that the sight is rendered more powerful by one eye being shut. Be this as it may, it is certain we see a piece of perspective better with one 36 DRAWING. eye than we do with both, and it is undeniable that by opening or shutting either eye the position and gen- eral appearance of an object are changed. It is this very fact that caused Sir David Brewster to reflect, and that reflection has created a new era in the history of discovery by introducing to the world the stereoscope. SKETCHING. Before beginning to sketch out of doors, the first consideration should be to get the best point of view, as a few steps to the right or left sometimes make a great difference, always keeping a good lookout for objects that will compose harmoniously and prettily. DRAWING. 37 As this does not always occur in natural scenes, the sketcher is allowed certain liberties ; thus he may add or take away : he may add where there seems a defi- ciency, so that he keeps the general character of the scenery, or he may take away where it appears too crowded. Sometimes artists insist upon having the fore- ground entirely at their own disposal, provided they keep up the general appearance of the view. In mak- ing hasty sketches (as a pencil sketch is subject to great inconvenience when there are two or three dis- tances, and each drawn in with one kind of mark) it is requisite to make a few written references, as the sketcher may forget the distinctions. A celebrated English landscape painter, in giving advice to his pupils previous to their departure for a sketching tour, was very particular in impressing upon them the necessity of studying “ little hits,” meaning by this not to take too much in one sketch, as is too often the case with beginners. One of the best qual- ities of a sketch is not only to refresh the memory of the sketcher, but to be suggestive and intelligible to every one. We will suppose that a spot is selected containing not more than three or four objects. An 4 38 DRAWING. artist seldom, if ever, takes any thing in its broadest and most regular form, and never takes a house (for instance) as if he had taken his position directly in front, nor a row of trees or palisades at a right angle to his own position. For an early lesson in sketching from nature, a house is very good, but must be viewed from a point a little aside from the front, so as to bring in as many angular features as possible. We will suppose a station to be selected. One way of proceeding is — hold up the sketch book in front, closing one eye in order to determine how much of the scene is to be drawn ; the farther off the book is held, the less of the subject will be covered ; when the extent is arranged, lower the book to a level, and make a few dots on the margin, merely to point out some of the relative positions ; find the horizontal line by holding up your pencil horizontal with the eye, and slightly mark it in; then get the point of sight op- posite the eye, on the horizontal line; judge well of the relative distances of the most prominent objects, and faintly mark them in on the paper. By arranging these particulars well at first, a great deal of trouble is saved in erasing false marks. Be careful to give every line DRAWING. 39 its proper position : a line that is upright in nature must be upright in your picture ; lines that go direct from you (that is, perpendicular to you as you stand) go toward the point of sight ; if they are above the horizontal line, they tend downward toward the point of sight ; and if below, they tend upward. In sketch- ing, it is well to have the lines a little broken, yet having the general appearance of straightness. An easy, rapid, and decided manner of sketching, so as to ob- viate all appearance of stiffness or formality, is a power acquired only by practice. If the sketcher’s productions after a first or second attempt be not all that can be desired, it is a fair proof that the mind is in advance of the hand, and should operate as a stimulus to further exertion. In proceeding with a sketch, the pencil gradually wears away, and gives an increasing thickness of line : this can be used to advantage, as bold lines of the pencil are frequently needed, especially in the foreground. By a little prac- tice, the pupil will discover that by a gentle twist of the pencil, a sharp angle of the worn pencil will come in contact with the paper, and a fine line can be drawn ; and by pressing harder on the pencil occasionally, an 40 DRAWING. increase of depth may be produced, giving the sketch additional spirit. ON COMPOSITION. Every production of the artist is reducible to its ele- mentary or skeleton construction of lines and forms ; and upon the skillful disposition of these depend the excellence of the composition of the picture. The es- sential spirit of composition in painting, as in many other things, is variety. In order to make it agreeable, it is requisite that all the minor parts he so harmonized as to form one well-balanced whole, consisting of a few prominent masses or groupings, which, according to the best written treatises on the principal laws of compo- sition, must he diversified in magnitude and in form. One of these masses should be treated as the principal, and the other as dependent upon it and contributing to it, and at the same time it is necessary they should be distinct in appearance and place. Whatever form may be determined upon, it is necessary to guard against a fixed regularity, so as not to repeat any form or shape ; and whatever be the general outline of the masses, they DRAWING. 41 should not be regular, nor must we fall into error on the other side by having them too broken ; but the various parts should bear and preserve a relation to each other, showing a whole so well balanced that one part cannot be taken away without the deficiency being felt. A true Method of Drawing in Perspective without a Knowledge of the Rules. Many persons would like to sketch from nature if they could be free from the trouble of acquiring the principles of perspective drawing. To such, and to others, we present the following description of a method in which little study is required, and yet the proportions and distances of objects will be exactly pre- served. Get a large piece of fine, clear glass, fitted in a wooden frame. This frame is to slide between two cheeks or pieces of wood one and a half inches thick, which are raised at the two extremes of a board the breadth of the frame : the cheeks are grooved to re- ceive the frame. In the middle of this board square holes must be made to receive the movable eye-hole piece, so as to be raised or lowered at pleasure. At the top of this is a circular piece of tin, three or four 4* 42 DRAWING. inches in diameter, with a hole in the center about the size of a pea. The following drawing will give a pretty accurate idea of it, and any cabinet maker can work from it. Place this instrument before the object you would draw, look through the little hole, and if you see all the proposed objects on the glass, the instrument is rightly fixed ; otherwise, fix the sight nearer the glass in one of the other square holes, adapt the eye-piece the hight you wish, and fasten it with the pin. The eye- piece being adjusted, keep one eye at the hole, closing the other, and, with a firm and steady hand, trace in on the glass all the objects you see. DRAWING. 43 You can draw on the glass with pen and ink, then lay a moist sheet of paper on the glass, (the side that has the design,) rub or press the paper gently thereon with the hand, and the whole draught will be impressed or transferred from the glass upon the paper. Some use a fine brush with oil color, pressing the paper on gently while the oil is wet ; but we leave you to your own discretion, having given you a knowledge of the method. The sketch of a palace is as easily taken as a landscape, and a church as a house or chamber ; all re- quired in any subject being a situation where the whole object intended to be represented may be seen, and to bring the sight to a proper nearness to the glass. These drawings cannot fail to be according to the strict rules of perspective : the eye-hole has the same effect as the point of sight in the other methods. Another method of using the same apparatus is to divide the glass into squares with threads, thus saving the marking the glass with ink or color ; in this way you have your drawing marked off in the same number of squares as much larger as you wish, and proceed sketch- ing on your paper what you see in the corresponding squares in the natural object. 44 DRAWING. To enlarge and diminish a Drawing. — Divide the origi- nal piece into a certain number of squares by perpendicular and horizontal lines, making as many in the original as in the space intended for the copy ; number the correspond- ing squares alike, (your copy may either be larger or smaller ;) then observe what parts of each square the different marks run in the original, and draw similar ones to correspond in your copy. This is the best method for enlarging and diminishing. For oil paintings, pieces of twine or thread might be tacked across at equal intervals, so as not to injure or mark the painting; or for small engravings you can procure a piece of stout card paper ; cut a square in it the size of the engraving you wish to copy ; divide the sides and ends into half inches ; then with a needle and thread pass through the various marks from side to side and from top to bottom, taking care that the thread always comes from the same side of the card, so as to lie close to the engraving when used. Number the threads each way. If you wish to enlarge the copy, it is necessary to determine the proportions one, two, or more inches to the half inch of the thread card. Pencil Drawing. — After having the form of an object drawn, we want it better defined; for instance, DRAWING. 45 if we wish to shade a ball, we must follow the shape, and let all the shade marks be rounded, marking dark on the side farthest from where the light strikes it, 46 DRAWING. working gradually fainter until the shading is lost in the spot of light ; if we wish the same circle to repre- sent a flat surface, make all the shade marks straight and even, so as to represent one shade. In this way, by studying the natural object we are drawing, the pupil will make pleasing progress. In shading houses, trunks of trees, rocks, etc., observe which way the natural direction of lines should run, so as to best harmonize with the original, and proceed ac- cordingly. DRAWING. 47 When a tree is in the foreground the leaves are dis- tinctly seen ; we can readily distinguish the form, and the light and shade is in strong contrast ; if we move our 48 DRAWING. position, and make the same tree' appear in the middle distance, we can recognize the same tree, but the light and shades are not so strong ; if we again remove our position, DRAWING. 49 and cause the same tree to be in the extreme distance, the atmospheric perspective softens the general tone, and makes it uniform. Linear perspective gives us the cause of the diminution of size, but in addition to that we have diminution of tone, a fading out as it were, owing in part to the intervention of the atmosphere. In representing this with the lead pencil, the form should be strictly ob- served, and an even, pale, misty tone obtained. But in % 5 ( 50 DRAWING. the foreground, the high lights must be strictly kept, and the shades deepened with an even gradation. We would recommend a careful study, not only of all the pencil practice we have here introduced, but of numerous others ; these should he practiced well from memory, as, by so doing, ease, freedom, and facility are obtained. Masses of foliage can he represented by any of the zigzag working of the pencil ; the outside form of the tree has to be studied, and the marks best adapted to it applied. When a drawing or painting is finished, one of the best means of improving is to study it well, and do another from memory. By doing this conscientiously improve- ment is far more rapid. <§il IJainfiitj. m I L painting, as a matter of course, re- quires that the general principles of outline should be familiar, and that a tolerably correct sketch of ordinary subjects can be accomplished with ease and facility. We will enumerate the requisite materials for a 44 fitting out.” They consist of colors, brushes, palette, palette knife, canvas, easel, hand-rest, oil, and varnish. A tin oil painting box can be pur- 5 * ( 53 ) 54 OIL PAINTING. chased complete, containing hog-hair tools, sable and badger brushes, port crayon, chalk, oil, varnish, palette, and palette knife. Hog-hair tools are made flat and round. Flat ones are generally used for the sky. The badger hair brush is used to softeh or blend together the sky and other parts. Sable brushes are likewise flat and round ; both are useful. After the badger has been used for softening, the ends of the hairs get clotted with paint ; the cleaning of this must be attended to while the paint is wet. The better way to do this is by pressing the hairs together in one hand, and rubbing with a clean rag in the other, until all the paint is re- moved. Be careful that every particle of paint is re- moved, or your badger will be spoiled for delicate soften- ing. It is likewise of equal importance that all the other brushes should be attended to. The best way of proceeding is, after you have done painting, wash them out in turpentine, and occasionally in warm water and soap, rubbing on the palm of the hand until the froth is colorless. Rinse the brushes out in clean, cold water to free them from soap, press all the water out, and straighten the hairs to dry. In rubbing the brushes in your hand, be careful not to rub too hard, or the hairs will be injured. OIL PAINTING. 56 To prepare Canvas or Wood for Oil Painting. — Coat the material over with strong and warm isinglass size ; when it is dry, coat it over with oil paint. Dryers may be added to the oil paint, such as litharge, sugar of lead, etc, to facilitate the drying. If a smooth sur- face is desired, it will he requisite to rub the surface with pumice sand and water. Oils. — Several oils are used by artists — poppy oil, drying oil, nut oil, and linseed oil. Linseed is recommended rather than the others. Drying oil is prepared by boiling linseed oil and litharge together ; it makes it much darker, but it dries more rapidly. Gold size, such as is used for bronzing, is often used as a dryer for dark colors. Sugar of lead is likewise a good dryer, and can be ground in with any color to fa- cilitate the drying. Megilp is an indispensable article in oil painting; it serves as a good vehicle, and tempers colors to any tint requisite for glazing or scumbling. It is made with equal parts of strong mastic and clarified oil. Artists differ very much in the compounds used for drying, each one concocting a vehicle of his own, keeping it a secret, and imagining he has some- thing superior to any one else. Our recommendation is, 56 OIL PAINTING. to use such as you can buy : it is a very good and ser- viceable article. If you make it yourself, go according to the receipt given above, which will make a good, ser- viceable vehicle for general use. Copal varnish is some- times used, instead of mastic. In oil painting, as in water color painting, there are several kinds of manipulation peculiar to the different styles. Water color has its own treatment of erasing, rubbing, and wiping out, stippling, etc., while oil paint- ing glories in glazing, scumbling, dragging, etc. Dif- ferent artists have very various methods of manipula- tion to produce the same effect, and yet each is truthful to nature. Explanation op Technical Teems used in Oil Painting. Glazing. — To glaze is to coat thinly or thickly over a portion of the picture with transparent color : if the glaze is wanted thin and pale, megilp, or oil, is added to dilute the strength of the color. Semi- transparent and opaque colors are sometimes used for glazing, but they are so diluted with megilp or oil, that they are rendered nearly transparent. With opaque colors used in this way a good representation of smoke, dust, or vapor can be produced, likewise misty and hazy Oil, PAINTING. 57 appearances. Glazing must never be attempted until the under paint is perfectly dry, or the color will mix with the glaze, and destroy all the effect you have secured. Scumbling is a term used for reducing any part of a picture that is too forcibly painted. A bristle brush is best adapted for this purpose, charged sparingly with opaque color, of the tone you wish, drawing it lightly over the parts, so as to modify them, make them cooler, grayer, and less defined. Good distant atmospheric ef- fects are produced by scumbling ; the under color must in all cases be firm and dry, or the bristle brush will disturb it. Handling is another term for manipulation, and means the method of working the brush to produce certain effects. Dragging or Dry Touching . — This process is used when certain effects are wanted in the finishing. The brush, being charged with thick paint, is held loosely in the hand, and dragged over certain parts ; a portion of the color sticks to the part of the picture with which the hair thus gently comes in contact. Management of Light. — When painting at the easel, the light should come over the left shoulder ; if 58 OIL PAINTING the light is from a side window, cover the lower part with a cloth or hoard. A north light is preferable to any other, because it is more uniform. After painting, the brushes should be washed, the palette well cleaned, never leaving paint on it over night. If there he more color on your palette than you like to throw away, procure some small pieces of glass, three or four inches square ; put the paint on these, and place them in clean water : most of the colors will keep good for a considerable time, if immersed in water and the dust kept from them. Look well to the blender every time it is used. How to commence an Oil Picture. — If you are sufficiently accurate in sketching, you can with charcoal, or white crayon, make a few guiding marks ; then mark in correctly with lead pencil, dusting off the crayon or charcoal as you proceed. If the subject is complicated, the better way is to make a clear, correct outline on a sheet of paper, and trace it on the canvas by means of tracing paper ; then sketch it with a lead pencil. Some artists sketch with umber, diluted with oil. The canvas is now ready for the first coloring. Begin by preparing tints for the sky. As white enters into this preparation pretty extensively it is requisite to get sufficient from the OIL PAINTING. 59 tube at once, and tbin it with oil, as it is considerably too thick for use in this stage of the painting. Sky tints are composed of white, French or permanent blue, vermilion, Naples yellow, and yellow ocher. Mix them as near the tints as the subject demands. The same tints, strength- ened with more color, will do for the mountains, using a little more of the yellow ocher in the mid-distance, and working gradually toward the foreground, for which mix a set of requisite tints, keeping them all separate, and painting with firmness, placing the color at once where it is to remain. In some paintings, two, three, or more sit- tings are requisite to complete what is called the first painting. Second Painting. — It is requisite for the first paint- ing to be dry before commencing the second. Prepare the palette with the required tints for the clouds, and paint them in with a little more attention to the shape, and light and shade. When done, soften with the blend- er. The mountains come next in order : attend more particularly to their shapes and different shades ; and, as a general rule, let the early painting be of a light style of color, for in finishing the colors are cooled down by the process of glazing and scumbling. All the colors in dry- ing sink, and will partake a little of the color upon which 60 OIL PAINTING. they are laid. This second painting should give a good idea of the general effect of what the picture will be. Third Painting. —A few touches of scumbling may be required to aid the effect of the distance ; or a little glazing and scumbling may be wanted, to bring out cer- tain desirable effects in the middle ground. The tints used for these purposes may be, as occasion requires, either brighter or darker than the parts to which they are applied. In this stage of the painting, do not attempt too much at one sitting, as the different glazings may in- terfere with each other, and destroy the transparent effect. It is much better to let the colors dry gradually, and re- peat the glazing at another time. Observations. — 1st. The sky in some pictures is very important, having an influence over the entire paint- ing. In preparing sky tints, they are gradually more or less mixed with white. The tints are kept lighter as they approach the sun ; the colors vary, but they should be produced by few. The most useful sky colors are white, French or permanent blue, vermilion, madder lake, Naples yellow, and yellow ocher. 2d. The boundary sky line, or extreme distance, varies very much in tone ; sometimes distinctly seen, at others scarcely distinguished from the horizontal tones. Suita- OIL PAINTING. 61 ble colors must be selected to paint in these effects. Dis- tant mountains will sometimes have their summits quite visible, and their bases, although much nearer, not seen ; this is occasioned by mists and vapors. To obtain this effect, scumbling must be resorted to. 3d. If it be possible, paint in the distance while the sky is moist, with the same tints, only stronger, as the case may be. If time will not allow, scumble over the lower part of the sky at the next painting. This method is sometimes attended with better effect than the other. 4th. As the objects advance toward the foreground, a little more distinctness of color may be given. Acci- dental touches of light give important aid by separating the foliage, and different objects through the picture, from distance to foreground. Such colors as terre verte, In- dian red, Venetian red, Antwerp blue, emerald green, and raw sienna, may be added to the colors already enu- merated. Emerald green may be objected to by some artists ; to such we would recommend to try with ver- milion or one of the bright reds, and judge for them- selves. The grays produced by these two colors can be varied with a little Vandyke brown, or Naples yellow. 5th. Trees form an important item in general landscape. 6 62 OIL PAINTING. The color and shape should be attended to, and the dispo- sition of the branches carefully studied. Pencil in the foliage against the sky, and all the extreme parts, neatly with a small brush. 6th. In working up foregrounds, do not elaborate them with a pre-raphaelite minuteness, or it might inter- fere with the rest of the picture. The landscape is not intended to be painted with botanical accuracy ; nor, on the other hand, should you be too broad, coarse, and careless, but finish with a general harmonious keeping of the whole. 7th. The distance must, to a certain degree, melt into the horizon, so as to know where ethereal finishes, and where solidity begins ; the mid-distance should be made out more clearly, and particular attention should be paid to the details of the foreground. 8th. It is well to have a glass slab, about seven or eight inches square, in addition to your wooden palette, on which to rub colors, as it is requisite to have some colors in powder — a few that are seldom used. On the glass slab they can be mixed or ground when occa- sion requires. Figures. — Figure drawing is an indispensable ac- cessory in landscape painting. For the study of the OIL PAINTING. 68 human figure, there is no better way than the study of feet, hands, heads, etc., from casts. The introduction of figures in landscape serve not only to enliven and break the monotony of some passages, but it serves as a rela- tive measurement — a scale whereby we can form ideas of the real size of objects. The hight of an average figure is eight times that of its head. This division can easily be remembered. If a perpendicular line is drawn, allow half of it for the lower portion of the body, and half for the upper — from shoulder to shoulder two heads wide. Hints about Panorama, Map, and Scene Painting. KE strong cloth (sail cloth or canvas) of the requisite dimen- sions, and stretch it on a frame ; coat it thoroughly with parch- ment size, and when dry ap- ply a coating of common slaked lime, or of chalk with some size with it : when dry it The colors used for this kind of 64 OIL PAINTING. painting are mostly the common paints — chalk, (carbon- ate of lime,) vermilion, the two siennas, the two um- bers, black, Prussian blue, all the ochers, Brunswick green, emerald green, all the chromes, mineral red, and the lakes. They are mixed with a size made of isinglass, glue, or parchment : bristle brushes of various sizes are mostly used. For extra brilliant effects, leaf silver, Dutch metal, and silver foil are stuck on with oil size in the same manner as for gilding, (See Gilding .) This kind of painting is now called “ distemper painting.” A bowl should be had for each color, likewise a brush. The tints should appear a little darker when mixed than what you want them to be, as they dry lighter : wash the brushes in warm water when you wish to clean them. If the designs require to be painted in oil, the can- vas is prepared with the parchment size in the same way ; then coat over twice with oil paint, white, then a pearly white. When dry, proceed as with an oil painting. It should be remembered, in all paintings of this char- acter, that fine and delicate touchings are not necessary ; indeed they are not suitable in any way, as they detract OIL PAINTING. 65 from the boldness of the picture, deadening the sharp- ness of outline, and giving a tame effect to the whole painting. These pictures are intended to be looked at from a distance, and consequently the lines must be bold, and the contrasts of light and shade very apparent. To obtain these absolutely indispensable requisites requires practice ; and the pupil will notice that those parts which look harsh and coarse when closely examined, are the very portions which give character to the picture when viewed from an appropriate distance. All panorama and scene painting is based on this principle. These remarks are equally applicable to any object which is to be placed at a distance from, or elevated above, the beholder. Crayon Drawing. facility with which a drawing can be completed ; this is manifest in out-door sketch- ing, or upon any subject of which you wish a few memoranda, and have but little time to obtain them. The advantage of working with RAWING in crayon is much easier of I execution than oil painting. One ad- ‘ vantage over oil and water color is the 6 * 66 OIL PAINTING. dry material does away with the tediousness of waiting the drying of oil or water color. Crayon or pastels are put up in boxes of assorted tints for portraits or landscapes, and by the blending of these every kind of shade and color can be obtained, as in oil painting. Get dry colors, grind them very fine in water, add any of the following gums, dissolved in water : gum arabic, gum tragacanth, honey water, sugar candy water ; a portion of this is added merely to bind the color : some colors require a little more than others. If too much gum is put in, they will be hard, and not rub off so readily. Gradations of tint are made by adding chalk or plaster to the color ; for instance, we will select carmine; add two parts of chalk to one of carmine, and call that one tint ; add three parts chalk to one of carmine — call that another ; add five parts chalk to one of carmine — call that another ; and so with all the colors, in any number of tints to suit yourself. In order to form the color into crayons, press it and roll it out the size you wish ; place it upon ab- sorbent paper, - — white blotting paper is . the best, — and let them dry gradually. Crayon Papers. — Almost any kind of paper may be used by being previously rubbed with cuttle fish, (if MONOCHROMATIC DRAWING. 67 it have a very smooth surface ;) hut there are papers manufactured especially for crayon painting and these have the advantage of greatly assisting and facilitating the progress by readily receiving the crayon. A good paper for portraiture is pumice paper. The paper is prepared with a coat of starch, or isinglass, put over the surface while warm, after which it is dashed all over equally with fine pumice sand. Panels of wood, mill-boards, and canvas can be prepared in the same way. The pupil is recommended to study the designs in pencil drawing ; many of the principles there illustrated are of equal use in this. Directions for Monochromatic Drawing. — Take pasteboard or drawing paper of good quality, size with isinglass, or paint with pure white lead. When this has been thoroughly dried, smooth it well with sandpaper, and paint again perfectly smooth ; while this coat is yet hardly dry, sift upon it pulverized white marble, through fine muslin. Marble can be easily pulverized after burn- ing it. When dry, shake off the loose particles. (The process is rather tedious, and requires care, especially in the marbling. The paper all prepared can be had of the publishers of this book, or at any artist-supply store.) 68 MONOCHROMATIC DRAWING. If you wish a tinted surface, add color to the white paint. You will need for this painting a knife or eraser, cray- ons, fine sponge, pencils, cork, rubber, piece of kid, and crayon holders. Fold several pieces of kid and soft leather, and use in shading the sharp folded corners ; also double some pieces over the ends of pointed and rounded sticks ; the learner will find use for several kinds. Always commence painting with the dark shades, and blend gradually into the light. For very dark shades, rub the crayon directly upon the surface with a light hand, and blend off carefully. Paint the sky first as in water colors. It is well to shade distant mountains very light at first, and be sure to have the edges soft and faint. For water, scrape some black crayon into a powder, and lay it on your board with the kid, working it hori- zontally, and making the lights and shades stronger as it comes nearer. Your sponge may do good in ren- dering the water transparent. Make sharp lights with the penknife. Ruins overgrown with moss, and dilapidated build- ings, make pretty pictures. We have seen moonlight COLORED CRAYON. 69 views, in this style of painting, more beautiful than any thing else. Great care must he taken to do the foliage well ; many a picture, which would have been good otherwise, has been spoiled by a stiff, ugly tree. By a delicate use of the round point of a penknife, beautiful effects can be produced in the crayon shading. Figures, animals, etc., are put in last, and a person knowing how to shade in pencil will find no difficulty in this. Colored Crayon. — The monochromatic board is very good for this kind of painting. Sometimes we make a strong frame of the size of the picture which we intend to paint, and upon this we stretch three thicknesses of paper ; then size or paint it, and sift marble dust equally over every part while wet. When dry, the superfluous particles are blown or dusted off. If you use the monochromatic board, it will be well for you to transfer your picture, as in papier mache painting. If you stretch your paper on a frame, draw the picture on the paper, and shade it nicely with Indian ink (water color) before sizing or painting it. TO COLORED CRAYON. For a group of fruit and flowers, first arrange the natural ones and study the effect. For a head, we con- sider the drapery and groundwork ; and here allow us to advise all persons to study penciling before attempt- ing this kind of painting ; also, to begin by painting simple and easy things. To those who absolutely wish a colored picture, and have little ability to draw it, we recommend that they stretch a nice engraving land- scape or head on the frame, at the outset, and pre- pare it with the sizing and sand. This gives a good foundation. The picture being drawn, proceed to fill in the back- ground, not of one uniform tint, but varying in shade and color according to the picture ; for example, if the lights in your picture are on the right side, the darkest shade in the groundwork must he placed on the right side, and vice versa. See that the background be smooth, the dark shades of rich brown or green, and the light of gray, French blue, etc. ; then, — 1st. Paint the dark shades of your picture with black crayon, and rub it in with a soft cork. The cork pencils ready prepared are best for that purpose, or rubbers of soft leather will answer. COLORED CRAYON. 71 2d. Put in the light, clear shades, as they belong, with the soft and medium crayons, using the utmost care in blending with the cork, (or leather,) to avoid a dingy and dirty appearance. 3d. Lay on the brow r ns and other dark colors. Where it is necessary to put brown over black, or to blend it in with it, do not rub the two together ; use your finger, as well as the cork. 4th. Finish the picture with the hard crayon, laying on in lines and blending with the cork. Having a variety of colors for other styles of painting, we leave you to use your judgment in selecting from your boxes. You must have a box of soft and a box of hard crayons, from which to obtain what you need. Always try the colors on a bit of waste paper. Do not expect to have just the right thing by simply laying on the colors once ; you must work line over line very carefully, and many times. The artist must exer- cise great care that the picture does not become soiled in the delicate parts. In addition to the colors you find in your boxes, fur- nish yourself with black and white crayons of different tones, and a good supply of carmine. We prefer the 72 COLORED CRAYON. lump to the pencil. French blue is much used to pro- duce clear lights. Colored crayons are well adapted for landscape drawing, and for this a harder crayon than that used for portraiture is preferable. The most useful colors are white , (white Italian chalk,) straw color and light yellow, (pale and middle, deepening to sober full yellows of the yellow and and brown ocher hues.) Blue, (bright azure tints of varied strength, pale and dark.) Gray, (pale and deep, of blue, neutral, and warm tones.) Reds, (vermilion tints, pale and middle, Indian red.) Blacks, (Nos. 1, 2, and 3.) The paper must be of some available tint, as its color appears through almost all portions of the work ; a low-toned olive tint has been found very available. Hav- ing the paper an inch or two larger than the proposed picture, sketch the design lightly with the black crayon No. 1, making sky and broad tints with the flat surface of broken pieces of crayon, (1 and 2,) rubbed in with the finger ; the breadths of the nearer and remote distances are laid in with pieces of broken crayon blended and worked together. The mountains, trees, rocks, etc., aie drawn in with black crayons, and then appropriately tinted and glazed with the colored crayons. PRESERVING DRAWINGS. 73 Method of fixing Crayon Drawings by Steam. -—Crayon drawings are more likely than any other kind to become disfigured and defaced, if handled carelessly. A method of preserving them is highly spoken of by those who practice this branch. Get a tin vessel with a tight-fitting lid, and a pipe projecting from the side of the vessel, five or six inches long, with a small head perforated with numerous holes, similar to a common watering can ; into this vessel put two ounces of the strongest alcohol, and two drams of powdered sugar candy. Boil it over a spirit lamp ; the steam which issues from the pipe must be directed to the back of your picture, until the paper and colors are perfectly saturated. To preserve Pencil Drawings. — Best alcohol, two ounces ; camphor, four grains. When dissolved it is ready for use. If the drawing is on ordinary draw- ing paper, the solution can be coated on the back of the drawing, and the paper will readily absorb suffi- cient of the liquid to hold the lead pencil. If the drawing is on Bristol board, it will be necessary to coat it over rapidly on the drawing side ; or, what is better, put the solution in a shallow dish, and slip the draw- 7 74 PRESERVING DRAWINGS. ing through ; see that the liquid has been all over it ; then stick a pin through one corner, and let it hang up perpendicularly to dry. Another way is, to use weak skim milk, and immerse your drawing in that, drying it in the same manner as before. (Snriatt fainting. ( 75 ) ROCURE a light pine frame, a trifle larger than the engraving ; (this need not he of the nicest workmanship ; simply four pieces of wood nailed together, to act as a support to the picture while painting ;) then moisten your engraving with water, and while wet, paste it to the frame ; dry slowly, not over a Are, and it will become quite smooth and tight ; now moisten again, on the wrong side , with pure spirits of turpentine, and 7 * ( 77 ) 78 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. while wet, with a coat of Grecian varnish on the same side, which continue to apply, (keeping it damp only, not too wet, or it will filter through in spots,) until it is wholly transparent , and without spots. If it is found difficult to remove the spots, apply the second coat of spirits, and afterward the Grecian varnish. When ready to paint, the back will have an even gloss all over it. When perfectly clear, it should remain two or three days before painting, which is done on the side that you have var- nished, the shading of the engraving serving the same purpose in painting ; this process is so simple that a child able to read this can easily understand it. Each picture we publish for these arts has complete and special rules how to paint and how to mix colors for each part, etc. A list of our pictures will be found at the close of this article. All materials used can be had of the publishers at the lowest prices ; also, a new and choice assortment of small, cheap, trial engravings, which will make desirable pictures when completed ; Grecian varnish of the best quality, in bottles at 33, 45, and 62 cents each ; Winsor & New- ton’s fine English oil tube paints. Five colors are needed, and more might be used to advantage; those DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. T9 actually needed are flake white, ivory black, permanent blue, deep chrome, Chinese vermilion. Yellow ocher, Indian red, emerald green, Vandyke brown, raw and burnt sienna, the lakes and some others, can be used to advantage, although from the five first mentioned almost any shade of color can be made. For flesh color, white, a trifle blue and vermilion ; for the cheeks, rub through a little vermilion with the finger, after painting with the flesh color ; for other shades, see special directions fur- nished with our pictures, as mentioned above. A flat varnish brush is also needed, price from 25 to 37 cents ; two or three paint brushes, (sable hair are best with long handles, costing 17 cents each ;) a little spirits of turpen- tine ; a rag to wipe your brushes ; a bottle of bleached drying oil, 20 cents ; Outside varnish, 20 cents ; this last must be put on very thin, after your picture is dry, on the face, with a stiff brush ; then frame close without a glass. Boxes of materials for Grecian and An- tique painting cost $3.50, 5.00 and 7.50 according to the number of articles contained. Directions e or Grecian Varnish. -—Three ounces fir balsam, two ounces fourth proof alcohol, (none but the best will cut the balsam.) Mix well, and add one ounce pure spirits of turpentine. 80 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. HOW TO FRAME A PICTURE AFTER IT IS PAINTED. Let it remain in the frame in which it is first stretched till it is fully dry and hard ; then cut it out carefully and frame, taking care that it be not cut too small or too large. If too small, the back board will not hold it in well ; if too large, it touches against the side in parts, and causes it to wrinkle. To have it just right, lay it upon a flat surface and the frame on it, and mark the size with a sharp point, and then cut evenly. If, after all your care, it should wrinkle in time, take it out of the frame and make another stretcher or frame of wood, (as first directed to stretch the picture on, only stronger perhaps,) that will just fit your gilt frame ; then take a piece of strong cotton cloth, one or two inches larger than the picture all round, and paste the back of the picture and the cloth ; after pasting let both stand a few minutes to become pliable, then lay the one on the other, pasted sides together, and rub evenly till well fastened ; now tack with small nails or lace tacks tightly to the frame ; place the frame against some smooth surface, and secure it, while drying, with larger nails driven through the frame, after making suitable holes. It will dry smooth and tight if properly done. Varnish the picture but once on the face, after it is DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 81 framed, (not before,) with Outside varnish ; this must he put on evenly, and with care that it does not run ; have hut little in the brush at a time. Grecian varnish should he of the best materials ; if you cannot get ours, make it by our rules, and see that the ingredients are of the first quality and unmixed. Professor Day’s Method. HIS style of painting, lately in- troduced into this country, has already gained for itself a wide circle of patrons, owing to the readiness with which it is ac- quired. This and Oriental painting have run a pretty even race — the latter glorying in a gorgeous array of brilliant colors, with sparkling aids, the former of a more sombre and antique appearance. Grecian painting is not a new style with an old name, as some think, but an old style with probably a fanciful name ; for I can well remember doing it in England when a boy, and hearing old artists say that they did the same 82 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. thing in their boyhood. This method of painting is more satisfactory to mediocre painters than any other style as the difference between a good artist and an inferior one is not so readily distinguished. It admits of all classes of paint- ers, from the beginner to the finished artist ; the veriest tyro producing a pleasing picture with a little care, at the same time advancing a step in the study of color. Many celebrated artists do not hesitate to avail themselves of the Grecian style, by commencing the picture, (after being finished in the Grecian method,) as if it were only in the dead color for a highly -finished picture; shading and manipulating with the various tints in opaque color, glaz- ing and painting, scumbling and painting again until the desired effect is obtained. When finished highly in this way by an experienced artist, it is very difficult to tell it from an exquisite picture on copper. I was intro- duced, many years ago, to a gentleman in Scotland, who had a very valuable collection of modern and ancient paint- ings. After looking through several well-stocked rooms, he said he had one (a gem) in reserve for me — an original by Raphael, a portrait of La Fornarina. I looked at it, knowing that it was not the size of the original, although it was painted beautifully ; all the glowing tints of nature DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 83 so carefully handled that not a brush mark was visible. After looking at it some time, I thought it might be a carefully-painted engraving done in the Grecian style, and mentioned the same to the owner, who seemed very indig- nant at my plebeian opinion of one of his choicest pictures. I took the painting out of the frame, and, convinced of the truth of my conjecture, explained to him the modus ope- randi of Grecian painting, and then tore up a corner of the paper to satisfy him that I was right. Of course, he was very much astonished, and seemed hardly to thank me for detecting the cheat, and opening his eyes to the fact. The painting was beautifully done, and neatly pasted on canvas. After leaving his house, I thought I had hardly done right in exposing his pet original, for it was a good painting, and he considered it invaluable ; but the mischief was done and it was too late for remedy. In the course of a few weeks after the unfortunate expose, I accidentally met with his valet de chambre, who, in con- versation, informed me that La Fornarina was deposed from her choice locality in the drawing-room, and was at present suffering in an obscure corner in the housekeeper’s room ; but the butler, who had an eye for fceauty, had offered it a prominent place in his sitting-room. So I 84 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. presume La Fornarina ever after had her eye on the but- ler. Pardon this digression, but it is a true occurrence, and proves pretty conclusively that even a lover of art and a connoisseur may be deceived with a painted engraving. Directions.— 1st. Procure a pine frame about an inch in thickness and half an inch in width, the inside to measure exactly the size of the engraving. 2d. Place the frame upon the engraving, and mark round the outside with a lead pencil ; cut down the paper with scissors to the pencil line. 3d. Choose the best side of your pine frame, and coat it over with thick paste. 4th. Place your engraving, face down, on a piece of clean white paper upon a table ; saturate your engrav- ing thoroughly with a sponge wet • with clean water ; press your pasted side of the frame firmly down upon the picture ; then turn it over, and press gently with the flat of your hand, so as to have it stick evidently all round the edge of the frame, and then leave it till entirely dry. oth. Pour on your Grecian varnish, and rub it in with a bristle brush ; repeat this four or five times at inter- vals of ten or fifteen minutes. 6th. When thoroughly transparent, place it where it DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 85 will be free from dust for a week or so, to allow it to dry ; it will then be ready for painting. Observations. — 1st. Great care must be taken with the pasting, so as to have it perfectly secure, as many good engravings have been spoiled by inattention to this stage of the process. In our practice we find it a more certain way to place a damp piece of paper on the middle part of the picture, so as »to keep the paper moist until the pasted edges of the paper are sufficiently dry to resist the contraction of the paper. 2d. The engraving while moist hangs loosely, but as it dries (it should always be allowed to dry gradually) it becomes quite tight ; this is owing to the expansion and contraction of moist and dry paper. When thor- oughly dry, it is ready for varnishing. Saturate it well the first time with the varnish ; in about ten minutes the paper will probably absorb nearly all of it : then sat- urate it a second time. Look at it again in fifteen min- utes, and if dull parts are to be seen, apply more varnish. This process of varnishing must be repeated until it all shines, and is completely transparent. Look at it the next day, and if any white spots are visible, apply a coating of turpentine. 8 86 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. Treatment oe White Spots.- — One of the greatest difficulties with which artists in Grecian painting have to contend is the breaking out of white spots after the picture has been carefully varnished ; it has been facetiously termed the “ white spot plague ,” and is certainly as great an eyesore to Grecian painters as any plague spots to the world at large. None but the initiated can imagine the chagrin felt by the artist, after, as he imagines, carefully and thoroughly varnish- ing a choice picture, making it look as transparent as clear water, and placing it snugly away in a corner free from dust, with a full belief that all is safe, on taking it up some subsequent day for painting, to find that the plague spots have appeared perhaps across the face and neck of a beautiful young lady, or may he on the lips of a sleeping babe, or on the knee of a war- rior, threatening to lame him for life, or making a dis- tressing attack on the eye of a coquette, depriving her of her magnetic charms. All these, and many, many more have we been subject to in the course of picture clearing. The great panacea for these white plague spots is “ turpentine If rubbed on the hack of the picture soon after they make their appearance, the dis- DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 87 aster is soon remedied ; but if allowed to remain for weeks or months, it is very difficult. We invariably proceed as follows : If the spots come out a day or two after varnishing, coat the picture on the back with clear turpentine, and let it remain half an hour ; if the spots do not disappear in that time, repeat the process ; at the end of another half hour, or an hour, if they have not disappeared, and the turpentine is evaporated, apply still more : the spots are sure to yield sooner or later. When they have disappeared, and the turpentine has all evaporated, or nearly so, apply one more generous coat of varnish, and leave it ; in all probability, white spots will never again mar the picture. In cases where the cleared picture has remained several months before being discovered, much greater perseverance is required. We proceed then by placing the picture near the fire, face down, so that a moderate heat will act upon it: apply the turpentine, the action of which is facilitated by the heat. The design of this process is to soften the varnish, then weaken it, and by this means penetrate the paper. These stubborn cases require much time and perseverance; but if you feel disposed to bestow the time and trouble, the spots are sure to disappear. In 88 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. all our experience we never have had one failure ; indeed, if this treatment is persevered in, failure is out of the question. The Grecian painter will, doubtless, think that this is considerable trouble. We echo the thought, and say, yes, it is considerable trouble, as we can fully testify, having had some smart pupils, whose pictures we have been obliged to keep in a continual turpentine bath for a couple of days ; and we fancy we hear more than one shrewd observer, desirous of avoiding it if possible, ask if there is any way of avoiding it. We answer, yes; the appearance of the white spots is caused by not apply- ing as much varnish as the paper will absorb. The picture should be well watched during the varnishing, and as soon as the dull parts appear, more varnish should be applied, for those are just the places where white spots would make their appearance if allowed to remain. The varnishing should be continued until the whole picture has a glassy appearance. On the other hand, care must be observed not to get on too much varnish; for by running into this extreme upon some warm day, when Fahrenheit indicates about 100° in the shade, the colors will be apt to float from their places, owing to the softening of the gummy varnish. On some DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 89 pictures white spots will sometimes appear, with their crystallized radiations, when such pictures have been painted two or three years. The spots in this‘ stage require a very different treatment, and more artistic skill is requisite. The part affected must be matched very exactly with opaque color, the precise tint, and stippled in on the right side with a small brush ; this is the only treatment for white spots starting after the paint- ing is finished. Articles desirable for Grecian Painting. — Palette, palette knife, one inch flat bristle brush, one inch flat varnish brush, (we use two different brushes ; one we keep entirely for the Grecian varnish, the other for varnishing over the front w r ith mastic varnish when finished,) three sized sable brushes, (one miniature size.) Grecian varnish, mastic varnish, (or Outside varnish,) spirits of turpentine, drying and nut oil. — Colors. Flake white, Naples yellow, raw and burnt umbers, Indian red, Venetian red, vermilion, rose madder, crimson lake, Vandyke brown, raw and burnt sienna, Italian pink, chrome yellow, deep chrome, yellow ocher, ivory black, verdigris, emerald green, Prussian or Antwerp blue, cobalt or permanent blue, and megilp. 8 * 90 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. We will give a few general hints for mixing various tints, without reference to any particular picture. They will always he found useful. Flesh tints , white, Naples yellow and a little vermilion ; sometimes for children, white and a very little vermilion ; for old age, (weather- beaten,) Indian red and white. Light hair , raw umber and white ; these two colors will give all the shades of light and dark brown hair. Flaxen hair , raw sienna and white. Golden hair , raw sienna, white, and a little burnt sienna. Distant mountains , permanent blue, Na- ples yellow, and Venetian red. Nearer ones , use yellow ocher instead of Naples yellow. Mid- distances, the same, sometimes allowing the yellow ocher and blue to predominate. Distant foliage, yellow ocher, deep chrome, Antwerp blue, and a little Venetian red. Near foliage, chrome and Antwerp blue, with a little white ; very bright foliage, emerald green, chrome yellow, and a lit- tle white. Brown foliage, burnt sienna, deep chrome, and Antwerp blue ; Vandyke brown, substituted for brown sienna, will make another. Grays, white and a little ivory black ; another, Naples yellow, permanent blue, and a little vermilion. Pink , rose madder, and white ; for crimson, vermilion ; for deep maroon, use DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 91 Indian red. Buff, ’ Naples yellow ; warmer buff, \ white and a little deep chrome. Orange , chrome yellow and vermilion. Blue eyes , permanent blue and white. Hazel , Naples yellow and a little raw umber ; these tints are all for the back of the 'picture ; the front is treated differently. Any part that is required to be brighter must be glazed over with transparent color ; for instance, a bright red garment or flower is coated with vermilion on the back side, and crimson lake, diluted a little with megilp, on the right side. Pink , dress or flower , paint with rose madder and white, on the wrong side, and glazed over on the front with rose madder. Blue dresses or flowers , paint on the back with Antwerp blue and white, and finish on the front with blue and megilp. All dresses or flowers , of the yellow class, are finished on the front with burnt sienna, weakened with megilp. Brown hair , with van- dyke brown. Lips, with vermilion and white on the wrong side, and vermilion and megilp on the right. For purple, mix vermilion, Antwerp blue, and white, for the back color, and finish on the front with crim- son lake and blue. Observations. — • 1st. All colors used for the back Gf 92 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. the picture must be opaque ; the opaque colors used are, white, black, raw and burnt umber, chromes, Naples yellow, Indian red, vermilion. The transparent colors are, both siennas, crimson lake, rose madder, Italian pink, Prussian or Antwerp blue, Vandyke brown and verdigris. As a gen- eral rule, the transparent color that is mixed with white for the back color, is the transparent color that must be used for the front, diluted with megilp, to suit the re- quired strength of tint ; this stands good in all cases, except yellows ; these various shades of yellow we inva- riably tint on the front with burnt sienna and megilp. The transparent color for foliage is Italian pink, and a little Antwerp blue. 2d. In tinting on the front side, we invariably use megilp with the color, in preference to oil. If we wish to high ten any part still more, we use a touch of opaque very sparingly ; for instance, if we want a reddish brown dress, inclining to a deep crimson, we coat the back with fine Indian red, and the front with crimson lake ; and if we wish to bring out a few high lights, w'e add a little of the Indian red ; if too strong, subdue it with some megilp. od. In painting faces, paint a spot of pure vermilion DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 98 on the cheeks, and the rest of the face (omitting the eyes and lips) with flesh tint ; then, with the end of your finger, blend in the vermilion (working your finger round) with the flesh tint ; this must be done carefully. Look occasionally on the front side, to see if the tints are blending evenly, and in the right place of the cheek ; if this part is done satisfactorily, the beautiful roseate tinge on the cheek is made much softer than in any other way. Foliage tints, mountains, and clouds can be manipulated in the same w r ay. 4th. Water is generally the reflected color of the sky, unless something intervenes to overshadow it; in that case, make the back tint with verdigris, Vandyke brown, and a little yellow ocher ; glaze with verdigris and Vandyke brown on the front. If any light ripples are introduced, use Naples yellow very sparingly with the same. 5th. Sometimes, when painting on the back, the color, after standing a day or so, separates into small fissures or cracks. This is caused by the varnish not being thoroughly dry ; it is of no consequence, and is only mentioned here to satisfy the fears of some. To rem- edy it, coat it over again at a later stage of the paint- ing, when it is drier. 94 DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. When the painting is entirely finished, let it remain a week or so, till thoroughly dry ; then give it an even coat of mastic or outside varnish ; let the painting lie flat down until the varnish is quite dry, or it is liable to run in streaks. The picture is then ready for framing, and should be allowed to remain on the stretching frame, as it keeps smooth and firm. The rabbet of the frame should be made wide enough to admit the full size of your picture, stretching frame included. JCTURES FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. — Two difficulties have been met with by nearly all artists in Grecian painting, one in finding pictures suitable or well adapted for this style, and the other, in “ clearing ” the paper on which engravings are sometimes printed. The publishers of this book have endeavored to obviate these difficulties, and will send to any address a list of pictures executed in the highest style of the lithographic art, and printed upon paper suitable for Grecian painting. Accompanying each pic- ture are full directions for painting every part, so DIRECTIONS FOR GRECIAN PAINTING. 95 that the beginner, or the artist who may distrust his own taste, will meet with no trouble in securing a pleasing picture. We would not have it understood that other pictures cannot be cleared ; they can ; but while they will have the appearance of painted engravings , the pictures here noticed will, when painted, closely resemble oil paintings. Of course the independent painter will use his or her own discretion and taste in coloring, and may, or may not, follow the printed rules ; still, they serve as a great assistance to young artists. IP minting ( 97 ) Painting are many suggestions equally valuable in this.) To succeed well in this, one of the most beau- tiful as well as one of the most difficult of the fine arts, will require, in addition to a natural taste, a cer- tain degree of industry that will be indispensable to success. There are two kinds of water color painting in ( 99 ) 100 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. general use. We prefer using the moist colors for land- scape painting, and the dry cake colors for flowers. The moist colors are put in little earthen pans, and fitted into a tin box, with a palette, all complete for painting out of doors or on the table. The materials to be procured for water color painting are, colors, sable brushes, paper, a drawing board, an eraser, an old silk handkerchief for wiping out lights, a small bottle of gum water, a soft sponge, a one and a half inch flat camel’s hair brush, a china palette, or a set of saucers. The paper most desirable for landscapes in water color should be rather rough on the surface, as, if it is too smooth, the painting loses much of that boldness which characterizes the English school. Whatman’s paper is considered the best. Brushes. — A complete set of brushes comprises a one and a half inch flat camel’s hair, one each of swan, goose, duck, and crow ; best sable brushes ; select those that come to a point when charged with water, and when bent a little on one side, will spring back to the proper position without splitting. Colors. — For landscapes, a tin sketching box, contain- ing gamboge, French blue, raw and burnt sienna, yel- PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 101 low ocher, Venetian red, Vandyke brown, Prussian blue, olive green, brown madder, crimson lake, Indian yellow, and a bottle of Chinese white. Stretching and Preparing the Paper . — The painting side of Whatman’s paper is known by holding up the paper between your eye and the light, and reading the name in proper position from left to right. This must be the outside. Place the paper on a table, and moisten the back well with a soft sponge and clean water ; let it remain a short time, if the paper is thick, so that it may become saturated ; then place it in the frame of your drawing board, confining it with the cross-bars. Some- times the paper, after being damped, is put upon a plain clamped drawing board, fastened down with glue round the edges ; this mode of straining causes a little more care, and is not so expeditious. Wiping out Lights. — - The parts of a picture (after the color is on) that require half lights, should be treated as follows : Mark out with your brush, and clean water, the parts you wish lighter, and then apply a little blotting paper to absorb the moisture ; next wipe it hard with a silk handkerchief, and if not sufficient, repeat it ; if you desire it still lighter, use the rubber. 9 * 102 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. Scraping. — Before using the eraser for any extra high lights, the painting must be perfectly dry. Rays of Light. — Such as occur from an opening in the cloud, through windows, etc., can he successfully pro- duced by placing a straight- edged piece of paper in the direction of the rays, and gently washing the exposed part with the damp sponge. Using the Brush. — The effective handling of the brush requires rapidity and experience in covering large spaces with flat washes of color. It is well to commence brush- work, after making suitable proficiency in outline, with India ink or sepia ; you then have but one color to deal with, and, with a little practice, all the mechanical difficulties of floating the color evenly will soon disap- pear. As a general rule, the brush for broad shades should be pretty full of color ; but for finishing, all the colors are worked much drier, and the brush worked chiefly on the point. Outline. — We will suppose that the paper has been properly strained on the drawing board, and allowed suf- ficient time to dry ; the outline is then commenced. In making a sketch for water-color landscape, it is best to sketch very lightly at first, so that the marks can read- PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 108 ily be removed if required ; as by hard rubbing the sur- face of the paper is liable to be disturbed. Proceed with all the minute details, sparing no pains in the sketching ; the time is by no means thrown away, for you are remu- nerated for it when painting, as you can work with per- fect confidence up to your sketch-marks. The appear- ance of a good sketch should be lightness in the extreme distance, working a little stronger as the foreground is approached. In the foreground, boldness, observing a fineness of line on the light side, and breadth and depth on the shade side, so that even the pencil sketch may be suggestive of what the picture will be. In commencing to color, the drawing should be ele- vated a little at the back, to allow the color to flow downward. Moisten all your drawing with the flat brush ; press your blotting paper upon it to absorb the superfluous moisture. As an example of a method, we will suppose that the artist has a tin sketching box, with divisions in it. In one of these, make a pale tint of Indian yellow and crimson lake ; in another, a tint of French blue, with a little of the other with it, so as to make it pearly ; charge your swan quill brush pretty full with this pearly tint, and then work in the crimson tint. 104 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. gradually adding a little more Indian yellow as you ap- proach the horizon ; carry the tints down to the edge, varying with burnt sienna, or more yellow, or the pearly tint, according to the nature of the subject. When dry, if the colors are not blended sufficiently together, or too dark, pass the flat brush, with clean water, backward and forward, to subdue and soften them. The white- ness of the paper will thus he removed by a graduated tint, which may be made available as an undertone for the colors that come over them. The sky may now he deli- cately tinted with pure French blue, and clouds formed. The distant hills can he carefully painted in with pearly gray, and increased with more color as you proceed to- ward the middle distance, adding more or less madder brown and yellow ocher, as the subject may require The distant hills may be strengthened, if required, with a little French blue, and perhaps warmed with a little crimson lake. Let the foreground he paler than the general tone ; the sky and hills should he finished be- fore the trees are commenced. Have a free touch, leav- ing little openings now and then for the light to strike through ; beginning at the top and working downward, with your brush pretty well charged, varying the greens PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 105 as you wish, them, making them with gamboge, raw and burnt sienna, and Prussian blue. Increase the tone of the shadows with another brush, hut with the same color, only adding a trifle more blue, and some crimson lake, to make a neutral tint. The foliage that catches the sunlight should incline to a yellow tint. Paint the trunks and stems with Vandyke brown. Repeat the tints on the foliage when dry, until the required form and depth are obtained. For winter trees, cobalt blue and Vandyke brown, mixed, make a good color to paint in the network and branches of fine trees. Some artists, in finishing their paintings, use gum to bring out and enrich colors. Never use gum water in the sky or distance, as it washes off so readily, and disturbs every color near it. In finishing up the picture, you are referred to the different methods of producing effects by wiping out and scraping. The opaque white is very serviceable in finishing, or for assisting in the introduc- tion of figures in the foreground. Parts can be pen- ciled in with white, and stained over with the requi- site color. Flower Painting in Water Colors.—- Henry Ward Beecher, in one of his lectures, asserts that “ if a man 106 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. does not love flowers, he is not born perfect.” This remark we cheerfully indorse, as it sponges out the pre- tended superiority of a class of artists who look down from their high pinnacle of fame, and ignore flower paint- ing, considering it merely a genteel trifle. This opinion, we are sorry to say, is prevalent among some artists who ought to know better; for flowers and their associations are ever attended with pleasing reminiscences, and he who can best transfer their appearance to paper should be classed among the valuable artists. The artist’s palette is greatly enriched by the color maker who obtains his brightest suggestions from flower tints, and is consequently enabled to imitate more close- ly those brilliant colors Nature has so bountifully scat- tered among her choice flowers. The colors and materials requisite for flower painting are, carmine, crimson lake, cobalt blue, Prussian blue, vermilion, gamboge, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, Chinese white, yellow ocher, and Indian ink ; in addition to these, a set of saucers, a little dissolved gum arabic, and a few sable brushes. These colors are suf- ficient for ordinary purposes ; but if flowers of superior finish are required, it will be necessary to add the fol- PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 10T lowing : Rose pink, or rose madder, royal scarlet, Indian yellow, Indian red, indigo, smalts blue, sepia, Vandyke brown, sapphire green, and emerald green. Flower painting can be done to good advantage on Whatman's hot pressed paper, stretched on a board, in the same manner as directed for water-color landscape painting. Bush flowers are more generally painted on London board ; the ivory surface is sometimes preferred. In sketching flowers from nature, or from copies, it is essentially requisite to make an accurate and clean sketch ; for this purpose make a fine point to your pen- cil, and draw the marks faint, so as not to require too frequent use of the rubber, as by rubbing (unless very carefully done) the smooth surface of the paper is liable to be disturbed. When the sketch is finished, moisten all the parts intended to be painted with a brush mod- erately full of water. (Distilled water, or, if this can not be readily obtained, soft or rain water will answer ; never use hard water, unless it has been boiled.) By coating the piece over with water, it prepares the paper better to receive the colors. Most of the flowers are com- menced by coating over the shaded parts with Indian ink, or neutral tints very pale, so blending the shades 108 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. that they will be imperceptibly lost. To do this, two brushes are required, one charged with the color, the other nearly dry. The leaves are treated in the same way ; the flowers, after being carefully shaded with neu- tral, are coated with local color, or as near their respec- tive color as the general tint can be obtained ; finish either with a number of soft washes, or with small touches. This latter style is called stippling , and if done with skill, is very beautiful ; but as it takes time, taxing the patience of the most patient, it is not so gen- erally adopted as the wash and softening style. By practice, the eye will become accustomed to observe a variety of shades, where before they could barely dis- criminate any. Green leaves, when of a yellowish pale green, and bright, are painted with gamboge, and a very little Prussian blue, and penciled over until the desired effect is obtained ; for darker green leaves, use more Prussian blue, finishing with stronger color ; for the deepest shades, add a little crimson lake, or Vandyke brown, or burnt sienna, as the shades may require ; for decayed leaves, use burnt sienna, Indian yellow, and crimson lake. PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 109 Yellow Flowers. — In painting yellow flowers, examine whether the shades are warm or cool ; and if the latter, paint them with Indian ink ; if the former, paint them in with a little burnt umber. When dry, coat evenly over with gamboge — the general tint of the flower. Where the high light strikes, it can be washed out a little with the second brush, slightly moist. Repeat the color in the stronger parts, finishing, if requisite, with a little carmine, or burnt sienna, added to the gamboge. Blue Flowers. — Coat them evenly with cobalt or smalts, accord- ing to the tint. Smalts blue is rather difficult to coat on evenly, and should not be used until some skill and experience are obtained. Cobalt, with a little rose madder added, may be used as a substi- tute. Shade the deeper parts of the flower with a little Prussian blue added to it ; and if a very deep shade is required, add indigo. Purple Flowers. — Make the desired tint with carmine and Prus- sian blue, increasing the shade to the depth required, using more color and less water. Scarlet Flowers. — Paint the shades in with cobalt blue and a lit- tle Indian red ; then coat it smoothly with royal scarlet, or, in lack of this color, use carmine and gamboge mixed, the proper tint, finishing up with carmine on the shades. If the flower is coated with royal scarlet, add carmine to it in the finishing. White Flowers. — Some are first shaded with Indian ink, while others are shaded with a neutral composed of cobalt blue, rose madder, and a little Indian yellow. When dry, some of the petals are slightly tinted with a weak shade of yellow ocher, some por- tions with cobalt blue, others with a greenish neutral : the anthers, if not left white, should be done with permanent white, added to Indian yellow, and carefully dotted with weak burnt sienna. The Deep Crimson , Tuscan Rose. — Shade all the petals more or 10 110 PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. less with Indian ink, until it would pass for a finished drawing in Indian ink ; then coat it twice with strong carmine, and finish the deep shades by adding a little Prussian blue to the carmine. Pink Rose . This flower is the most difficult of any to paint, as it requires so much delicacy of manipulation to give it its true representation. The most successful method is to paint in the shades with pure cobalt blue, and then coat all over with a pale shade of carmine, with a little vermilion added. This is repeated on some of the petals until the requisite depth is obtained : some of the outside petals may require a second working over with the cobalt, to give them a thin, transparent, neutral appearance. Arranging and Grouping. — With those who possess naturally a good eye for color, the most pleasing arrange- ments of form and color will naturally suggest them- selves without the least effort on the part of the designer. For those who are deficient in innate taste, it would be well to study a few groupings and colorings of the best flower painters. Sometimes a very pleasing effect is ob- tained by placing the light flowers in the center, such as white, light pink, pale yellows, and have the rich, dark- colored flowers outside — such as dark roses, hollyhocks, fleurs de lis, etc., thereby making color a substitute for light and shade. The most pleasing groups are painted with a slight predominance of warm coloring. Some artists paint nearly two thirds of the flower grouping with warm colors. / Cjrtflrtm laintinj. (in) Poonah Painting, Theorem Painting, and Oriental Painting. It is better adapted to fruits, birds, and butterflies, than to landscapes and heads. It will enable you to paint on paper, silk, velvet, crape, and light-colored wood. To fnake Horn Paper . — -Take equal parts of copal, ( 113 ) 10 * 114 THEOREM PAINTING. mastic, and Japan varnish ; add to the mixture half as much balsam of fir as there is of either of the var- nishes, and a piece of white wax the size of a thim- ble ; simmer these together till the wax is melted. If the composition is too thick, add a little spirits of tur- pentine. Put it upon one side of the paper while it is warm, the paper having been previously prepared with painter’s oil, to make it transparent ; the oil must be put upon both sides of the paper, rather warm, and the whole of the paper lie together one night ; then wiped with a cloth to absorb the oil on the surface, and dried one week in the sun before varnishing. Each side of the paper must be varnished twice, and the greatest care taken to dry it well. Trace the picture you intend to copy on white paper, with a soft lead pencil, then mark those parts which do not touch each other with a figure 1. Lay the horn paper over the sketch, and trace with a sharp-pointed penknife, or large pin, all the objects marked 1. Mark another piece of horn paper for theorem 2, and cut again ; thus continue till you have enough theorems cut for your whole picture. Of course, it will require much more time to cut a set of theorems nicely, than it would to draw one THEOREM PAINTING. 115 picture ; but remember that a good set of theorems is equal to twenty-five or thirty sketches. The durability of your theorems will depend upon the care with which you treat them. Do not attempt to paint with less than a dozen stiff brushes, because you must have one for every color you need to use ; and, as has been mentioned elsewhere, put a few drops of water on your palette with the end of the brush, to avoid dipping the bristles in water. Lay the theorem on the paper on which you intend to paint. (Good drawing paper is best for the first at- tempt.) Press the theorem firmly down with weights at each corner, and proceed to paint. Commence with a leaf ; take plenty of paint, a very little moist, on your brush, and paint in the cut leaf of the theorem ; hold the brush upright, and manipulate quickly with a circular motion. It is best to begin at a little distance from, and work toward, the edge ; if you take just enough paint, it goes on softly and smoothly ; if too much, it looks dauby ; if too little, spotted. To shade the leaves, cut bits of horn paper on the edge, in the form of the large veins, and laying on the leaf already painted, paint from this edge into the leaf; 116 THEOREM PAINTING. slip the paper, and paint other veined parts in the same way. If successful with a leaf, try a grape. We paint first purple, then blue, and finish off with carmine. On removing the last of your theorems, if you see any inequality in the painted parts, lay the theorem on again and correct ; if any spaces, fill up by dotting in with a fine brush. All stalks, fibers, dots, etc., must be put in with camel’s hair pencils. In many parts of a painting, the effect is hightened by striking on paint here and there with the stiff brush, and blending the edges together to produce softness. To paint on Wood. — Choose hard wood, of light color ; paint as above, and varnish when done. To paint on Velvet. — Select firm, white cotton velvet. Use the paints a little more moistened. To paint on Silk , Satin , and Crape. — Size the parts to be painted with gum arabic, or isinglass, and proceed as with drawing paper. We have seen ball dresses painted, with belts and neck ribbon to match ; also white crape dresses, with vines of gold and silver. See article upon Gilding. fjjjfliflgriijilj fainting nx m a t f r €alex rs. ( 117 ) Cjjoia of pjoiograpfjs, AND OBSERVATIONS UPON THEM.* >SE a light photograph for coloring, in preference to a very dark one, and let the general hue be gray, inclin- ing to black in the shadows. See that it he well defined, that the shadows and middle tints are clear, and that the background be free from blemishes and black and white spots. The heavy, dark tints which pre- vail in some photographs are badly adapted for fair complexions, as considerable difficulty is experienced in working the gray tints over them ; indeed, the only way left for the artist is to lighten them up with * Many of the principles and suggestions in this section are equally appli- cable to painting in general. ( 119 ) 120 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. a little body color, than which nothing can be more objectionable, because all gray and pearly tints ought to be purely transparent, so that the flesh color may be seen under them. When the complexion is dark, the difficulty is considerably lessened ; for, upon the applica- tion of the warm colors, these heavy photographic tones decrease in depth, and assume a color which is not badly adapted for finishing the pearly tints upon. Ladies’ and children’s portraits should always be lighter in the shadows than the masculine head, for the purpose of giving that softness which is their characteristic ; painters usually throw more light upon them than they do upon the male head, which is better suited to a depth of shadow. Heads of aged persons, of both sexes, should likewise be placed in a full light, as it tends to soften and subdue the prominent markings of age. Always have a duplicate copy before you while at work, to refer to and assist in keeping the resemblance ; but, if possible, get; the original of the photograph to give you two or three sittings, so that you may copy the colors from life, for it must be evident to every one that a good portrait can not be produced unless nature be taken for the model. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 121 It is evident that you must first paint the flesh, thereby partially obscuring the photographic tones and shadows, and upon it lay the shadows, gray and pearly tints, as they really do occur in nature, all, in point of color, being widely different from the photographic shades. If you have never attempted any thing from the life, it will be advisable to procure a photograph from an oil or crayon portrait, and, placing it before you, proceed to copy the various tints as they appear in the picture. It will perhaps surprise you to observe how much of a good painting is made up of shadows, gray and pearly tints, which you will easily, detect by moving a piece of white paper about to various parts of the face : you will then observe how much these tints prevail, and how far they go toward forming one harmonious whole. If you are an amateur photographer, place your sitter a little higher than is usually done, as by that means you will give the neck its due length, and consequently add dignity to the head ; for it looks exceedingly ungraceful to see the shoulders upon a line with the ears, which is always the case when the sitter is upon a low chair, and the operator is looking down upon him. Portrait and miniature painters invariably place their sitters higher than themselves — photographers too frequently the reverse. 11 122 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. If you use a screen to form a background, place it some distance from the sitter — say three feet, or even more — to gain space or atmosphere behind the head ; and if you introduce curtains, take care to keep them away from the portrait, so that they may not appear to be a part of it. Do not be over-anxious to crowd your picture, as many professed photographers do, with gaudy bed-furniture curtains, old-fashioned chairs, vases of arti- ficial flowers, plaster of Paris pillars, etc., and the usual table placed so conveniently for the sitter to lean upon, and for no other purpose — making the head a secondary object entirely. Such “ professors ” either know nothing of the rules of composition, or are anxious to give their customers as much as they can for their money. Preparation for Photographs . — There being some dif- ficulty in apportioning the ingredients for size to harden the surface of photographs, and many chemists having urged objections against its use, as tending to injure the photographic tones, we have, therefore, given the matter a careful consideration, which has resulted in the follow- ing receipt : — Take a piece of white glue, (that made from parchment is the best,) about as large as a nut, and put it into a cup with three table-spoonfuls of warm water, and as much ground PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 123 alum as will cover a quarter of a dollar ; stir them well till the size and alum are dissolved, and apply the mixture. To prepare the Photograph. — Dip a flat camel-hair brush into the preparation, and go gently over the whole surface of the photograph, taking care not to make it too wet. It should be merely brushed over slightly ; but every part must be covered, or the color will sink into the places you have missed. When it is dry, wash it with a sponge and cold water, to remove any extraneous matter which may have lodged on it. Gum or paste the back, and lay it down on a good thick piece of card-board, and, placing a sheet of writing paper on the face of the photograph, with a silk hand- kerchief rub it softly, to smooth and flatten it down ; when dry, it is ready to work upon. Some photographic papers are more porous than others, and will therefore require two coats of the preparation ; but one is generally enough. Wet a corner of the pho- tograph with color, and if it washes off, leaving no indi- cation of a stain, it is in a condition to work upon ; but should the color sink into the paper, it will be necessary to give it another coat. It is essential that the paper be well hardened, as every thing depends upon it ; for, if 124 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. it be not properly prepared, it will not take the colors kindly — you will be unable to obtain force or brilliancy, and, in fact, all the labor which you can bestow upon it will be “ stale, flat, and unprofitable.” Albumenized paper seldom requires any preparation, but need only be carefully washed with cold water and a soft sponge ; you may then hold it up before the light, and if you observe any transparent spots upon it, like grease, there the water has gone through, and you will find it necessary to touch them with the preparation al- ready referred to. Colors. — The under-mentioned colors, in cakes, are necessary. (We affix the prices of Winsor & Newton’s paints, as they are by far the best.) Carmine . $1.50 Emerald Green $0.30 Rose Madder . . . . . 1.00 Indigo . . . . Crimson Lake . . . . 45 Prussian Blue . Venetian Red . . . Burnt Sienna . . Indian Red .... . . 30 Burnt Umber . . 30 Vermilion .... . . 30 Sepia Chrome, 1, 2, 3 . . . . 30 Vandyke BroAvn . . 30 Indian Yellow . . . . . 45 Madder Brown . 45 Roman Ocher . . . . . 30 Ivory Black . . 30 Gamboge .... . . 30 Chinese "White . . Cobalt Constant White . 45 French Blue . . . Half cakes at half price. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 125 Constant White is nearly out of use, Chinese or zinc white hav- ing almost superseded it ; the only parts it is adapted for being the light on the eye, lace, and linen. It possesses little or no body, and is therefore valueless in cloth fabrics. Chinese , or Zinc White . — This is the most valuable white that a photographic colorist can use : it washes freely, either by itself or in combination with other colors, and possesses this advantage over other whites, that it does not change color in drying. Flake white, which was so much used by miniature painters, invariably dried several shades lighter than when first applied to the paper or ivory, and was liable to change. Chinese vvhite must be kept away as much as possible from any color which has iron in its composition, as it has been found to be affected by it. It is used for lights upon cloth, metal, etc. In its pure state it is shadowed with cold gray, deepening into a black in the darkest places. Indian Yellow . — A most powerful color, used in flesh and dra- peries ; is permanent, and works extremely well; forms, with indigo and burnt sienna, several beautiful greens, etc. ; shadowed with sepia and purple lake. Indian Yellow, Indigo , and Burnt Sienna are useful for green dra- peries and backgrounds. Gamboge , Indigo , and Burnt Sienna form a good green for dra- peries and backgrounds. Green is not a good color to use too freely in portraits, for unless the flesh be very sallow, it spoils it. Subdue it as much as possible, and shadow/wuth lake and sepia, glazing with Vandyke brown. Cadmium Yellow. — A very bright color, and its durability may be relied upon ; it is serviceable in draperies, and in forming orange tints, but is too powerful for flesh. Gamboge. — Not a good color for flesh, as it is too brassy ; use- 11 * 126 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. ful in its combination with indigo and burnt sienna, in forming a multitude of greens and browns. Emerald Green . — Very useful for the high lights of some bright greens and stones in jewelry ; when mixed with gamboge it forms a delicate pale green for ladies’ dresses, the high lights for which have zinc white and lemon chrome added to the local color. All green drapery should be kept away from the flesh as much as possible. Shaded as other greens. Chrome. — There are five different shades of chrome, commencing with a pale primrose, and deepening into a powerful orange ; they are all opaque, are good working colors, and are sometimes used in dark flesh tints, and always for the reflected lights under the chin. With indigo they form a number of different shades of green, which may occasionally be used for background draperies, when the photograph is heavy and dark Chrome is likewise used for gold ornaments, although Roman ocher is to be preferred; when used in its pure state, it is shaded with burnt umber, and, in the darkest parts, burnt umber and lake. High lights, the local color and Chinese white. Roman Ocher. — Useful in draperies and for strengthening up the yellows in very dark complexions, and is, perhaps, the best yellow for gold ornaments. It serves likewise for all kinds of flaxen hair, either by itself, or when combined with sepia, but is not often used in draperies. Burnt Sienna is too foxy a color for flesh, although in very dark complexions it is sometimes admitted ; but generally the Indian yel- low or Roman ocher is to be preferred. If there be an out-door scene for the background of the portrait, this color, when combined with indigo and gamboge, will be found very useful for all kinds of foliage, these three colors forming a number of green tints. High lights, chrome ; shadows, umber and lake. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 127 Ultramarine . — For durability and brilliancy, there is no other blue at all to be compared to ultramarine, and although many sub- stitutes have been offered, yet none have approached it in beauty. Cobalt, which is very generally used instead, sinks into utter insig- nificance when placed near it. Genuine, it is a very expensive color ; the imitation is known as French blue. If you wish to substitute ultramarine for cobalt in the grays, you must be very sparing of it, because it is a very powerful color — sometimes used for ladies’ dresses and the sky in backgrounds. Cobalt and a little lake make a color approximating to it, shaded as cobalt. High lights, the local color and Chinese white. French Blue is w'ell adapted for draperies, and occasionally for the sky in backgrounds, but for the latter purpose cobalt is prefer- able. It is a powerful color, possessing great body, and, like all blues, requires subduing with warm browns. By candle-light it assumes a dark, heavy appearance, almost approaching to black. Treated in the lights, and shaded as cobalt ; when the color is used in great strength, the shadows must be powerful. Cobalt. — Permanent, and a good working color ; used freely in grays, pearly tints, and shadows — washed or stippled over indigo for blue skies and backgrounds. Blue, being a cold color, is apt to destroy the effect of your picture, unless you subdue or kill it ; negative it, therefore, as much as you can, by toning it down with warm colors, keeping all your shadows of a brownish tint, and leaving your high lights only positive blue. These remarks apply solely to blue draperies. Prussian Blue is not admissible in flesh tints at all, being liable to turn to a greenish hue. It is very useful for blue draperies, and when mixed with gamboge, bright greens are produced. Prussian blue, and lake or carmine, make a number of purples, violets, lilacs, &c. 128 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. Indigo. — A very dark blue, and a good working color ; useful, with gamboge and burnt sienna, in forming greens and browns of almost every possible shade ; while with carmine it produces pur- ples and violets, and may sometimes be taken, instead of cobalt, for the dark shadows of the face. Indigo and Prussian blue make an excellent color for blue cloth — add a little lake if you desire to produce a coppery blue, which so frequently occurs. If you would have a blue background of considerable depth, but at the same time not glaring, wash in with indigo, or indigo and lake, and work over with cobalt. Indigo and Carmine. — An excellent purple, and better adapted for draperies than Prussian blue and carmine, being less gaudy ; in both instances the carmine used should be dissolved in ammonia, and no gum added. Carmine is the most brilliant crimson we possess, and when mixed with vermilion, forms, the best color for officers’ coats and background draperies, but for the latter purpose it must be much subdued. Spirit carmine and the blues form many useful purples, &c. (See Prussian Blue.) Spirit carmine is made in the follow- ing manner : Obtain some color in powder, wet it with a few drops of liquid ammonia, and let it stand till the spirit evaporates, and it is then, with the addition of a little water, fit for use. It is better for draperies than the cake color, but it must not be used in flesh tints. Should it become dry and unfit for use, put in a little water to moisten it ; there is no necessity for a second application of ammonia, unless it dries upon the photograph and comes off. Indigo , Gamboge , and Burnt Sienna. — A brown made up of the above three colors is useful in hair, draperies, etc. Carmine and Vermilion makes, perhaps, the very best color for officers’ coats, and draperies of a like description, but it is too PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 129 bright to use in the background, unless you subdue it, which may be done with sepia and lake. Rose Madder. — A most useful color in flesh and carnations, and when necessary, may be strengthened with lake or vermilion ; it works well, but possesses little intensity. Rose madder tints are found in youth ; but as your sitter approaches middle age, a little lake or vermilion is added to heighten them. Portraits of aged persons have more lake than madder ; while in the complexions of children vermilion predominates over the latter color. Rose mad- der is a good color for glazing the under lip. Crimson Lake. - -Por flesh tints and draperies, all lakes are ex- ceedingly useful, not only by themselves, but in their combinations with other colors. When used as a shadow color with sepia, it is better to have purple lake. Vermilion is frequently used in flesh washes for fair people and children ; but it must be with extreme caution, as it is a very heavy color. In its pure state it is a good color for the lips. Elemen- tary works generally give three different vermilions, viz., vermil- ion, scarlet vermilion, and orange vermilion ; but you can make the two last named, by adding to the first, carmine for the scarlet, and gamboge for the orange, which will answer every purpose. Combined with rose madder for children’s carnations. Light Red. — A durable color, and of great use in flesh ; with carmine or vermilion, and a little Indian yellow, it forms a wash which, when properly modified, will do for almost every complex- ion. Miniature painters, with this color, cobalt, rose madder, and Indian yellow, make their gray shadows and pearl tints. Venetian Red , differing but' slightly from light red, may be used for precisely the same purposes. Indian Red. — A good color for strengthening the darkest shad- ows on the face, but must be used sparingly, being in its nature 130 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. very powerful ; has great body, and inclines to a purple hue. It is durable and works well, and when used with lake, is a good color for putting in the upper lip with. Burnt Umber. — A good working color, but seldom used, except for hair and draperies. Vandyke Brown. — So named, after the prince of portrait paint- ers, in consequence of the free use of it in his works. It is a fine glazing color, and is well adapted for strengthening the shadows under the nose, glazing the darkest shades of green draperies and the hair. This is, perhaps, the most beautiful brown that we have. Madder Brown A very rich brown, and of great use in dra- peries ; combined with cobalt, it forms many very excellent grays suitable either for the face or background. All madders are said to be permanent. Sepia is the most useful brown, no other entering so largely into combination with other colors as this does ; with lake, indigo, and gamboge, a pure transparent black is formed, calculated for silks, satins, and black cloth. Sepia and lake, again, make the best color for giving the sharp touches about the eyes, eyebrows, etc. ; and for the hair it stands unrivaled by any other brown, being useful not only in the lightest, but also in the very darkest tints. Sepia and Indigo A gray formed of the above colors is of use for backgrounds ; may be strengthened in the darker parts with sepia alone, and warmed with Vandyke brown. Sepia , Indigo , and Lake form an excellent black, used for silks, satins, and as a shadow color for black cloth. With these three colors you may make a black of any required tint. Keep the darkest shadows rather red. Another black is made up of indigo, purple lake, and gamboge, and is equally as good as the former, and used for precisely the same purposes. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 131 Lampblack . — A strong body color ; is chiefly used with Chinese white for black cloths and velvets. Ivory Black. — Much the same as lampblack, and is occasionally used in lieu of it. It is, however, a little browner than the former ; both work freely. Choice of Pencils. — Let the pencils which you select he sable, and of a middling size ; it is very injudicious to use small ones, as they impart to the work a harsh appearance, which is by all means to be avoided ; there- fore work with a good-sized pencil, the quill being some- what smaller than a goose or swan pen, and capable of holding a reasonable quantity of color in fluid. With such a one you will be able to give those firm touches which are so much admired by judges. You will, how- ever, sometimes need to use small pencils, in marking in the eyes, nostrils, etc. ; hut for all large washes they are worthless. When purchasing pencils, dip them into water, and bring them to a point on the nail of your thumb. The hairs must be all of a proportionate length, having a fine flue attached to the points, and, when mod- erately full of water, should, upon being bent, spring hack to their original form. See that there he no strag- gling hairs about them, and that they do not split or divide. A few French camel-hair pencils must also be 132 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. obtained, for you will find them very useful in laying large washes upon the background where you require smoothness, but they are not elastic enough for general purposes. A flat camel-hair tool, with which to size the photograph, is also necessary. Coloring the face, etc. — Commence with a large pencil to wash in the flesh tint ; go over the whole face, and leave it to dry. Then put in the carnations, but do not be in a hurry to do too much at once ; keep all the colors under, for it is easier to highten up, as you go on, than to reduce them, if they are made too pow- erful. Put a little color now on each lip ; the upper one, which is almost always in shadow, may be laid in with lake and vermilion, and the under one with car- mine and vermilion, the latter predominating, if the sub- ject be juvenile. Give the background a wash, and pro- ceed with the draperies. Highten the carnations, and lay on the yellows, which are perceptible in almost all faces, but more particularly aged ones, about the tem- ples, eyes, and mouth. Strengthen up the eyes, nostrils, and mouth with lake, and do the like to the hair with the proper shadow color, working in the direction of the curls, or in a wavy manner, just as it may be adjusted; PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 133 and glaze over the under lip with lake or rose madder, in accordance with the natural tint. The white of the eye, as it is commonly called, varies in color as age advances — in childhood and youth it is nearly a posi- tive blue ; gradually it loses that tint, and merges into a pearly tone, while in old age it becomes nearly yel- low. For the pearly tone, you will use a like color to the pearly tints of the face, increasing the blue as you approach to childhood, while for aged sitters a pale wash of Indian yellow may be taken. The iris must be laid in with transparent color, then shaded, and afterward finished with Chinese white. The pupil is always touched in with a dark color, and the speck of white is laid on at the last. If the eye be black or brown, the same lights are used as for black or brown hair, namely, light red and Chinese white for the former, and neutral or purple tint and white for the latter. It is a practice with several miniature painters, in hightening the complexion, to lay the colors in little square forms, working their pencils in various directions, and leaving the interstices to be filled up afterward by stippling. This method gives what is called a fatty ap- pearance to the work, and renders it bold and masterly. 12 134 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. Others, again, finish off with hatches, and the crossings of the pencil somewhat resemble the lines in a fine-line engraving of the face, being worked as much as possible in the direction of the muscles. But this should not he resorted to till near the end of the work ; for if you begin too early, you will never be able to gain depth, and the more you labor, the more wiry, harsh, and dry •will the character of your performance be. When the flesh color has been sufficiently hightened, and is as near to the original as you think you can get it, then begin with the pearly gray and shadow tints, keeping them as pure and transparent as possible, working with a light hand, for fear of disturbing the under color, which must not be suffered to mix with them, or they will become muddy, and consequently lose all their transparency. Grays are not intended to hide the local color, but only to be passed over it as a glaze. In coloring photographs of ladies, you can not fail observing that their necks are always much lighter in color than their faces, and that the pearly tints are seen in them to advantage ; use the flesh wash much lighter for the former than the latter. Note that the delicate blending of these pearly tints PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 135 into the flesh and shadows, gives softness and rotundity to the work ; for if the shadows be left hard against the lights, not being duly graduated into them, with the pearly tint, your picture will appear crude and harsh, wanting that connecting link which they form. The palms of the hands and tips of the fingers are generally of a pinky hue, and the backs are much the same in tone as the neck. In your anxiety, however, to make them appear delicate, be careful not to keep them too white, as that will mar your picture. But in many instances this caution is unnecessary ; for unfortunately photo- graphs generally are heavy and dark, so that you will be necessitated to brighten them up considerably. It may now be presumed that the face is nearly fin- ished ; all remaining to be done being to give the sharp, spirited touches which occur abdut the eyes, mouth, and nostrils, and impart life and intelligence to the whole countenance. If the original of the photograph be dark, you will use sepia and purple lake in nearly equal pro- portions for that purpose ; but if the sitter be fair, you must discard the greater part of the sepia. It should have been remarked before, that the shadow, which almost always occurs under the nose, may be 136 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. glazed with Vandyke brown ; but be careful not to make it heavy. The background, hair, and draperies, will next claim your attention ; but ere you finish the hair, it will be necessary to complete the background, so that the hair may not be interfered with by the background color com- ing up to or over it ; but let the hair be brought over and finished upon the background in a light, feathery manner. When the background is complete, give the last touches to the shadowed parts of the hair, and lay on the high lights. No mention has yet been made of gum, which is in request with some photographic colorists, but which had better not be resorted to at all if you can possibly do without it. However, if your work appears dull and spiritless in those places where it should be otherwise, a little gum may be used for the eyes, parting of the lips, hair, and eyebrows. You may either mix it in the color for the last touches, or use it by itself, as a glaze ; but do not use much on the picture, for it gives it a dis- agreeable appearance. Flesh Tints. No. 1. Fair Complexion. — Light red, a little carmine or vermilion, and Indian yellow ; be very careful in using PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 137 the latter, for the reasons before specified ; and, in the flesh tints of very fair children, allow the vermilion to predominate. Carna- tions, rose madder, and, if the face be full of color, add a little ver- milion to it. No. 2. Middling Complexion. — Much the same as No. 1, saving that the light red must be in excess over the other colors — carna- tions, rose madder, and lake. No. 3. Dark Complexion. — Light red and Indian yellow, or light red and Roman ocher, and if the complexion be generally ruddy, you may add a little Indian red ; but it must be sparingly used, as it is a powerful color, and likely to impart a purple tone to the flesh. Carnations chiefly lake ; but if the complexion be warm, lake and a little yellow. The carnations for children’s por- traits are rose madder and vermilion, inclining more to the latter tint. Aged persons have rose madder and a little cobalt, to give a cold appearance to the color in their cheeks and lips. These tints, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, are indispensable, as general washes, for the purpose of receiving the other colors, which are to be worked over them to bring up the complexion to the life. Uncolored photographic portraits vary so much in tone, that the beginner will, perhaps, find some difficulty in mixing up the tints for the washes. He must note that the warm-toned ones do not require so much Indian yellow as the cold ones do. Shadow, Gray, and Pearly Tints. No. 1. Fair Complexion. — Cobalt, rose madder, Indian yellow, and light red, will produce every variety of the above, from the most delicate pearl up to the strongest shadow color, and are suitable for every complexion. It must be borne in mind that the gray should be kept cool, and the shadows warm, and that in laying them on, particular care must be taken that the under tints are not disturbed, otherwise you will 12 * 138 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. muddle the grays, eta., and make them opaque, which is always to be avoided, as it is intended to show the flesh color under them. These tints appear to differ in different complexions, but the dif- ference is caused more through the local color that they go over, than any great alteration in themselves ; when the flesh, however, is very powerful in color, the grays, etc., must be stronger than when it is delicate. No. 2. Middling Complexion Shadow. — Darker than No. 1, and composed of cobalt, Indian yellow, and madder brown. These three colors produce a great number of very useful grays. No. 3. Dark Complexion Shadow. — Rather warmer than No. 2, having a little more of the Indian yellow added to the cobalt and madder brown. These three tints will answer all purposes in pho- tography. No. 1, with, or, if the paper be of a warm hue, without the yellow, forms a good serviceable gray or pearly tint, useful for all complexions. It may be necessary to remark, that yellow is not so much in request for coloring photographs as for painting on ivory or Bristol-board ; the photographic paper, in itself partaking so much of a warm color, renders it less necessary. Hair Colors. — In coloring hair, never shadow it with the local color ; all the shadows must be somewhat dif- ferent ; and the same may be said of the high lights. Upon brown hair they partake of a purple tinge, and the shadows are in general formed with sepia, or sepia and lake ; and upon some particular kind of flaxen they incline to a greenish color, which is produced by sepia. Burnt umber is most useful in brown and auburn hair ; PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 139 and here, again, the sepia and lake form the best shadow colors. A good mixture for black hair is composed of sepia, indigo, and lake, or lake, indigo, and gamboge ; the lights slightly inclining to a purple tint, the blue predominating. But black hair is of so many different hues, that it is impossible to give one general tint which will do for all kinds ; you must be guided by nature, endeavoring to match the colors to the best of your abil- ity. Put in the general wash broadly, and bring it into form with the shadow color ; then lay on the high lights and reflects with the proper tints, mixed with Chinese white. Upon flaxen hair, you will sometimes be able to preserve them ; but in consequence of the photographs being dark and heavy, you will generally have to put them on. Be very particular in- keeping the hair in masses, and to assist in doing so, use a good-sized pen- cil to work with, and never fritter it away into little pieces, as if you had determined to show “ each partic- ular hair.” Against the background, let it be a little feathery, as it appears in nature, and do not permit it to cut into the face, as if it were glued upon it. For the purpose of assisting the beginner, a few local washes are given. 140 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. Flaxen Hair. — The best wash for flaxen hair is undoubtedly Roman ocher, which may be modified with sepia to suit the various shades. A warmer flaxen is composed of Roman ocher alone, both being shaded with Roman ocher and sepia. The high lights for the former are made of Chinese white, mixed with a delicate purple ; but if the hair be of a sunny color, „ then use Roman ocher and white only. Always lay in the shadows first, and then put in the high lights, taking care to keep them thin, working with a bare pencil, so that the color of the hair may appear through them ; and in shadowing, also use the tints thin, for the same reason. Never put any white in the shadows ; they must always be transparent. Gum is occasionally added to the shadow color, to bring it out ; but as it gives a meretricious effect to the work, it is better to avoid it. Auburn Hair. — Local color, burnt umber, and sometimes burnt umber and lake, according to the particular shade. When the auburn is very warm, add a little burnt sienna to the umber and lake, shadow with burnt umber and lake, and glaze in the darkest parts with a cold purple. High lights, neutral tint and Chinese white. Chestnut Hair. — The lights much the same as for auburn hair ; local tint, burnt umber, sepia, and lake ; shadow with sepia, lake, and indigo ; in the darkest shadows let the indigo and lake pre- dominate. Red Hair. — Very red hair is a color which does not often occur, and when met with, subdue or kill it as much as possible, for few people are ambitious of possessing it. Venetian red and lake, with a little sepia to cool them, form a very good mixture for the local tint ; if it be too red, add a little gamboge or Roman ocher. Should a lady rejoice in this colored hair, keep all blues as far PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 141 from it as you can, because their presence only helps to exaggerate its fiery appearance. Shadow with lake and burnt umber ; very darkest parts, sepia and lake. High lights, a delicate purple and Chinese white. Bark Brown Hair. — Sepia alone, or sepia and lake, or sepia and burnt umber ; lights inclining to purple. Gray Hair. — Sepia and cobalt, or sepia and indigo, made into a pale wash ; indeed, any of the grays may be used, provided they are in accordance with the color intended to be represented. Gray hair is sometimes of a warm hue, and sepia is a close approximation to it ; shadow with sepia. Black Hair. — The best color for black hair is composed of sepia, indigo, and lake, or lake, indigo, and gamboge, making the red or blue predominate, as it may appear in nature. Keep the shadows of a warm brown tint, and the lights cold, inclining to neutral tint ; and sometimes, when the hair is exceedingly black and heavy, the lights are laid in with light red and Chinese white, being exactly the same as the lights for black cloth. Draperies, and other Cloth Fairies. — In painting cloth fabrics, it will be advantageous to use the local color at first much lighter than you desire it to appear when finished, as it will permit the folds of the drapery to he discernible under it ; but to render the matter as clear as possible, proceed as follows : Take, for example, a black coat to paint ; begin by laying in a weak local wash as directed, and when it is dry, go over the folds with a thin shadow color, which will prevent them being 142 ‘ PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. obscured by the next local wash. Having repeated this process two or three times, you will most likely find the coat to be as dark as necessary , but the shadows will be too poor and feeble. You will then strengthen them with sepia and lake ; and when brought to the required depth, lay on the high lights with light red and Chinese white, remembering to use a bare pencil and a gentle hand for that purpose, for if you work your pencil about, and press heavily upon it, you will inevitably disturb the local color, and mix it with the lights. These repeated shadowings after each wash would be quite unnecessary did they not serve to retain the photographic folds in- tact, for if you laid on the local color at once, and as powerful as you desired, you would be almost certain of hiding them, and having them to draw in from your duplicate copy. By laying in the washes one over the other as directed, you gain a texture and evenness of tint which you could not otherwise obtain. If the pho- tograph be bold in the shadows, and bright in the lights, there will be no necessity for going over the former after each wash. All cloth fabrics may be handled after the same manner. You must take care that these under shadowings do not become heavy ; they PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 143 are only meant to save you the trouble of copying, should the local color hide them, for, as a matter of course, all shadows must be painted upon , and not under , the color on which they are projected. A good black for gentlemen’s drapery is made of in- digo, lake, and gamboge, or indigo, spirit carmine, and gamboge. When you require a blue black, first make a blue purple, and then add the gamboge till the tint is changed into a black A red black must be made of a red purple, or inclining that way. Miniature painters generally use lamp or ivory black for cloth drapery ; but as both of these are body colors, they will hide the shadows of the photograph, which must be kept per- fectly transparent, and finished upon with sepia and lake. The shadow tint must in all cases he used rather thin, as it is intended only partially to obscure the local #■ color, not to hide it, which it would do if it were made powerful, besides imparting a hard, patchy appearance to the work. In shadowing, never work across the folds, but always carry your pencil in the direction that they run, and from, not to, the outline. Your own judgment must guide you in apportioning the sepia and lake ‘ for shad- 144 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. ows ; some blacks require them to be much redder than others. A camel-hair pencil is better adapted for lay- ing in the draperies than a sable one, because the color flows from it more freely, and the markings of the tool are not perceptible. Silks , Satins , etc. — The tints for the above are made up precisely the same way as for cloth fabrics, and must be painted in broadly, keeping the lights bright, and the shadows transparent. White is admitted sometimes into the local color for the purpose of forming the high lights ; black silk and satin always excepted, which re- ceive the same lights as black cloth, viz., light red and Chinese white. Crimson. — Crimson is made of pure liquid carmine, modified with lake for the shadows, and sepia and lake, without the carmine, are used in the deepest shades. The high lights are a little Chinese white mixed with the local color. Scarlet. — Scarlet vermilion and carmine make the best opaque scarlet for officers’ coats, etc., shadowed with carmine and lake, and, in the darkest shades, lake and a little sepia, without the carmine. A transparent scarlet for silks etc., is made of carmine and gam- boge, or carmine and Indian yellow, with gamboge, is preferable, shadowed as the opaque scarlet. Pink. — Pink is simply carmine or lake reduced with water, or Chinese white delicately shadowed with lake. High lights, Chinese white and the local color. Rose and pink madder frequently rep- resent this color, shadowed as the last. Yellows are shadowed with the local color, modified with umber ; but some pale yellows have a cold gray tint coming against the PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 145 lights. The lights upon all yellows are composed of the local color and Chinese white. Orange. — Orange is made of Indian yellow and carmine or carmine and gamboge. A very good orange is produced by the union of red chrome with gamboge ; but it is too heavy for silks. Green. — Indigo and gamboge form an excellent color for cloth draperies, shadowed with the same and a little burnt umber ; the darkest shades have lake and umber or lake and sepia. High lights, the local color and lemon chrome, or the latter alone on the local color and Chinese white. If the green be very yellow, the lemon chrome is the best adapted for the lights ; but if it be a cold color, then use Chinese white. Purple. — Purple tints are formed of blues and lakes, or blues and spirit carmine, and lilacs the same. The purples receive a warm shadow, composed of the local color and brown madder, and if they are very heavy, the dark shadows are brown madder and purple lake. Lilacs have similar shadows, but much lighter. High lights, the local color and Chinese white. Blues. — Blues of every tint are shadowed with the local color and a little brown madder, and in the darkest places brown mad- der is only used. High lights, the local color and Chinese white. Backgrounds. — The best colors for fair people and children are blues, purples, (not bright, but negative,) and grays. Dark complexions may have dark grounds, inclining to red or warm brown ; and where the flesh tint is sallow, use warmer colors, — greens approaching to olive, — to throw up the reds in the face to advan- 13 146 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. tage. If the usual curtain be allowed to creep into the picture, make it a connecting color with some other analogous to it in the figure or accessories. Never paint a bright blue ground and crimson cur- tain, but keep every thing quiet and subdued, so that the eye may take all in at one glance, having no light patches of color spread over the picture to dazzle and distract the gaze from the head, but let every color blend and harmonize. The following are a few background colors which will assist the beginner in his work : — Stone is represented by a tint formed of carmine, in- digo, and yellow ocher ; and the more distant you wish to make it appear, the more must the indigo prevail. If the photograph be a very white one, it will be neces- sary to lay a foundation of neutral tint, to support the local color. Grays : cold and warm grays of many different hues are made with sepia and indigo. The grays which are used in the flesh, will also answer the same pur- pose. A background capable of many modifications is made of cobalt, burnt sienna, and a little rose madder worked into it. PHOTOGRAFH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 147 Madder-brown and cobalt are well adapted for the same purpose, and form good grounds for fair subjects, and may be strengthened in the darkest places with the addition of a little indigo. Indigo and madder-brown produce a duller gray than the former, and of more depth. A purple, cloudy ground is made of indigo and liquid carmine or lake ; be very careful not to paint it too bright. An opaque ground, of a chocolate color, is composed of lampblack and Indian red, and may be lightened by the use of Chinese white. Burnt umber, chrome yellow, and Chinese white pro- duce a lighter ground than the last named. Opaque backgrounds are far from being artistic, and are but seldom used ; if very dark, they give the head and figure the appearance of having been cut out and pasted down upon colored paper. If you resort to them, you will require to soften around the outline to take off that effect, and that can only be done by adding a little white to the color. If the background of the photograph be very dark, and you are desirous to make it lighter, lay on the transparent color, and lighten them up by 148 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. stippling * 4 some white mixed with the local tint over them, which will have the effect of relieving the head, and whatever parts of the figure you want to bring out. Very dark grounds may also be lightened by dusting some photographic powder colors over them, and they may sometimes be used on the draperies — but it must be held in remembrance, that they are not per- manent. Photographers are, however, getting into the way of producing pictures with the backgrounds entirely white, and consequently they are ready to receive whatever shade of color may be desired, and are infinitely better calcu- lated for artistic display than those heavy grounds, which require considerable discernment on the part of the artist to understand where the outline of the hair terminates, and the background commences. Paint curtains, etc., over the background, and put on the lights with body colors. * Stippling. — Toward the end of the work you will observe a number of inequalities in the tints, caused by the square patches of color which you have laid on during the progress of lightening the carnations, grays, etc. These require to be filled up by the point of the pencil, with an assimilating color ; and that filling up is termed “stippling.” Be careful not to begin doing so till the work is nearly finished ; for if you commence too early, you will most assuredly impart a woolly appearance to it, which is by all means to be avoided. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 149 When white spots appear on the background of the photograph, stipple them in with a color that assimilate* to it, and then proceed as usual. When the spots are black, you may take them out with a piece of glass paper, and finish as above. Tinting Glass Positives , Daguerreotype Plates , etc. — Photographic powder colors are most frequently used for the above purpose, and they are applied to the pic- ture in a dry state with sable pencils ; camel-hair pencils being employed for softening, and bringing the work into form and character. Begin by breathing lightly upon the surface of the portrait, and dip your pencil into the bottle containing the flesh color, and work in a circular direction, press- ing gently upon the glass, to cause the color to adhere — the breathing is for the same purpose ; then blow off the superfluous powder with an India-rubber bottle. As the color approaches the outline, soften it off with gray, and be careful to preserve the roundness of the cheeks and forehead which is observable in nature, by keeping the high lights in the center, and graduating the flesh tints into the grays and shadows. Next put in the darkest parts of the draperies and hair. When engaged 13 * 150 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. upon the latter, cause your pencil to move in a wavy manner, as the hair flows. The lights are to be laid in last, with the colors provided for that purpose, and be particular not to soil them with the shadow tints, keep- ing them as bright as possible. Proceed in the same way with all the other colors, and if the tints contained in the bottles he too powerful for your picture, you can reduce them with white , which bears the same relation- ship to powder colors that water does to the ordinary cakes. When at work, have a piece of black cloth or velvet on the reverse side, which will show up the head to advantage. The same process as the above is appli- cable to daguerreotype portraits and paper pictures, the breathing on the plate, and the varnishing, alone excepted. Hitherto glass positives have only been tinted in the manner described, and which the veriest tyro in the arts may accomplish with ease. Artists have given very little attention to the subject, believing that glass pic- tures would never be much esteemed by the public, be- cause they are taken upon such a brittle material ; but in consequence of the increasing demand for them, and the low prices for which they can be obtained, it has PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 151 been deemed advisable to say something upon tbe sub- ject ; and experience shows that more can be done with them now than formerly, as they are capable of receiv- ing a considerable amount of finish. Having put in the general tints with powder colors, assimilating them as much as possible to the complex- ion, you may finish them up with cake colors, by mark- ing out the eyes, eyebrows, mouth, nostrils, etc., taking care, however, not to run the water colors into the grays or carnations, as they must be kept intact. These 'various touchings produce a sharp and spirited effect, and will give to the portrait a most decided and artistic appearance. If ornaments of gold or silver occur, they may be put in with metal. If glass positives are varnished, which is the work of the photographer, you may use water colors upon them almost as freely as on paper ; but in general all that is done to them is merely to apply a little powder color for the flesh, a touch of carnation in the cheeks, and a tint upon the hair, eye, and eyebrows. On coloring glass positives entirely in water colors, no more need be said than what has already been urged in the case of paper pictures, the manner of working being exactly 152 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. the same, the chief difficulty which presents itself being that of getting the colors to flow smoothly ; but that is easily overcome by the addition of a small quantity ol ox-gall. Oil colors may also he successfully used upon glass, provided the amateur has a competent knowledge of draw- ing to carry him through the work ; the same objections presenting themselves here as upon paper. ULES FOR TINTING PHOTO- GRAPHS SLIGHTLY. — Having prepared the photograph in the usual way, take a little pink mad- der, carmine, and Indian yellow, or whatever color most resembles the carnation ; lay it on the cheek, and, with a clean pencil, soften it carefully all round the edges, blend- ing the tint into the face. Repeat the process once and again, till you have obtained nearly as much color as necessary — I say nearly as much, because you have to pass the general flesh-wash over it, which has the effect of darkening it considerably. For PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 153 ths purpose of softening, it will be as well to have two pencils on one bolder. It might appear that putting on the color of the cheek at once, and softening it, would suffice ; but you will get it far softer by doing it with a very pale tint two or three times, than you possibly can by making it at once as powerful as necessary ; besides, it is impossible to soften a strong color so well as a pale tint. When the color is quite dry, go over the whole of the face with the flesh tint, then put in the hair, eyes, eyebrows, and lips ; round off the forehead with a gray, and apply the same to those parts of the face where you observe it to be in nature. If your photograph be a very dark one, you will not require so much gray in it as if it were a light impression ; next wash in the background, and proceed with the draperies, etc. Return now to the face, strengthen the carnations, grays, and shadows, by hatching # delicate tints over them ; put the light in the eye and the spirited touches about it and the eyebrows, mouth, etc., and finish off the hair. In dark photographs you will require to lay the * Hatching is that effect which is produced by the crossings of the pencil, after you have given to the head all the larger washes, and must be done in the manner described above. To an inexperienced eye, hatching assumes the ap- pearance of a series of dots. 154 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. lights on the hair with body color, as it is generally much darker than it appears in nature. Make out the linen with a gray, deepening it in the darkest parts, and lay on •the high lights with constant or Chinese white. Proceed next to shadow the drapery, and when you have ob- tained the required depth, scumble in the high lights, using a bare pencil and a very gentle hand, as before directed. Give the background another wash, if requisite, and your photograph is finished. If there be metal buttons, chains, or epaulets, they must be laid over the dress with body colors ; a very good ground for them is red chrome and gamboge, shadowed with burnt umber, and hightened on the lights with lemon chrome and Chinese white. By the foregoing method, it will be unnecessary to hatch or stipple a great deal, for you will find that the face will come out very soft and round without it ; but the effect is far inferior to that produced by the other process. Prepared Ox-gall. — It is necessary to have a little of the above preparation, but be sparing in your use of it. Too much of it in the colors will cause them to sink PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN WATER COLORS. 155 into the paper, and there is no possibility of getting them out again, nor can you wash over the parts to any advan- tage. Ox-gall can only be of use in the first coloring, to kill the grease ; after the photograph has been fairly covered all over, there can be little to apprehend on that point. When the paper is greasy, and you find a diffi- culty in getting a tint to run smoothly, rub the point of your pencil on the gall, and mix it up in the color. Painting Photographs in Oil. — To meet the wishes of those who are anxious to obtain an insight into the pro- cess of painting photographs in oil, the following direc- tions are offered : Care has been taken to render them plain, concise, and as general in their application as pos- sible. But it must be remembered that the art of paint- ing is not to be acquired even from the best treatises, by the most accomplished masters, while, in this trifling sketch, all that is sought to be conveyed is to initiate the tyro into a method. A few lessons by an experienced hand, and assiduous study on the student’s part, will, in a short time, do more than twenty books could accomplish. 156 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. REQUISITES FOR OIL PAINTING. A BOX OF TUBE COLORS CONTAINING, — White, Purple Madder, Naples Yellow, Raw Umber, Yellow Ocher, Burnt Umber, Brown. Ocher, Vandyke Brown, Raw Sienna, Terre Verte, Burnt Sienna, Emerald Green, Light Red, Ivory Black, Venetian Red, Palette and Knife, Vermilion, Sables, Indian Red, Softeners, Purple Lake, Pale Drying Oil, Crimson Lake, Mastic, Rose Madder, Megilp, Ultramarine, Turpentine, Cobalt, Poppy Oil. Prussian Blue, 1 How to prepare the Photograph. — Get some size, and melt it in a dish over a slow fire ; when it is dissolved, strain it through flannel into a soup plate, and immerse the photograph in it. When it is sufficiently saturated with the size, take it out and let it dry, then paste it down on card-board, and it is ready for use. Another method : Dip a flat camel-hair tool into the size, and go PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. 157 over both sides of the photograph. If it he insuffi- ciently prepared, the colors will sink in those parts where there is a paucity of size, and you must give it another coat. Oil Colors. — The following is a table of tints in very general use with artists ; hut it must, however, be clearly understood that they are capable of many mod- ifications to meet almost every variety of color observable in nature. Portraits of ladies, but children more espe- cially, require the tints for the first and subsequent paint- ings to be kept exceedingly delicate and pearly ; for the adult male head the colors must be more powerful. TABLE OF TINTS FOR THE FIRST PAINTING. FLESH. White and Light Red. White, Naples Yellow, and Ver- milion. WTiite and Naples Yellow. White, Vermilion, and Light Red. Gray , Pearly , and Half Tints. White, Vermilion, and Black. WTiite and Terre Verte. White, Black, Indian Red, and Raw Umber. Deep Shades. Light Red and Raw Umber. Indian Red, Lake, and Black. Carnations. White and Indian Red, (powerful color.) White and Rose Madder. White and Lake. 14 158 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. Light Hair. White and Yellow Ocher. White and Homan Ocher. White and Vandyke Brown, for the dark parts. HAIR. White and Haw Timber for the dark parts. Dark Brown Hair. Haw and Burnt Umber. White and Haw Umber. White, Vandyke Brown. First Painting. — Lay out the palette in the following order: Place the lightest flesh tints nearest the right hand ; next in succession those having more color in them ; then the middle and shade tints ; and lastly, the pure colors. Use megilp * as a vehicle, if you wish to paint thinly, and add a little turpentine to it. Begin by laying on the high lights, gradually descend- ing into the more florid parts, till you arrive at the mid- dle tones, which in their turn descend into the shadows. Lay the color on the lights of some consistency, but let the shadows be thin. Be careful not to work the lights about with your brush, but lay them on boldly and full. Put in a gray tint for the white of the eye, and paint the iris and pupil upon it. Take a warm shade color, and mark out the features, and lay in the lips with a tint considerably * Megilp is composed of drying oil and mastic varnish; stir gently together till they incorporate, and let the mixture remain until it becomes thick. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. 159 under nature ; indeed, it is necessary to force up the whole of the coloring to allow for it sinking in drying. Proceed to the hair and eyebrows, lay in the shades, and after them the lights, define the draperies in the like way, and rub in the background, beginning with the lightest part. When you have got on thus far, take a softener — a badger’s hair tool — and go gently over the whole of the face to round it, and make the various tints blend into, and unite with, each other. Second Painting. — Having allowed the picture ten or twelve hours to dry, the next operation will be preparing it for the second painting. Take a sponge * moderately charged with water, and go gently over all the work ; when it is dry, dip a brush in poppy oil, and again go over the surface ; then wipe off the superfluous oil with a piece of soft silk as gently as you applied it. This is termed 44 oiling out,” and is done that the subsequent paintings may unite with the first. Nevertheless, it is frequently omitted ; but wash- ing with the sponge cannot be dispensed with, for without it, the glazes will not lie, but curdle on the picture. * Breathe upon tile surface of the picture. If it becomes dull or misty, you may safely use the sponge ; but if the breath does not affect it, do not go on — it is not dry enough. 160 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. TABLE OF TINTS FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD PAINTING.* High Lights. — White and Naples yellow. Carnations Rose madder and white. Indian red, rose madder, and white. Green Tints. — White and ultramarine with any of the yellows. White and terre yerte, with the addition of a little raw umber. The above green tints may be converted into green grays. Gray Tints. — Ultramarine, light red, and white. Indian red, lake, black, and white. White, ultramarine, Indian red, and raw umber. Purple Tints. — Any of the lakes, or red madders, with ultra- marine and white. Powerful Shadow Tints. — Indian red, purple lake, and black. Indian red, raw umber, and black. Strong Glazing Colors. — Light red and lake. Brown madder. Vandyke brown, Indian red, and lake asphaltum. Proceed now to improve the lights, yellows, and florid tones, with tints that approach your model ; then glaze the shadows where they are wanting in depth and color. The alterations, which at this stage are necessary, should be made with the shade tint, your own judg- ment guiding you to the requisite depth of color for that purpose. Look carefully over all the photograph, * These and th3 following tints might be increased almost ad infinitum ,• but it is better to present only a few to the learner, as a great number would only serve to bewilder him. PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. 161 and put in some of the spirited touches about the eyes, mouth, etc. Then improve the gray and pearly tints, (those about the mouth and eyes require very delicate handling,) and blend them into their proximate colors with a softener. Next look to the reflexes, which are to he painted, if possible, without any white in them. Soften the outline of the head with the background, so as to take off every appearance of hardness, remembering that there should be no such thing as a sharp outline in the face ; a glance at a plain photograph will at once show this to you. The lines of the eyes, mouth, and nostrils must also be carefully blended ; but they must not be rendered too soft, or they will impart an air of insipidity to the countenance. Third Painting. — Having proceeded thus far, it will be necessary to sponge the picture again. Scumble over the lights again where necessary, improve still further the luminous tints, and look to the glazing and reflexes. In finishing the carnations, as little white as possible should enter into their composition ; and they, together with the lights, should be laid on with a fine pencil, and a quick and decided touch, keeping them pure from the preceding colors. Soften all the parts which appear 14 * 162 PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING IN OIL COLORS. crude or hard, and finish off the background and draperies. The hands require a flesh tint similar to the face, and the same gray and pearly tints are used for them. If extreme finish be aimed at, you may re- touch your work several times, allowing it to dry be- tween every retouching. Draperies. — The scale of colors is nearly the same as for water ; but, instead of gamboge, yellow ocher and ocher yellows are used, and Prussian blue is taken for indigo. The shades, being laid in, are met by the half tones and lights, and are blended with a softener. The shad- ows are then finished by glazing, and the lights by scumbling over them. Background Colors. Pearly. — White, vermilion, and blue. White, vermilion, and black. White and black. Gray . — White, Venetian red, and black. Yellow. — Yellow ochre and white. Olive Yellow ocher, terre verte, and umber. Stone. — Raw umber and yellow. Black, white, and raw umber. Sky. — French blue and white, French blue, vermilion, and white. Edges of Clouds. — Yellow ocher and white. Clouds. Indian red, lake, black, and white. Brown madder, French blue, and white. Dritttial laittthjj. ( 163 ) design underneath, usually flowers, birds, and frequently, when wanted for a table stand, forms for chess playing are used, gilt, etc. Then take a fine badger, or camel’s hair pencil, and with the color you would have the ground when done, trace the outline of each figure not joined by another color ; such must be traced with the color you ( 165 ) 166 ORIENTAL PAINTING. ■would liave the figure ; as, green, if a leaf or stem ; for rose ©x flower, the color of the rose or flower. After this lias been traced out as perfectly as possible, shade theileaves by laying thicker coats when you would have it fdafkex. This will be easy, as you have only to fol- low The pattern. Also make the veins with a darker shMe, dipping the edge with the same. A little practice ■will «hew where effect can best be obtained. Now put «om your ‘ground* which should be composed of fine white jpicture warnish, or, what is better, our Outside varnish, •colored with any dry or tube oil colors. If black, lamp- ^blackTinaj be used; it should be well ground. After ffihis isf thorough! y dry, lay on and confine with this same 'mixture, tin foil, or tinsel, either smooth or crimpled. IP earl" dsffreq ueu tly used in the Oriental style ; yet a per- son- welbpractic jd can imitate it perfectly with the foil, which is *much c heaper. Cover the whole with black, or we-ry dark nambr ic, confined with the same mixture. TTher odiors us .ed must be transparent, or nearly so ; dill tube eeolors a nil answer, or powders mixed well with 'Outside^mrnish. The lakes are all transparent, eme- rald green, raw and burnt sienna, and others which any ; artisi cokr/man w ill inform you when buying your colors. ORIENTAL PAINTING. 167 We have published, for Oriental painting, two fine copies ; one, a handsome wreath, with fountain, birds, etc. ; the other, an elegant vase of flowers, with birds’ nests, birds, butterflies, etc. ; price, one dollar the pair, post-paid, on a roller, to any address. Also, two smaller ones, that will combine with the vase and wreath to make innumerable combinations, or may be used sepa- rately ; price, forty cents the pair ; or we will send the four on one roll for $1.25, post-paid. A fine copy for chess-tables has just been added to the list, the design of which is very beautiful ; price, eighty cents. For gold lines, etc., draw with the varnish, as if paint, and when dry to a tack, lay on gold leaf, or rub on gold bronze of any color. If bronze is used, apply as soon as varnished. Gold work, in most cases, should be left till the last.* The publishers of this book have put up, under their personal observation, boxes of dry colors, assorted colors in bottles, suitable for Oriental painting, which they send by mail for $1.25. This method has proved very satisfactory. Prof. Day’s Method. — Oriental painting on glass 168 ORIENTAL PAINTING. is so called from its capability of producing effects oi coloring equal to the colors of Oriental flowers, and the plumage of Oriental birds. This beautiful, showy, and gorgeous style of painting never fails to attract admirers wherever it has been introduced. No style of painting has yet been invented that shows transparent colors to such advantage as this, when properly and carefully done. If the purest transparent colors are to be used, and mixed with the lightest varnish, and the lights and shades of the flowers carefully attended to, and any light body (even paper) put at the back of the glass, the painting will show with good effect ; but when the brilliancy of the color is reflected back by means of the brightly planished silver foil, every shade of tone is made to yield its otherwise concealed beauty, making this style of painting well adapted to reflect the many splendid colors nature has in store for the admirer of flowers and showy plumage of birds. Directions. — Procure ten thimbles, large size and long; ten buttons to fit on the top ; a piece of wood ten inches long, two wide, one thick; bore ten holes in it in which to fit the thimbles. A 'paint stand can be made of tin, or in a box, or in any other way that will suggest itself to the convenience and ingenuity of the artist. A ground glass slab, from six to eight inches ORIENTAL PAINTING. 169 square, on which to mix the colors ; a palette knife, four inch blade, (rather stiff is preferable ; it mixes up the color better ;) a bottle of copal varnish, and one of turpentine ; set of mix- ing colors ; all of which may be had from the publishers of this work. To commence a picture, procure a glass the size you wish, then get a clear outline drawing on white paper, and fit it on your glass ; next prepare a little lampblack (lampblack is not down in the list of colors, because it is readily procured) by mixing it on your glass slab with copal varnish, using sufficient varnish to make a semi-transparent or neutral color, thinning it a little with turpentine if necessary, and put it into one of the thimbles. Take a crow quill brush, with hairs about five eighths of an inch long, and with the neutral black trace every line, and mark off your draw- ing on the glass. This is a long and tedious affair, if the design is large and complicated, and to look well requires to be done neatly. Next, all the little stems, and fine tracery work of weeds, etc., that is sometimes introduced to take off the crowded appear- ance of a group of flowers ; pencil in with opaque green made of chrome yellow and a little Prussian blue, (directions for mixing are on an advance page ;) sometimes a little bronze is introduced in the same way for variety ; for this, mix a little bronze with copal varnish, put it on with the same brush as you used for the green work and outlining ; sometimes a dot of scarlet mixed with varnish is put on, or pale blue, made of white and blue. This being done, see that the glass is free from finger marks, and commence the groundwork with lampblack mixed with copal varnish, going carefully around the design, avoiding all the parts you wish to paint with transparent colors ; the small work done with the opaque colors can be gone over with the black. When you have gone over it once, hold it up 15 170 ORIENTAL PAINTING. to the light, and you will perceive it full of places not sufficiently covered; touch all such again, to make it perfectly solid. When all this is done, it is ready for the transparent colors on the flow- ers, which are, of course, varied according to the design. To make scarlet flowers : coat over the flowers about three times with pure yellow lake, then once or twice with crimson lake, according to the intensity of the shade ; make the deeper shades by adding a little blue in the crimson lake. Yellow flowers: paint with a weak shade of yellow lake, and the shades by adding a very little burnt sienna with it. Bide flowers : use light blue ; and for the deep shades add a little Prussian blue. Purple flowers : purple made of crimson lake and Prussian blue, according to the tint required ; a very delicate purple is obtained by mixing rose pink and a little light blue* Pink roses and geraniums : use rose pink, and for the deeper shades add a little crimson lake. White flowers : use a neutral on the shaded parts composed of a little Vandyke brown and a little blue, diluted with varnish to suit the tint re- quired ; the high lights of white flowers are left clear glass, and sometimes for small flowers a little opaque white is introduced on the high lights to imitate pearl. Peal pearl is often put on ; but this will be referred to again. Stamens of flowers are done with Vandyke brown ; anthers sometimes with chrome yellow and a little burnt sienna mixed wflth them, and sometimes yellow lake, dotted with burnt sienna. Green leaves are stained with transpar- ent green, made with yellow lake and Prussian blue ; a good deal of yellow lake if a yellow green is required, and not so much if a cold blue green is wanted. Autumnal greens : add a little burnt sienna. The leaves are painted over two or three times in the parts that are wanted darker, also the deep shades against flowers, where the leaf goes under a flower. Use a little Vandyke brown with the green. When the painting is finished, it is better to allow ORIENTAL PAINTING. 171 it to remain a few days before putting on the foil. When it is suf- ficiently dry, if you wish to introduce any pearl, select the white flowers, because there is a portion of the glass left clear, and the pearl shows to advantage. The pearl must be cut pretty near the shape of the flower, and two or three dots of clear varnish put on ; then it is to be fitted to the flower, and left for a few hours to dry. Sometimes it is well to put a weight on, then fix on the foil and fasten it with black putty, or some of your black that is left from your coating. Cover the entire piece with a board, and let it remain a few hours ; or if you are going to frame it, put it im- mediately in the frame, and the back board will keep it in its place ; or if it is a table, the back of the table will answer the same purpose ; if neither, take a strong piece of brown paper and cover it, pasting carefully round the edges, and make it stick fast. Observations. — Be sure that the glass is well cleaned before beginning. All fine stems, and fine work that is intended to be done with opaque color or bronze, has no occasion to be touched in the outlining. Directions for mixing Colors. — Be careful to have the glass slab clean and free from dust — also the palette knife ; then put on the glass as much of the powder color as you think you may want ; put enough copal or outside varnish to it to make it absorb all the color and flow easily, and mix by moving it round and round, with a little pressure upon it, so as to make fine all the little color particles that are visible ; occasionally add turpentine to thin it, and mix again. When it is sufficiently fine, put it into one of the thimbles. All the colors are mixed in the same way. If you are to use most or all of the transparent colors at one sit- ting, the best plan will be to mix them as follows : yellow lake first, then burnt sienna, then Vandyke brown. These three colors, if mixed in this order, can be mixed without cleaning the glass, 172 ORIENTAL PAINTING. because the yellow lake which would remain on the glass after scraping it up to put in the thimble would not injure the sienna, nor would the sienna injure Yandyke brown. The glass must be thoroughly cleaned for rose pink ; then mix crimson lake ; then clean your glass for light blue, then Prussian blue. When you mix white, the glass must be rubbed until it is perfectly clean. Chrome yellow can be mixed after white without cleaning. In mixing yellow lake, rose pink, crimson lake, and white, the glass must be as clean as if color had never been upon it. This can easily be done by rubbing it with turpentine and a clean rag. We are particular in detailing this, and in trying to impress upon the artist the necessity of having all the colors pure , especially the four colors named above ; likewise to have them w r ell mixed, free from all particles of color. All this must be strictly attended to, in order that the painting may look well. Some colors require more varnish than others. Yellow lake, rose pink, blue, and crimson lake require about the same ; the three opaque colors, chrome vellow, white, and scarlet, a little more ; Yandyke brown, sienna, and Prussian blue require still more. Prussian blue and crimson lake are the most difficult colors to mix, and more time for mixing should be allowed. In the absence of a glass slab, a clean white china plate — as smooth a one as can be chosen — is A very good substitute. Nine of the thimbles are now occupied. In the tenth put in some clear varnish, as it is useful and convenient to dip your brush in when you wish to reduce any shade — that is, make it lighter. It is not necessary to have a thimble for green, as there is so little used ; you can make it from the thimbles as you require it. In painting, when a light shade is required, use a little more varnish- with your color ; and when your color becomes thick, always thin it with ORIENTAL PAINTING. 173 turpentine. By attending to these two remarks, much trouble will be saved, as the evaporation of the turpentine is continually going on, and the paint gradually becomes too thick for us^. After painting, if you do not wish your thimbles again for some time, put a drop of clean turpentine on each color, then carefully press the buttons on so as to exclude the air. Thus the colors will keep good for several days. The black for the groundwork is made of lampblack mixed with copal or Outside varnish, and had better be put in something larger than a thimble, as so much of it is used. (It can be had of the publishers of this work at twenty- five cents per bottle.) Lampblack is a common color, and may be purchased any where ; or you can make it yourself, by lighting a common oil lamp, make it smoke well, put a tin shade over it, and the collected particles on the shade make the best lampblack. For variety, Oriental painting is sometimes grounded with white, or other light tints, similar to those enumerated in Poticho- mania. In doing these, much greater care is requisite, owing to the delicate grounding; and, instead of outlining with the - neutral tints, it is better to outline with burnt sienna. Greater care is likewise necessary in cleaning the glass, as any finger mark will show, when coated with w'hite. Foil is sometimes wrinkled or crumpled between the fingers very much, before applying it. We prefer to use it plain. Sometimes leaf gold is introduced. To do this, a size must be made of isinglass ; a very weak solution is sufficient — about one inch strip of common isinglass to a teacup of hot water ; when thoroughly dissolved, strain and use it cold. The part you design to gild must be floated with this water ; then get a “ gilder’s tip,” (a technical term for a long, thin-haired, flat brush ;) have your leaf gold all ready ; draw the tip down between your hand and 15 * 174 OEIENTAL PAINTING. cheek, for the purpose of giving to the tip a little electric heat, which causes the leaf gold to be slightly attracted ; when on the tip, you can place it readily where you please. When you have applied all the gold you wish, slightly elevate your picture to let the water drain off, and when completely dry, you can remove any part you do not wish to have gilded, with a little moisture. That which you wish to remain, you can paint over with black ; or, if you wish the gold to show on both sides, as is sometimes required in other gilding, such as lettering, you may then varnish it with clear Outside varnish. Some persons object to the foil at the back of the Oriental, thinking it too glaring. This glare can be obvi- ated by means of the gold. For this process, when your painting is quite finished, float it well with the isinglass size, and use pale gold by means of the tip. It has a very good effect, and shows the transparent colors to good advantage, but not so brilliant as the foil. How to paint the new Pattern for a Chess Table. — This has been made to use either as a square or round. The squares had better be finished first, and a very pretty way to do this is to draw with gold size the lines around outside of the squares, and also around each square, very fine, with a hair pencil, and after it has dried about twelve hours, lay on gold leaf, as directed for gilding: first press, then rub off with a cotton ball the superfluous gold, or, if you choose, draw the lines with the Outside or copal varnish, and apply fine gold bronze directly. The squares may then be filled in with opaque ORIENTAL PAINTING. 175 colors — say vermilion and black, or black and white, or as fancy may direct, or the squares may be laid in gold and silver bronze. The light squares may be fixed to imitate pearl, as directed before ; in fact, there an innumerable ways to complete even these simple squares. Now you should draw the line in the same way as directed for the squares around the circle ; and if you use the pattern as a square, make the lines about the out- side of the whole, as seen in the design ; these lines may be gilded or silvered like the others, or varnished. It will improve the whole to draw very finely a black line outside of these last, after the gold or silver is dry. The beautiful designs used to fill up the blanks may be finished in the antique style, (see proper page,) which would be very fine and more simple ; or they may be painted in the Oriental style, as the other. If in the Antique style, cut out the part as curved carefully, and prepare one part at a time, using great care not to rub through on the light parts. If you conclude on Oriental method, paint as follows : — - The cottage and landscape at the top we need hardly speak of, as even a common artist knows the colors that will be best. Draw the lines as we have directed 176 ORIENTAL PAINTING. before for the outlines, then shade by laying more coats of the colors used for darker tints, placing the pearl or foil under, and fixing the whole. It will be well to experiment on another piece of glass first, so as to be sure you are right as to colors, and not to injure your other work. The parrot and peacock will look beauti- fully, admitting the brilliant colors which nature allows them, touched as your pattern directs, which is shaded to give lights and shades natural to the colors used. For the race at the bottom we would give the same simple direc- tions as for the cottage, etc., at the top. Draw in the outlines, and shade neatly, covering all with the foil. The scrolls in the corners, if you use the whole as a square instead of a round, should be drawn in with black for the darkest parts, and shaded with sienna and yellow lake, the white parts left till the last, when they should be gilded as directed for the squares. After this is dry, cover with a background, and the color of the tint on the patten will be rich and pretty. Another fine Way to use this Chess Patten. — Have a small table made of the proper size, and varnish the top several times after each drying, rubbing well with fine sand paper to get a good surface, or, have the table finished at ORIENTAL PAINTING. 177 the cabinet shop ; then you will only have to polish it well for use. Now varnish with the Antique varnish, and treat as directed in the Antique painting; rub off all the paper, leaving the print only ; do this carefully, as if on the glass. Touch up with proper colors, bronze and var- nish over the whole with Outside varnish or best copal, and you will have a splendid piece of furniture, the beauty of which depends on the care and skill of the artist. Another beautiful way is to do the whole in the Gre- cian style, touching up on the face with bright colors, bronze, etc. ; glue or paste to the table or board, and varnish and finish. The paper is prepared and the drawing made for all these styles, and' many others will suggest themselves to the ingenious. A new Way of painting on Rice Paper. — Make the outline with a dark lead pencil, on clear and perfect white paper, the same as for Oriental painting ; place the rice paper on the top of it, and proceed to paint with the transparent colors mixed with varnish in the same manner as for Oriental : opaque colors can also he used. No difficulty will be found in painting on rice paper with the 178 ORIENTAL PAINTING. varnish colors, and the paper will not wrinkle as it does with water colors. The inventive mind and the imagination of the artist will suggest many pleasing combinations of the Oriental studies published by us. For instance, the fountain can be taken out from the center of the wreath, and the basket of flowers substituted in its place. Practice of this kind is flne exercise, stimulating the inventive fac- ulties, and giving the artist a happy facility in different styles of ornamental work. In our limited space, we can only give hints, without entering into the minute details. But from the principles laid down, the apt scholar will easily make pleasing progress. fainting on I a s s ( 179 ) JItagk lantern. only a sketch, and outline with your fine brush and neutral black in the same manner as for Oriental, and paint them in with your transparent colors, the same as used in Oriental painting. If it is a landscape, make the distant mountains (if any) with a pale shade of blue and crimson lake ; at a later painting add a ( 181 ) 16 182 PAINTING ON GLASS. little yellow lake, and repeat with these three colors in different proportions until the effect required is produced. Paint the foliage with yellow lake and a little blue. For autumnal foliage, add a little burnt sienna ; stems of trees, Vandyke brown and burnt sienna ; flesh tints make with yellow lake, crimson lake, and burnt sienna, reduced very much with varnish. The coloring generally must be painted strong, as it is to be magnified very much when exhibited on the disk. Paint the clouds pale blue, and dab the paint, while wet, with a bit of cotton rolled into a light ball. This process, if done with care, has a very soft, fleecy effect. fronting on foraft ilass. made beautiful and artistic, such as lamp shades, glass doors, vases, and in fact any thing for which ground glass is used. The same transparent colors are used that have already been mentioned, mixed with varnish. Commence with making a very faint outline with a hard lead pencil, drawing out the ( 183 ) 184 PAINTING ON GROUND GLASS. design you wish to paint ; then proceed to® paint the flowers or birds in precisely the same way as laid down for Oriental painting. Be careful, in this style, not to have any of the outline visible. Landscapes can be done with . very good effect on ground glass by proceeding according to the method of bronze painting. All the difference is painting on ground glass instead of bronze ground. Wreaths of flowers around globe shades for gas or solar lamps look very well. ANY small signs are now done in the Oriental style. For this method, make a clear and correct outline of the letters, if you are not 3 familiar with printing or lettering ; then re- verse it. This can be best done by placing it against the window, and marking over all the letters clearly and distinctly on the wrong side. Now fit the glass on this side of your paper, and commence marking out the letters with black. (Supposing it to be for a black ground, your paint can in this case either be mixed with varnish, as in Oriental, or oil paints.) After they are all marked out, fill in the remaining part of the uncovered glass. When the black is sufficiently dry, you can fasten on the pearl, or the silver foil, in the ( 185 ) 16 * 186 SIGN PAINTING. same manner as for the Oriental. If it is desired to have the foil wrinkled, rub it between the hands to crumple it. Sometimes the letters are partially scum- bled ; that is, opaque color, reduced with megilp, and shaded on ; sometimes stained with the different trans- parent colors, the same as in painting the flowers in Ori- ental work ; then put on the foil. If other tints of grounding, more delicate than black, are desired, consult the tints we have given for Poti- chomania ; any of these will do, always observing that the letters must be outlined with the same tint. Signs in this style can likewise be done in the antique trans- fer method, with open letters. After the paper is re- moved, coat over with the grounding preferred, and apply the silver foil. Gilding for Signs. — Gilding for out- door work re- quires a stronger size than for other gilding ; the size for this is best made of drying oil, the old and fat being the best ; chrome yellow or white lead mixed with it, sufficient to color it and give it a little more body. We have a fine article at seventy-five cents per bottle. It will take from twelve to twenty-four hours to dry, according to the weather, before it is ready for the leaf gold. Antique Jamimq on ilass. inch larger all round than the picture, to allow for framing,) and make it perfectly clean ; apply with a stiff brush a very thin coat of Antique varnish,^ * The Antique Varnish is made only by us, and will have our name on each bottle. Any not so labeled is an imitation , and probably worthless. It can be had of us, or at any artists’ material store. ( 187 ) 188 ANTIQUE PAINTING ON GLASS. which will he thoroughly dry in six hours. Then apply another coat of the same, thin and very equal and smooth ; allow this to dry about one hour, until nearly dry, strongly adhering to the finger when touched, but not sticky. Then put on the engraving, (having damped it thoroughly with warm water, not too wet, absorbing the extra moisture with a cloth or blotting paper,) with the face to the varnish side of the glass ; press it gently until every part adheres to the surface ; rub carefully with the finger a part of the paper, being sure not to rub through the engraving. After it has dried twelve hours, wet again, and rub off all the paper, leaving only the engraving. When again dry, moisten carefully with fine bleached drying oil. It is then ready for painting. The colors will strike through very freely, as there is no paper left, and will not spot as the Gre- cian is liable to do. Do not use any turpentine in this style. The directions are the same as for Grecian painting, except more pains should be taken to shade and blend in the colors, to help the shading in the en- graving, particularly the flesh color with the hair. It will be found that fine transparencies may be made as * above. The glass, after it is prepared for painting, re- sembles ground glass. Papifr a c b r . ( 189 ) of painting, but combines oil, varnish, transfer, Oriental, bronze, gilding, raising, enamel, pearling, and others. We propose to treat each one under a separate head, so as to be better understood. Papier mache painting dates its origin from the Chi- nese method of bronzing and gilding on lacquered ware ( 191 ) 192 PAPIER MACHE. but has undergone so many changes and improvements, that in some branches bronze and gilding have little or nothing to do with it, and a complete change has taken place. Flower painting with varnish colors has been intro- duced with splendid effect ; birds, with a gorgeous array of brilliant plumage, contributing to make the style attrac- tive. An impetus was given to papier mache manufac- turers as a good remunerative trade ; the ornamental department had to keep pace with it ; superior artistic talent was called for, and in this splendid and superb work the artist had another avenue opened for his skill. A new style of bronze painting, with landscape designs, was introduced, and combination designs of land- scape, flowers, and birds soon found their way to the public eye. Papier mache, (when well made,) being a compact, unyielding body, capable of being wrought by skillful workmen into a variety of useful and ornamental articles, soon found its way into general favor, until it may be said that no boudoir or drawing room is fashionably furnished without papier mache holding a perspicuous situation, to reflect the taste of the pro- prietor. We do not intend to give a minute description of the PAPIER MACHE. 193 method of manufacture — it would be foreign to our purpose ; but as we are to write pretty fully concern- ing the ornamentation, we will give a theoretical glance at it. There are two ways of making it ; one, making it with sheets of paper ; the other, with pulp, as the name implies. To make the sheet, absorbent paper is employed, and the sheets pasted together with a paste * composed of flour and glue, upon moulds of the re- quired shape, then put into stoves, or hot rooms, as they are called, heated to about 200° Farenheit, or more; when dry, they are taken from the moulds and steeped in oil, and allowed to absorb as much as they will take, and put again into the hot room ; let them remain there until perfectly dry ; then the fabric is ready to be dressed , as the technical term is — in other words, it is worked by cabinet makers like wood, and wrought into the required shapes ; then coated with black varnish, or varnish paint, the color desired ; hardened again in a hot room of about 150° Fahrenheit, then rubbed smooth with pumice sand and polished with rottenstone. In the other way, the paper is reduced to a pulp with water ; the water strained from it when the paper is sufficiently soft, and paste and glue mixed with it; the pulp is then ready 17 194 PAPIER MACHE. to put into moulds, with great pressure, hardened, and finished off in various ways. The flower painting on papier mache is frequently called enamel painting. The style of painting when acquired can as readily he painted on prepared w'ood, iron, tin, paper, etc., as papier mache. The colors to be used are precisely the same as those enumerated for the Oriental , and are mixed in the same way. To com- mence a painting, make a correct outline of the picture on thin white paper, rub some of your white powder all over the back of it, and trace the design on your picture with the end of one of your pencil sticks cut to a sharp point ; when you have carefully traced in all the design, remove the paper, and you have your picture drawn out, transferred, as it were. Now, with your white mixed according to directions in another page, coat over all the flowers (retaining the shape) thinly with white, and by the time you have finished the last one the first will be dry enough for another coat. Each flower should have three coats of white to make it solid. The flowers that are intended for yellow should now be coated over once entirely with chrome yellow, and the scarlet flowers once over with the opaque scarlet ; the leaves must next be penciled in with opaque green made with chrome yellow, a little -white, and some Prussian blue ; go over the whole with a middle tint first ; then use more white and yel- low', and put on some lighter tints where you wish the lights to be. For stems and fine w r ork use the same colors. Transparent colors are next to be ready, and it is better in this stage of the painting to allow a day to intervene before proceeding further. Paint pink roses and geraniums with rose pink ; the darker shades with crimson lake ; dark red flowers with crimson lake ; for darker shades, use a little blue with the crimson lake. For blue flow r ers PAPIER MACHE. 195 use light blue in the light shades, and finish the darker parts by adding a little of the Prussian blue ; for delicate purple flowers use rose pink and a little light blue ; for stronger and darker pim- ples, use crimson lake and Prussian blue ; for yellow flowers, use a pale shade of burnt sienna ; for scarlet, use crimson lake in different degrees of strength ; for the darker shades it will be requisite to use the full strength of the crimson lake, and for still darker add the least touch of blue ; white flowers must be shaded delicately with neutral tint made of yellow lake, crimson lake, and blue, weakened very much with varnish ; or another neu- tral is made with Vandyke brown and light blue, likewise weak- ened very much with varnish. The shades of all the flowers must be repeated until finished to suit the eye. The green leaves come next. They are coated over partially with transparent green made with yellow lake and Prussian blue ; the shades are varied and repeated according to the tints required. If a yellowish green, the yellow lake must predominate ; if a cooler and bluer green, use a little more blue ; for autumnal leaves, or withered ones, use burnt sienna and a little crimson lake, and a little yellow lake if requi- site. Some few darker shades will be required on some parts of the leaves, especially those that are underneath the flowers. To obtain this, use a little Vandyke brown and Prussian blue. The leaves are now ready for the veins ; do these with Vandyke brown and a little crimson lake with it ; the stamens to the flowers are painted in with the same color ; the anthers do in with chrome yellow, and dot them with burnt sienna ; the green leaves are finished by touching the veins with a faint outline, here and there, with chrome yellow r against the veins already on. The flowers are all finished with this exception ; some of them, especially the pink ones, may w r ant a slight tinge of neutral (very pale) just against the edges, to soften them a little ; and a little white, 196 PAPIER MACHE. weakened with varnish, may be used to advantage just at the edges of flowers ; it materially helps to break any little abrupt- ness or harshness. The painting is now finished, and should remain a week or more to dry before varnishing. The two sized brushes used for this kind of painting are a crow quill with the hair about five eighths of an inch long, and a duck quill about half an inch long. To succeed well in Enamel painting , we would advise the pupil to practice with the brush and indian ink, the following figures. In making the first figure, you press the brush on your paper, draw it along a little gradually, decreasing the pressure until it terminates in a fine point; a few pages should be carefully made PAPIER MACHE. 197 of that one figure. The second is produced in the same manner, with one inclining to the right and one to the left ; make at least a page of these. The third figure is made of the same marks repeated, and brought close to each other. The fourth is the same. The fifth is the third and fourth combined, and is the way to form leaves. The sixth commences with the brush just touch- ing, then gradually pressing down a little, and tapering off again with light pressure. The seventh is the same but very small. These figures, when well practiced, greatly facilitate the free ma- 17 * 198 PAPIER MACHE. nipulation of all the first coating of Enamel painting. They can be practiced with India ink, or any common paints, as the object is simply to train the hand. The brush should be held nearly upright ; by so doing you have more command than when it is at an angle suitable for writing. A variety of forms will suggest themselves to the artist. Bronzing. O prepare paper board for bronz- sticky ; then apply the powder bronze with a dry, soft brush. To bronze metal plates, papier mache, and prepared wood boards : Have a smooth surface, coat it evenly, thoroughly, and thinly with gold size, using a flat camel’s hair brush, (be sure it is clean and free from dust,) and be careful to cover every part. Allow it to dry until it feels sticky ; then apply the bronzes with a soft and dry camel’s hair brush. When you have covered it with bronze, by warming the article, and applying more bronze while it is warm, the bronze can be made much more solid, as warm- ing brings back the sticky property of the gold size, and causes more bronze to adhere to it. ing: Coat it over with a strong solution of size made by dis- solving isinglass in hot water ; strain it, and coat over the paper with a flat camel’s hair brush while the size is warm. When it is dry, coat it over thinly and evenly with gold size ; let it remain until it feels PAPIER MACHE. 199 Bronze Painting. BOCEED to bronze according to the directions under the head of Bronzing, only you can introduce a variety of shades of bronze, if you wish. We invariably use three, if not more, viz., pale, blush, and white. Blend them together to suit your subject, and allow a couple of days to elapse before commencing to paint, so that it may dry. We will suppose it is a landscape, with moun- tains in the distance, water mid- distance, and foliage and building and figures in the foreground. Make a correct drawing of what you want, on thin white paper, rub some white on the back of it, fit it upon your picture, and mark over with the sharp end of a pencil stick, pressing on very lightly ; after all is drawn in, remove your sketch, and faintly mark over the lines with a lead pencil. If you are copying from an engraving, observe on what part of the building the light strikes, and select those parts for gold, coating them over with gold size, and putting on the leaf gold when suf- ficiently dry, (according to the directions already given.) If there are any parts of your figure (such as rich dresses) which you want rich color, do them at the same time with gold. The painting must now be wiped with a clean silk handkerchief, to remove all the bits of gold and dust ; and supposing that the thimble palette is ready, with all the colors mixed, according to the directions previously given, we first mix a pale tint of purple, made with Prussian blue and a little crimson lake, and pencil over the moun- 200 PAPIER MACHE. tains evenly, then go over the water with a very pale shade of blue. After coating the mountains and water once, it is better not to touch them again until they are dry. Now paint in the foliage, making the tints with yellow lake and Prussian blue ; if you want them bright, for the different shades add burnt sienna, or Yandyke brown, or both, as your tints require. Stems of trees are mostly done with Vandyke brown, and other tints added to suit the eye ; faces of figures do with white and a little sienna mixed together ; white drapery coat over with white, scarlet with scarlet, and yellow with chrome yellow ; all other parts of figures with white, except the parts you have already gilded. This will suffice for the first painting. The second shade upon the moun- tains is made with a neutral composed of the three primitive colors, viz., crimson lake, yellow lake, and Prussian blue. The tone that you desire must predominate 4 in making all your neutrals ; for instance, if you want a bluish neutral, the blue must predominate ; if you want a greenish, the yellow lake must predominate ; and if reddish neutral, let the crimson lake predominate. Having selected your shade, be sure to have it about the right strength before beginning, as it is difficult to avoid a patched appearance on the mountains with varnish color, especially on the second and third coating, unless you are quick in your movements. If the water requires more color, paint it in the darker places, then repeat the shades on the foliage where it is requisite. Your figures now claim some attention. Any part you want crimson, paint over gold with crimson lake, and you have a splendid color ; repeat it when a little dry, if you wish it darker, and for the shades add a little blue with your crimson lake. Blue dresses paint with a pale shade of Prussian blue on white or pale gold ; for the shades, paint in with a little stronger Prussian blue. (Please bear in mind, when you wish a pale shade of any of these PAPIER MACHE. 201 colors, especially mountains, to add varnish ; and when you want to thin it, use turpentine. We call attention to this, because it is rather difficult to manage varnish colors at first, owing to their drying up so rapidly ; but by a little practice you soon find out that if worked with proper consistency the process is not difficult.) Green dress, w r ith yellow lake and Prussian blue on pale gold or white; purple dresses, with crimson lake and a little Prussian blue on white or pale gold. Any part of the figure you do with scarlet, shade it with crimson lake ; yellows shade with burnt sienna, pale shade. Paces : paint the features in with Vandyke brown, and different tints with yellow lake, crimson lake, and sienna, paled down, and repeated to suit the eye. Parts of the mountains may require a third and fourth wash ; if so, attend to them with the neutrals named above. Sometimes we highten the effect of the near foliage by touching the edges with a little opaque color made of chrome yellow, white, and a little blue. It must be done very carefully, as opaque colors are powerful, compared with transparent ones. If what you do shows too abruptly, you have a remedy by putting on a little more of the transparent color. Parts of the figures may be hightened by a touch here and there of opaque color, and the faces are almost sure to want a little retouching with opaque. When your painting is all finished, a full week should intervene before varnishing ; and great care must be observed not to touch the bronze, as the hand or fingers inva- riably leave a stain, bronze being so delicate. Varnishing. — In varnishing papier mache paintings, care must be taken to have a clean brush, and your painting must be wiped with a silk handkerchief to free it from dust. Lay the painting flat, and with a one-inch flat camel’s hair brush coat over with copal varnish as evenly as possible, being careful to cover every part ; leave it flat down, as it is, for a couple of hours or more, 202 PAPIER MACHE. before removing, or the varnish is liable to run in streaks. Once varnishing is quite sufficient to preserve the painting ; but if you wish to polish it, another coat of varnish must be given, allowing a week between ; then after another week, it should be rubbed with pumice sand and water, in the following manner : — How to polish. — Get a piece of woolen, put it over some cotton, to make a rubber of it ; wet the rubber with water pretty thoroughly, dip it into some fine pumice sand, and rub it back- wards and forwards on your varnished picture carefully with a moderate pressure. After you have rubbed a short time, wipe the sand from a part of it, to see the progress. If not sufficiently smooth, rub a little more, care being taken not to rub through the varnish, or you will rub the paint. When it is pretty smooth, wash all the sand off, wipe it perfectly dry, and give it another coat of varnish, allowing the same time for it to dry ; then rub again as before with water and pumice sand. When smooth enough, wash off all the sand, and proceed to polish with very finely powdered rottenstone, and a rubber made of soft satin or silk. Saturate this with water, and rub with the rottenstone for a little time, until it shines ; then wash it all off. You can make it shine more by rubbing it with your hand, using a few touches of sweet oil and a little more rottenstone. How to prepa.he Wood. — When wood is used for painting any of the papier mache styles, it is better to choose the closest grain, and proceed to coat it over several times with paint (either oil paint or varnish paint), rubbing down with pumice sand and water after the third coat. The number of coats taken to prepare varies according to the texture of the wood, as it is necessary to coat it over until it is perfectly smooth and level. Proper time should be allowed between each coat of paint, so that it may dry hard. PAPIER MACHE. 208 Enamel painting looks very well painted on a bronze ground, and suits admirably for tables, chairs, and other furniture. Glass vases have a rich effect bronzed all over or partially ; perhaps an oval or a round, front and back ; and if you wish to paint upon it, proceed exactly in the same way as directed for enamel painting or bronze painting. Chinese Raising. — Trace the design in the same way as in the directions for tracing designs for enamel painting. The raising composition is made of two parts of white lead, one part of litharge, and one part of umber, and mixed with gold size and a little varnish, into a paste, and thinned with turpentine. Put on your raising, when mixed, with a small brush, being careful to float it on evenly. When you have raised all the parts you wish in your design, let it remain flat till the next day. Repeat the same until you get the parts raised as high as you wish. When all the raising is done, three or four days should be allowed for it to dry and harden, (a moderate heat of the fire will facilitate the drying ;) coat over the raised parts with gold size, and proceed with the gilding according to the directions for gilding. Two sorts of leaf gold are generally introduced — pale and dark — so the picture will require two separate sizings ; next, size with clear gold size all the ground and mountains, (supposing your subject to be a regular Chinese design,) and when dry enough, shade on some powdered bronze with a dry brush. Fine leaves and small trees can be introduced with opaque green made with chrome yellow and Prussian blue, and little flowers painted in with white and stained with red, blue, or yellow. The gold can be etched with black and shaded a little with neutral black. The bronze ground stain with transparent green and a little sienna ; afterward intro- duce a few gold spangles, (put them on with varnish ;) this makes the ground look sparkling, and adds greatly to the finish of it. 204 PAPIER MACHE. When quite finished, let it dry a week before varnishing : there is no occasion to varnish all over your picture, but only the part that is painted. Pearling. — Prepare the design, marking all the parts you wish to have pearl. Trace the design upon the article, — we will sup- pose it to be a small table, — same as tracing for enamel, before explained. Remove your drawing, and place on all your pearl. See how it looks. If satisfactory, get some spirit varnish and a small camel’s hair brush. Remove one piece of pearl at a time, put some of the varnish in the place with the small brush, and fit on the pearl, pressing it down so as to lie flat. Go through with all the pearl in the same way ; some of the large pieces may want a weight put on to keep them flat. Next day give it a coat all over with black varnish made with the spirit varnish and lampblack. Repeat the coat (a flat camel’s hair brush is best for varnishing) twice a day for the first three or four days. W 7 hen the pearl seems pretty nearly even with the black, scrape all the black off the pearl by means of a chisel or knife, being careful not to remove any of the black any where else by letting the knife or chisel slip. When all is scraped off, you can commence coating it over again. This time add a little Prussian blue with your black varnish : it makes a more brilliant black. (The proportions are, to one pint of spirit varnish add one and a half ounces of lampblack and half an ounce of Prussian blue.) Coat it three or four times over if it requires it ; then scrape off the black from the pearl again. If it seems pretty level, we will proceed with the next process ; (if not, coat again as before, and scrape.) Get some stout broadcloth, and make a good substantial rubber by stuffing in some soft cotton ; tie it round, so that you can handle it conveniently ; put some turpentine in a saucer with some pumice sand, and charge your rubber well with this, and rub away till you get a smooth surface all over. PAPIER MACHE. 205 When smooth enough, wash the sand all off with turpentine ; then rub it with rottenstone and water, using this time a rubber made of silk or satin ; this rids it of all sticky property that remains frpm the turpentine rubbing. Y ou have now got through the troublesome part of it ; getting rid of every thing in the shape of black varnish specs, you are ready for the next step. If you wish to have some leaf gold introduced, make your selection of what you will have, and prepare a little gold size by mixing in a little chrome yel- low, so as to enable you to see better what you are about. Coat over the leaves or stems, or both, with the gold size, and proceed with the gilding according to the directions for gilding. If any more flowers are in your group than what are pearl, it is requisite to coat them over with white, proceeding exactly in the same way as in the directions laid down under the head of Enamel Painting. The pearl flowers you shade with their respective colors, so as not to cover up too much pearl. For instance, if you want to shade a rose, do it with crimson lake on the shade side of the flower, leav- ing the pure pearl to answer for the lights. When your painting is all finished, you allow sufficient time for it to dry, and proceed with the varnishing precisely as in enamel work and bronzing. Gilding on Satin, Paper, Cloth, Light-colored, Unpre- pared Woods, etc. — Sometimes gilding is required upon only small parts of articles. In such cases use strong isinglass solution, made according to the directions written before — the purer the better. Take a small camel’s hair brush, and coat over with the isinglass size, while it is warm, the places you wish to gild. When dry, proceed with your gold size, same as the gold size gilding. The reason of applying the isinglass size is to satisfy the porous nature of the fabric, and make a delicate kind of crust as a founda- tion for the gold size. If you wish to paint flags and banners with oil paint, you must coat over the parts first with isinglass size. 18 206 PAPIER MACHE. Gilding. NY part you wish to have leaf gold it is requisite to cover evenly with gold size, (a little chrome yellow or white lead may be mixed in with the gold size merely to enable you to see the process,) and allow it to dry until it feels a little sticky; it can remain much longer than for bronzing, as leaf gold does not require so strong a sticky property as bronze. When suffi- ciently dry, put on the gold by means of the tip, as described in glass gilding ; or, if you are expert enough, put it on with your fingers from the gold book. Be careful to cover every part of the gold size with smooth leaf gold, and when all covered, press gently with a piece of soft chamois leather on all the gilded parts, and remove the superfluous gold. If these directions are strictly followed, you can not fail to have good smooth gilding ; but if the gold size is put on thick and uneven, and the leaf gold put on too soon, the gold will look rough and dark, and be very unsatisfactory to the eye when you get more experienced. Meatier Mark. ( 207 ) and can be used for a great variety of useful and ornamental purposes. We have adopted the following method with suc- cess : — Select a soft sheep skin rather thick ; cut from it flowers and leaves to suit your fancy. It is well to have pasteboard patterns free from blemishes and neatly cut, and with these it will be easy to cut from the leather. Due attention should be given to different 18 * ( 209 ) 210 LEATHER WORK. sizes and kinds. When you have a sufficient number cut from the leather, wet them in cold water, and squeeze them dry, and pull them into shape, and form the leaves and flowers to suit your taste ; while wet, put them into the oven to dry. Make a solution of vinegar and Venetian red, and dip them into it. When perfectly dry, dip them in thin black varnish ; if the varnish be too thick, dilute it with spirits of turpentine. When dry, they will have the color of rosewood. Take gum shellac, and the night before you wish to use it, pour on sufficient alcohol to dissolve it. Dip the flowers and leaves into this solution, taking care not to have it too thick. If not stiff enough, dip them a second time. Put them on a board to dry in the sun , as the drying by a fire will have a tendency to make them sticky. Paint your frame, or whatever is to be covered, with Venetian red and vinegar, and when dry, rub it smooth. Varnish with thin black varnish, and when dry, nail on the leaves and flowers with small tacks, and paint with a solution of shellac dissolved in al- cohol ; finally, varnish with the best copal varnish. Again, for general purposes, basil leather is good. Select that of an even texture and light color. The skiver leather is used for grapes, small leaves, and delicate work. (The artist will find that the sheep skin, easily to be had, will answer all purposes, by using discretion in selecting the thick, soft, or thin portions, as the work may require.) Place a piece of the basil leather in water for a moment ; press it in a linen cloth until the surface dries. While damp, cut out your leaf with scissors or a leather-cutting knife. Pasteboard patterns can easily be made from natural leaves. By laying these patterns upon the leather, the leaves can be readily cut. Vein with a pointed instrument, by marking on the smooth side LEATHER WORK. 211 of the leather ; then bend and mold your leaves as you wish them to appear when the work is completed. Dry them quickly to harden them. When thoroughly dry, brush all over with prepared stiffening, which is sold in convenient sized bottles. After this process, brush the leaves all over with black varnish ; two thin coats are sufficient. For stems, take strips of basil leather, wet and roll with the hand upon the table, or over a wire. For tendrils, wind the leather, while wet, around a small round stick or tool, fastening the ends ; dry quickly by the fire ; remove from the stick, and apply a coat of stiffening ; the finish is the same as for leaves. Grapes are very handsome in this work. They are made by tying bits of cotton or wadding, peas, marbles, etc., into the leather with strong thread, then putting a piece of wire through the part which has been tied up for the stalk. Stain and make into clusters, taking care to conceal the part tied. All fruits and flowers are stained, etc., precisely in the same manner as leaves. The Frame. — Have a frame made of well-seasoned wood, w r ith the outer edge thinner than the inner, though this is a matter of taste. Size it all over. Let it dry for an hour or so. Then apply a coating of oak varnish stain ; when dry, it will be ready for use. Com- mence by attaching the stem with small tacks. Suppose you have a vine ; cover the wood with the foli- age as naturally as possible. Fasten with strong glue, where necessary. A narrow gold beading gives a fin- ished appearance to a frame. 212 LEATHER WORK. It is impossible in our limited space to particularize the various articles for which leather work is adapted ; but every individual of fertile imagination and ingenuity will readily perceive the uses to which this art can be applied. We give a pretty design for a watchstand. In making flowers, cut in one piece wherever you can ; the white lily, for instance, where the petals may be squeezed up and glued to keep them in place. It is always preferable to have a natural flower to look at. A little ingenuity will enable the LEATHER WORK. 213 learner to cut the leather to ad- vantage, and the fewer the pieces used, the simpler the work will be. The bud of the white lily is made by folding the whole corolla close together. A convolvulus may be made by folding and stretching the leather, while wet, over the tool used to make the wax convolvulus. It is very pretty, and not difficult to make. Roses , camellias , etc., can all be made handsomely by a little care and ingenuity. Do not forget our favorite the hop vine. To make it, wind a piece of leather around the end of a wire ; fasten well. Mold the requisite number of petals in a convex form, and glue separately around this center. v*ypf The Fuschia. — The calyx forms the external part of this flower, and is made with one piece of leather cut as in the figure. The petals within this are four, and are cut out, the four in one piece, in the form of the dotted line. They must be molded into shape, and glued to the stamina inside the calyx, so as to alternate with its petals. This flower has nine stamina, and they are cut in one piece of leather. To put the fuschia together : Cut the nine stamina, and attach to them the wire, to form the stalk ; then 214 LEATHER WORK. roll the four petals firmly over the stamina ; they must be molded and glued round the stamina and stalk, then take the calyx and roll round the whole ; the leaves must be ex- panded and molded as in the diagram, taking care that the stamina are left out, as in the nat- ural flower, and that the inner petals alternate with the leaves of the calyx ; to make the buds, roll up the calyx, and turn the ends in, not in- serting any stamina. The Passion Flower is composed, in leather, of five pieces. Then cut out the corolla of five petals with the rounded ends; cut also a circular piece for the nectary, which must be cut all round with the knife to form the radii, the center having many small cuts radiating from the central point ; when turned upward, in putting it in its place, it forms the fringe-like appearance around the pistil seen in the flowers. The passion flower has five stamina, with ladle-shaped ends, or anthers, and three stigmas a little elevated above, and turning over LEATHER WORK. 215 the stamina ; the anthers and stigmas are made of one piece of leather. The involucrum is formed also of one piece, and the three leaves are laid one over the other, as in the annexed flower. To put together the various parts above described and form the passion flower, begin by doubling a piece of wire over the angles of the stamina, twisting it underneath; roll a piece of skive v leather round the wire to form the style of the pistil and the stem of the whole flower ; then turn up the three stigmas and roll a small piece of leather round them close to the stamina, and turn them over ; this being done, place the nectary on the stem, taking care that the cut portion :n the center be arranged upward around the pistil. The petals are next placed on the stem, followed by the calyx ; the leaves of the calyx must alternate with the petals ; liquid glue must be inserted between each portion of the flower to give it firm- ness. The involucrum, which is a sort of calyx, is put on the stem last, a little way below the true calyx ; we may just add, that all the leaves, petals, etc., with the exception of the involucrum, must have the smooth side of the leather uppermost ; the petals and calyx must be hollowed out with the modelling tool for that purpose, or if that is not at hand, use the handle of the veining tool, and laying the petals and also the calyx on a smooth surface, 216 LEATHER WORK. LEATHER WORK. 217 rub them with the ivory end of the veining tool till they become hollow and smooth, as in the natural flower. The above is the way, as plainly as we can possibly describe it, to make a passion flower. We have repeatedly made the flower exactly upon the above plan, and it has always been much admired. Camellias vary in 'the form of leaves, and the petals vary in number. To make a camellia, cut out two pieces, as in the annexed diagram, containing four petals in each ; then cut out one or two larger pieces, with six petals ki each, and one or more still larger, with seven or eight petals ; then, having a natural camellia at hand, mould them all into form, fasten all the pieces of leather together, the smallest at the top, and the largest at the bottom, so that the petals alternate, with liquid glue, and put a piece of wire through the whole for the stalk ; cover it with skiver leather. To make the Jessamine , copy the corolla from the annexed design, by cutting a star-like piece of basil, into which insert the wire for the stalk as closely as possible. As the stamina are not visible in this flower, it is need- less to make them. The tube upon which the corolla rests can be made by rolling a piece of leather round the wire thickest at the flower, and then add another piece of leather about an inch below the corolla, which must have five fine- pointed leaves for the calyx. The Daisy is formed by making two pieces of leather like the pattern, one larger than the other, and putting 19 218 LEATHER WORK. the wire, for stalk, through both of them. The lit- tle golden center of the daisy can be well imitated by placing a round piece of leather, rather thick, in the center, shaved off at the e'dges, and marked with the veining tool full of dots. A Wild Rose is made by cutting out two pieces of leather, exactly as in the engraving, putting the wire through two holes made in the center of the pieces with a fine brad-awl, and pa,ss a piece of wire through the holes, leaving both ends of the wire at the back to be twisted for the stalk. To form the stamina, cut fine strips of leather as long again as the stamina are required to be, and insert them under the eye of the wire which forms the stalk ; then cut the stamina, and pinch them up into form. The top piece, containing five petals, must be molded and curved upward, in- losing the stamina ; the bottom piece also, containing five petals, must be molded downward, curving and bending them into form. To make a larger rose, cut out a smaller piece than is showm in the engraving, of the same form, also the two in the engraving, and a larger piece of the same form, making four pieces, containing twenty petals ; then proceed as before mentioned, and a fuller rose is produced ; thus the character of the flower and the number of petals can be regulated with comparative ease. The rose leaves can be molded at the back by pressing them into the grape mold with one of the pressing tools. Oak and Ivy Bracket. — The bracket annexed is of an unu- LEATHER WORK. 219 sually pretty pattern, and we give two diagrams. The vine and the convolvulus pattern are much used, with very beautiful effect. We intended this design to exhibit old oak. It should be stained very dark, the oak stems being very thick, while the stems of ivy can be formed of tendrils. To make the oak stem, get very thick wire, and have it cut to the desired lengths ; then cover the wires with leather, and bend them to resemble gnarled oak; attach, as naturally as possible, oak leaves and acorns at the back of the wires, and on the wood work, as shown in the skeleton bracket in a former part of this work ; then attach the ivy tendrils, leaves, and berries around the oak stems, and the bracket is completed. 220 LEATHER WORK. It improves the appearance of any piece of ornamental work, to give the whole when completed a slight coat of varnish. Card Racks can be made in a variety of ways. The design here exhibited is novel, and at the same time very useful. The back is made either with wood or calf-skin leather ; and the leaves forming the rack are also made of the same material. Calf- skin dries very hard, being treated exactly the same as the basil leather m the manner of working. The Round Open-work Frame. — The beautiful design on the opposite page is made wi.h a round frame of any width desired, having two rebates, one inside and one outside the frame — the inside rebate being to admit the picture, and the outside one to allow of the nailing firmly to the frame the open-work, which is to be made in the following manner : Take a flat board, — an ironing board will do, — lay the frame upon it, and with a black lead pencil or a piece of chalk, mark the size all round, making allowance for the rebate ; then having ready the stems, work them in and out, so as to form the open-work as in the drawing ; when finished, nail it to the frame, and work stems and tendrils of the vine, hop, passion flower, or any other beautiful creepmg plant, attaching the fruit or flowers in an artistic manner, and the result will be one of the most elegant frames ever beheld. The open or trellis- work of this frame should have stout wire inclosed in the basil leather, and in order that it may not appear formal, wind pieces of leather round the naked wire at irregular intervals, to resemble knots, etc. ; then cover the whole -with basil LEATHER WORK. 221 leather. The stem and tendrils, which are to wind in and ont, and are a portion of the plant, are not to have wire in them. Fire Screens are generally filled with Berlin wool, or some? other fancy needlework. Those who would prefer to have an entire piece of leather w ork, can paint landscapes or flowers upon white leather, using the same medium as is used in body color painting, mixed with finely-powdered colors. 19 * 222 LEATHER WORK. A little ingenuity will enable any one to make very pretty and useful Baskets. One like the following, ornamented with rose sprays outside, can be lined inside with velvet, and little pockets being made in the velvet lining, they be- come a very useful article. The outside is stained in imitation of oak. The Running Border here given can be adapted to ornamenting cornices, poles, frames, etc. It is very easy of imitation, and will well repay the artist. We close this article with a beautiful design for a Table. It is made in four pieces, so that one part can be done at a time, and when completed, can be removed until the whole is completed, when it can be put firmly together, and forms a solid example of the use and beauty of the orna- mental leather work. In making Acorns , procure some natural acorn cups, — choose such cups only as are perfectly sound, — then pierce two holes through the bottom of the cup, pass a piece of fine wire through the holes, leaving the two ends long enough to be twisted into a stalk. If the stalk is to be exposed, it must be covered and made fast with liquid glue. The most correctly formed acorn tops are those turned in wood, -which can be firmly placed in the cup by the aid of the liquid glue. This completes the fully-formed acorn. A slight variation of this method is suitable for cherries and grapes. The Size for Stiffening. — Simmer four ounces of strips of parch- ment in eight ounces of water till it is reduced one half ; skim off any impurities that may arise to the surface, then strain through a LEATHER WORK. 223 fine sieve, or cloth, into a basin ; leave it till cold, when it will be firm and clear. When required for use, cut off as much as you want, and warm it. Use while warm. A thin glue size of a light color will answer when the above materials are not handy. In this, as in all other kinds of fancy work, every thing depends upon the neatness of the work. You must not only arrange taste- 224 LEATHER WORK. fully, but you must secure every leaf, tendril, and flower firmly ; and, above all things, do not crowd together such a mass of work as to displease the eye and offend good taste. A very pretty effect is produced by gilding and bronzing the leather. Go over the surface of your leaf or petal with a camel’s hair pencil dipped in gold size, and when so dry that it will stick to the finger lay on your gold leaf or gold bronze as in directions for bronze painting, on another page. In painting leather work, use finely- powdered colors, mixing them to the consistency of cream, by using the white of an egg with two ounces of distilled vinegar. Keep this in a bottle, and shake it well whenever you wish to mix colors with it. Colors can be also mixed with warm parchment size, or with a weak solution of gum arabic. In all of these methods apply a coat of quick drying pale varnish. Oil colors are not suited to this kind of material. Caniunng. ( 225 ) t over the whole interior with arsenic, (a deadly poison ;) put wires from the head to the legs to preserve the natural form, and stuff immediately with tow, wool, or the like. If allowed to dry after apply- ing the arsenic, the skin becomes too stiff to handle. Another, and, as we think, a better way for very small ( 227 ) 228 TAXIDERMY. birds, is, “ after taking out the entrails, to open a pas- sage to the brain, which must be scooped out through the mouth; introduce into the cavities of the ♦skull and the whole body a mixture of salt, pepper, and alum, put- ting some through the gullet and whole length of the neck ; then hang the bird in a cool, airy place — - first by the feet, that the body may be impregnated by the salt, and afterward by a thread through the under man- dible of the .bill, till it appears to be sweet ; then hang in the sun, or near a fire. After it is well dry, clear out what remains of the mixture, and fill up the cavity of the body with wool, oakum, or any soft substance.” ANGLO-JAPANESE WORK, 229 ANGLO-JAPANESE WORK. ib “ This is an elegant and easy domestic art. Take yellow withered leaves, dissolve gum, get mixed black paint and some copal varnish, etc. Any articles may be ornamented with these simple materials — an old work- box, tea-caddy, fire screen, flower pots, etc. Select per- fect leaves, dry and press them between the leaves of books, rub the surface of the article to be ornamented with fine sand paper, then give it a coat of fine black paint, which should be procured mixed at a color shop. -When dry, rub smooth with pumice stoue ; then apply two other coats. Dry ; arrange leaves in any manner and variety, according to taste. Gum the leaves on the under side, and press them upon their places. Then dissolve some isinglass in hot water, and brush it over the work while the solution is warm ; when dry, give three coats of copal varnish, allowing ample time for each coat to dry. Articles thus ornamented last for years, and are very pleasing.” 20 280 TRANSFER ON WOOD. TRANSFER ON WOOD. Dissolve salt in soft water ; float your engraving on the surface, picture side up ; let it remain about one hour. Your screen, box, or table should be of bird’s- eye maple, or other light-colored hard wood ; varnish with best copal or transfer varnish. Take the picture from the water, dry a little between linen rags ; then put the engraving, picture side down, on the varnished wood, and smooth it nicely. If the picture entirely covers the wood after the margin is cut off, so that no varnish be exposed, lay over it a thin board and heavy weight ; leave it thus in press over night. If you wish but a small picture in the center of your wood, apply the varnish only to a space the size of your picture. Dip your fore finger in salt and water, and commence rubbing off the paper ; the nearer you come to the engraving, the more careful you must be, as a hole would spoil your work. Rub slowly and patiently, till you have taken off every bit of the paper, and left only the black lines and touches of your picture on the wood, in an inverted direction. Finish up with two or three coats of copal varnish. HE tools requisite in this delightful branch of ornamental work, are as follows, and as the learner advances “n knowledge and experience, he will easily originate other forms and models from which to make particular designs : — A “ dipper,” or “ plunger,” (for sheeting the wax,) made of lignumvitae, or some very close-grained, hard wood, as smooth as glass, from four to six inches in ( 233 ) 20 * 234 WAX WORK. diameter across the face, (which should he slightly convex.) Melding sticks of this form, and of two or more sizes. One of this, for convol- vulus. One of this, for lily of If you wish to make other varieties of bell flowers, get the sticks turned by some skillful workman, from natural flowers ; they should be very hard, and as smooth as possible. The brushes used in painting the smooth surface of flowers are the round, stiff, bristle brushes, called scrubs , or theorem brushes. For fine lines, spots, etc., take fine camel’s hair pencils. Wire of three different sizes, annealed. WAX WORK. 235 To prepare Wax for Flowers. — Take the very best quality of white wax, and melt it slowly in an earthen vessel or porcelain porringer ; when melted, stir into it one table- spoonful of fir balsam to every cup of melted wax. Have at hand a basin of warm soap suds, fine towels or rags, and your dipper. When the wax is melted, wet your dipper in the suds, rub soap all over it, rinse it in the basin, shake off the water, dip with a quick motion into the hot wax, so as barely to skim the surface, bending the dipper over, so as to exclude the air ; raise your dipper from the wax, and plunge it into the basin of suds. A sheet of thin, semi-transparent, flexible wax will be found therein of the right consistency for roses, azalias, and all flowers of similar tex- ture. Continue dipping off sheets until you wish to change the quality of the wax ; be careful that the wax be neither bubbling hot nor cool. Japonicas, orange blossoms, and all thick, opaque petals require a different white. To make this, we put into the wax, when hot, a small bag of flake or German white ; never more than one third of a tea-spoonful, and dip as before, only regulating the thickness of the wax by heat. When you have dipped off as many sheets as you require, pour the rest into a well-soaped cup to form a lump for pinks. Next to the white, prepare yellow wax in the same way as the white, only using yellow-powdered chrome. After you have made the yellow, put together all the bits and edges of wax which you have pulled from the sheets, add green powdered paint, and dip off various shades of green, from very light to very dark. Other colors, as red and blue, may be prepared in the same way ; but we prefer painting the white and yellow wax to obtain more brilliancy of tone. 236 WAX WORK. The melted wax, as for japonicas, is used for bell-flowers. Soap the stick very thoroughly, wash off the particles of soap, plunge your stick into the hot wax, then into the suds. In taking the stick from the wax, let the wax drip from the end rather than the side. We think it best to plunge the stick quickly and raise it perpendicularly ; in this way, if there be a little extra thickness, it will come in the right place. The utmost care must be taken with the lily of the valley ; be not discouraged if you dip two or three times before getting a per- fect bell. The wax must be hot, without simmer or bubble. Green leaves made by dipping the natural leaf into the hot green wax, then putting the two wax sides together, with a wire be- tween, are more natural than when cut and veined ; but they tax the patience, and require more time. Another Method of 'preparing Wax. — Melt the wax in a vessel of hot water ; the wax will rise to the top. Put in fir balsam, sweet oil, and spirits of turpentine, in the proportion of 1, 2, 3, that is, one part turpentine, two oil, and three balsam, — six tea- spoonfuls to a pint of wax in warm weather, and one third more in cold weather. Immerse a junk bottle into the wax ; it will form around it. Cut down the wax on the bottle, and you will thus have a strip instead of a round sheet of wax. We prefer the former to the latter method of preparing the wax, though we use both. To make Patterns for Flowers - — Dissect natural flowers, and cut paper patterns from their petals, writing on them the num- ber of 6ach size and the number of sizes, likewise the color desired. Flower Making. — Where a flower requires fine work o r t minute penciling, the sable brushes are to be used for WAX WORK. 237 this purpose, and they will be found essentially neces- sary in the imitation of geraniums, carnations, heart’s- ease, or flowers of similar character. Before you commence cutting, take care to render your scissors loose in the rivet. Dip them constantly in the cup of water at your side, to prevent their adhesion to the wax ; should they, in spite of this, become clogged, place them in your mouth for a few seconds, and the heat will clear the edges so that you can wipe them easily. You will perceive that the wax has a dull side and a glossy one — a right and a wrong. It is better to lay the paper pattern upon the dull side, so that, in cutting out, you secure a sharp and clear edge. Be cautious that you place the pattern in such a position as to cut with the grain of the wax. Be sure to cut the same number of petals as you found in the natural flower, or the harmony of proportion desirable in your flower will be lost. Spread half a sheet of tissue paper over the table upon which you intend to work, so as to prevent the slightest dust or impurity of any kind from injuring your wax, to which every particle of dust will adhere. As we have remarked in speaking of painting the 238 WAX WORK. fruit, the stiff brushes are held perfectly upright, and the color applied rapidly. Damask roses, fuschias, camellias, etc., may be painted with crimson powder mixed with water on the palette. (See list of colors.) A bright scarlet for poppies, scarlet dahlies, etc., is obtained by painting the same crimson on yellow wax. The same on a light lemon-colored wax gives another beautiful shade. Various shades of rose tints can he gained by carmine more or less deep. Sometimes we paint with dry powder. If the wax he slightly warm, the powder will adhere, and a soft, velvety surface he pro- duced, such as can not be made by the use of the water color alone. In making a bouquet, you need the various colors and surfaces, if you will he true to nature. Be very careful to avoid painting that portion of each petal which is to be joined to the foundation of the flower, as any moisture or color prevents a secure adhesion. To make a Pink Rose. — Lay the cut paper pattern on the wrong side of the wax, cut with the small, sharp scissors, fre- quently dipping them in warm water, or putting them in your mouth. Paint very lightly with carmine, leaving the lower part of the petal white. Lay a petal on the palm of your hand, right side down ; press the head of the wooden pin, first on the right, then on WAX WORK. 239 the left side, endeavoring not to press the middle. This will give a graceful curl to the petal, as you will observe by the natural one. Half-blown roses and buds need to be curled more than full- k blown ones. Your petals painted and arranged in order, proceed to make the stamens. This is done by binding a strip of yellow wax, one eighth of an inch in width, on a strip of white wax, nearly one inch in width, and cutting through the yellow half way down into the white, so as to make a fringe. The finer you cut it, the better ; or you can cut the unbound white wax ; then dip the cut ends into a solution of gum nrabic, and afterward into powdered yellow ; this will give a pollen. The calyx is cut from a suitable shade of green, and from a pat- tern taken from the calyx of a natural rose. For the leaves take two shades of green — one for the upper, the other for the under side of the leaf ; put them together, and cut your green leaf through the double wax ; insert a wire between the two parts of the leaf to form the fibre and pedicle of the same ; then press the two sides firmly together, and serrate the edges with your sharp scissors. The leaf has a neater finish if the wire be covered with wax before inserting. Take a very narrow strip of wax, lay it perpendicularly against the wire ; then twist the wire round and round between the thumb and finger, until it is entirely covered with a smooth surface of green. Observe how symmetrically Nature has arranged her rose leaves, and try to imitate — one large one for the top of the stalk, two a little smaller placed just below, and a third pair still farther down. Fine wire doubled is better than coarse, stiff wire. Take of such a piece the desired length ; turn the end over two or three times, to prevent the flower slipping off while you are putting it together. 240 WAX WORK. Cover the end thus bent with green wax, pinching up a bit in the center for a pistil ; wind around this the strip of fringed wax, and compare with the natural flower. Now set around the petals, commencing with the smallest size ; press the lower part of each petal on the lump which is around the wire. Take the other sizes one after the other, pressing them in the same manner, and so on till all are used. Work down the lower parts of the petals with the small end of the molding stick. Set the calyx around neatly, and cover the stalk. You will have a rose natural and beautiful in proportion to the neatness of your work and the accuracy with which you have imitated your pattern, a natural one. Persons often smell of our roses, then, with a look of astonish- ment, exclaim, “ Why, what kind of a rose is it! ” Nature alone can give the perfume. Camellia . — After modeling a rose, any person can make a japonica by having one to look at. In case our reader has none, we give these directions. Cut six petals from each of the heart-shaped patterns from which you cut your rose, only a trifle longer. Make a ball of wax on the end of the wire, turned as before to prevent the flower slipping off, and bend over it eight or ten of the smallest petals ; then place three rows of the succeeding sizes of petals turned inw’ard around the ball in the center, and the other rows turn outward. The calyx is of light green, round at the top ; the leaves are large, brilliant, dark- green color. Colored japonicas vary only in color. Crimson painted on yel- low gives a fine color, and carmine on white makes a beautiful japonica. Convolvulus. — Convolvuli are dipped on a stick made for that purpose from the natural flower. Paint the veins with a fine WAX WORK. 241 brush. Put a bit of wax on the end of a fine wire, and cut to imitate stamens ; pierce the wire through the tube of the dower, twist with green wax, and finish off with tendrils and leaves i Tendrils are made by covering a small wire with wax, and twisting it around a molding stick, commencing at the point, and turning it round and round from the center of the stick to the point, to form a spiral cone. A few small green leaves make a pretty finish. Lily of the Valley . — “ Consider the lilies, how they grow ; they toil not, they spin not, and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Cut the edge of the little white bells into scallops, turn them back a little, put a bit of yellow wax on the end of a bent wire, dip it in gum arabic, then in yellow powder for pollen ; draw the wire through the center of the flower, and twist for a stalk with very delicate light green. The leaves are too large and stiff to be pretty in wax. Violets should be painted with a soft brush ; they require much time and care. Orange Blossoms must be made from thick wax ; the stamens cut longer than for a rose. The beautiful white buds and various green leaves can hardly be equaled by any other flower made in wax. They are pretty wedding presents for the hair. Dahlia. — Cut the petals from the natural flower ; roll each petal with the head of the molding stick from the top to the bot- tom ; draw a perpendicular line with the point of the stick through the center of the leaf, and curved lines on each side, like the longi- tudinal lines on a globe ; turn the top of the three largest sizes back a little. As this flower is very broad at the base, pass your wire doubled twice through a large button mold, twist it firmly underneath, and cover it with yellow or very pale green wax ; roll up a small bit of yellow wax, and mold it to the center of the button ; press closely 21 242 WAX WORK. around this the lower end of a cut fringe of yellow wax dipped in gum arabic and powdered for pollen ; around these stamens mold the twenty-five or thirty small petals. Care must be taken to keep them pressed very closely together, and as the surface of the button becomes filled, wind around its edges strips of yellow wax ; con- tinue to set the petals around in the order of their sizes, keeping a broad surface. The calyces help to support the flower. Below the two rows of flat calyces, place five nipped at the ends and turned back- ward. This flower is rather difficult to put together, but amply repays the labor by its naturalness and beauty. Pinks. — The petals may be cut and pointed with sharp scissors, then painted with a soft brush, or with the dry powder, as hereto- fore directed, according to the color desired. Another and Better Method. — Paint all over the lump of wax which you have run in the cup for that purpose ; then scrape from it with a sharp penknife. If you hold the knife between the thumb and fore finger of the right hand, and begin to scrape at the center of the knife, leaving off at the point, you will get a beauti- fully variegated pointed petal, smooth on one side, and slightly quilled on the other. We draw a bit of quill feather over the knife for the two stamens, and arrange the petals around in order, beginning with the smallest. Pinish off with a pointed calyx ; imitate the natural one. Hyacinths can be made single or double, of various shades and colors. Do not paint the lower part of the petals. Roll them from the top to the bottom, draw a line through the middle, press it on the under side to make a strong indenture, put the lower part under the thumb, and turn the top over the fore finger — easy to make. WAX WORK. 243 We have now spoken of the various methods which we employ in making flowers, and will only add, that in our study to imitate natural flowers, we use what- ever suits our purpose best ; for some stamens, as those of the dahlia, we dry the center of a natural dahlia, and use it instead of the cut stamen. Sometimes we dip sewing cotton into hot wax, drawing it through the fingers ; this is good where the filaments are long. Again, ma- nilla grass is used, as it is stiff as well as delicate. If we wish to represent a petal having one color on one side, and one on the other, as the white lily, which is green and white, we put a piece of thin white mus- lin between green and white wax, and cut the petal through the two ; this interlining gives a clear green on one side, and a clear white on the other ; the same may be done with other colors, as the huff and pink for honeysuckles. White Passion Flowers . — To form the three purple anthers to be seen on the top of the pistil, roll white wax round fine wires of about three quarters of an inch in length, till the proper size and length are obtained, remembering to make them thicker as you approach the top, which in itself is nearly globular. Color these anthers with the darkest shade of purple, and twist the ends of the three wires together. 244 WAX WORK, In order to form the pistil, place, one over the other, a sufficient quantity of light green, light yellow, and white wax, the latter be- ing intended for the outside ; roll these together round second sized wire into the desired shape, the top being thicker than the base, which terminates in a globe of lemon- colored wax, representing the ovary or seed cup. The three purple anthers are placed on the crown of the pistil, so that their tops are equidistant from each other, forming a triangle, the sides of which are about an inch in length. Five ladle-shaped stamens are next formed from the same union of wax as used in the pistil, properly cut by the pattern, curled and united to the stem of the pistil, having been previously colored round the edges with yellow. Cut a piece of white wax into a fine fringe about half an inch deep and two inches long ; color the fringe with a rich deep pur- ple, and roll it round the ovary, turning the purple portions over the globe, and touching the pistil. Double a piece of white wax the same length as before, and snip the edge with the point of the scissors about the twentieth part of an inch ; this short fringe, being colored purple upon its edge, is rolled close to the base of the preceding piece. The rays are formed from a double piece of white wax, and cut in fine shreds to pattern ; roll each between your finger and thumb, as for a stem, and when all are rolled, place them upright, and close to each other, upon a strip of white wax about two and a half inches long and half an inch deep, taking care that the rays are so placed that their points extend about three quarters of an inch above the strip. We now proceed to color the points with blue, leaving the centers white, and tinting the base with purple. WAX WORK. 245 This done, bend the points backward, and arrange the rays round the portions already attached to the seed cup. Place one sheet of lemon-colored wax between two of white, and from this cut the petals. Color them on either side with light green ; curl upon the uncolored side — first with the head of the stick round the edges, and then once down the center. The calyx is cut from light green wax, and curled upon the glossy side. After placing the petals so as to form a double star, proceed to roll green wax round the stem formed of wire. The passion flower is a native of Brazil, where it at- tains a luxuriance of growth unknown to our temperate regions. The legend connected with it has given it an interest almost sacred, even when viewed by other eyes than those of superstitious devotees. It is said that certain Jews, bewailing in Jerusalem the death of Christ, saw for the first time this flower, by some said to have sprung wherever drops of his blood had fallen, and, with the scene of his wondrous passion and death still fresh in their memory, gave to this beautiful blossom a symbolic meaning, indicative of his sufferings and the manner of his death. The anthers are supposed to represent the three nails used at the crucifixion. The rays represent the glory of our Lord. The purple 21 * 246 WAX WORK. fringe, sometimes found with red spots upon it, is a type of the crown of thorns. The petals, ten in number, are the representatives of those apostles who were faithful to their heavenly Master. The three sepals forming the calyx are emblematic of the Trinity. This poetical conception has caused the passion flower to be held in esteem almost amounting to veneration in Catholic countries ; and the blossom is found en- twined in many cases with emblazoned inscriptions, and borders of old manuscripts of the sacred writings. Who does not love the passion flower ? And who, among God’s children, does not recognize his glory in every flower that grows ? The anemone, the buttercup, the daisy, the violet, all lead our thoughts to him, and we are forced to cry out, “ How wondrous are thy works, O God ! ” Wax Fktjit. — Some people use the poorer kinds of wax for fruit, thinking to economize ; but our experience has taught us that the best is the cheapest, and there- fore we get the best the market affords. We melt the wax in small earthen or stone pitchers, putting a white WAX WORK. 247 muslin bag of paint, say one third of a tea-spoonful, into the hot wax. For lemons, yellow apples, peaches, etc., we use yellow or lemon powdered chrome ; for oranges, orange chrome ; for green apples, cucumbers, green pears, etc., green chrome, varying the shades according to what we desire to make. The wax should never be heated to boiling, neither should it be made thick with the powdered paint. If a sufficiently dark color can not be obtained by the use of the little muslin bag, then add oil paint of the de- sired shade, from the tubes. We furnish Winsor and Newton’s colors, — the best in use. For a rich plum, for example, we color the wax with drop red powdered, and add rich dark blue, or purple, from the tube. Oil the inside of the mold by gently patting it with a bit of cotton batting dipped in lamp oil and tallow, as before mentioned. Place the mold so that you can see how to bring the locks together in an instant. Hold one half the mold firmly in your left hand; with the right hand pour into it the melted wax from the pitch- er ; shut the empty half over it as quickly as possible, and holding the mold with both your hands, press the 248 WAX WORK. two sides together, turn round and round and shake in every direction, until you can no longer hear the mo- tion of the wax ; then set the mold aside to cool. While you are waiting for that piece of fruit to cool, mold others in the same way. If one person is to work alone, and wait upon him- self, we advise him to make fruit of but one color, say yellow, as in peaches, yellow apples, lemons, yellow pears, crab apples, until he has acquired some skill, and is able to move quickly and manage many things. Before pour- ing the heated wax into the mold, try it by placing a thin bit on the surface of the melted wax ; if it melts immediately it is too hot, and will spoil the mold ; if it floats on the surface, slowly melting at the edges, it is all right. To have the fruit look well, the wax must, be neither too hot nor too cold. In from ten to fifteen minutes the mold will feel cool to your hand, when you can open it and take out the fruit ; scrape away, in a slanting direction, the seam where the two parts of the mold united ; after which, rub it with a soft rag dipped in turpentine. The fruit being nicely clean, smooth, and without cracks, proceed to paint it with a bristle brush, of which WAX WORK. 249 you must have half a dozen, as you must always use the same brush for the same color. Take, with a small palette knife or spatula, out of the bottle, a minute portion of the color required ; if you have a peach, for instance, take carmine, dip the end of the brush stick into water, letting the end of the globule fall upon the palette near the powder, and mix well to- gether, until the tint be of the consistency of cream, and perfectly smooth. We must caution against dipping the body of the brush, or bristles, into water. The brushes used are held upright, and the color applied rapidly. If possible, have a natural peach, and try to imitate it in color. For the down of the peach, put some dry flour on the palms of your hands, roll the peach between your hands until every part be covered with the flour ; after which, the peach should be as little handled as possible. To have a variety in your peaches, paint some a little green or brown ; a brown spot now and then, has a good effect. Oranges and lemons, eggs and plums, need no out- side painting. 250 WAX WORK. Red apples are painted over the yellow wax, and can be nicely finished up with the camel’s hair pencil ; for the apple calyx, insert a bit of carbonated paper, tobacco, or tea leaf ; for the stem, take a natural one. Finish your apple by rubbing it with the hand till it shines ; or, what is better, varnish it with fine copal varnish. Tomatoes are handsome, and, provided you get a nice mold, they are easily made. Various small fruits, as barberries, strawberries, etc., are formed with the fingers, and stuck with beads where necessary. Blackberries are handsome, if made with care. Grapes. — Many persons make purple grapes by put- ting a lump of wax on the end of a bent wire, and after- ward in melted rosin. They look well at a distance, if nicely powdered with blue paint ; but we prefer forming them of purple wax entirely, or dipping grape glasses into the purple, as we do into green wax for green grapes. We obtain various glass globes of the sizes of grapes, glue fine wire into each of them for a stalk, and plunge into green wax, prepared expressly for grapes, as atten- tion must be paid to their color. Have the wax very hot, and dip the glass globe as WAX WORK. 251 quickly as possible, holding uprightly to let the wax run under the grape. (Don’t mind if the hot wax makes your fingers tingle ; you want a beautiful bunch of grapes ; “ pay for a thing and have it ; ” we have dipped two hundred without stopping.) Bunch the grapes, the small ones at the end ; wind the stalks, and finish up with tendrils and leaves. Having good molds, it will be easy for you to make wax dolls, birds, sheep, etc. Hold the mold in your left hand ; pour the melted wax into the aperture. As soon as it forms around the edges, pour back into the vessel what remains, and set the mold aside to cool. To color dolls, we stir a very little vermilion into the hot wax ; or, what is better still, tie it up in a bit of muslin, and paint the cheeks with the stiff brush, in the same manner as rose leaves. We put hair on their heads, and insert enameled eyes or beads, according to the size of the doll. Before concluding our article on wax flowers, we would say that ladies need not be deterred from making them by the trouble of preparing the wax, since very nice sheet-wax, of all shades and colors, and of different 252 WAX WORK. thicknesses, can be procured of the publishers of this book ; as also powdered paints and bottles of adhesive mixtures, to use with water-colors in the fine pencilings of such flowers as pansies, morning-glories, &c. These mixtures are superior to gum-arabic, inasmuch as they are less liable to crack than gum arabic. The powdered paints, rubbed carefully on the surface of the wax with the finger, produce that soft and deli- cate texture so necessary to the perfection of wax flowers. And here it may be well to describe other methods of making green leaves, in which we have been very successful : one is, to soak green leaves, say rose- leaves, or those of a similar texture, in soap and water for a few hours ; shake off the water, and plunge the leaf directly into hot wax of the desired shade of green ; take out, and remove the coating of wax from both the upper and under side of the leaf ; put the two together, with a wire between them, and you get a beautiful leaf. Another, less perfect, but easier method, is to make a mold of a natural leaf, either of plaster or by pressing together pieces of wax in a solid lump, and getting the impression of the veined side upon it ; then cut the wax- leaf, and take the impression from it or the plaster mold. 22 ( 253 ) PLASTER WORK. RE AT care is necessary in regard to the consistency of the plaster, and the thorough greasing of the molds. Provide yourself with the best ground French piaster, some good lamp or neat’s foot oil, (if the former, add a very small bit of mutton tallow,) camel’s hair pen- penknife, rags, thick brown paper, small bowls, or a box of sand, and well -water. Wipe such fruit as you have selected for molds very carefully, and remove the calyx and stems without marring the skin. If you wish to mold nuts, or fruit having a rough surface, (except oranges and lemons,) it is best to grease them in such a manner that all the surface may be perfectly smeared, without being greasy. Make hollows in your sand, or, as we think preferable, lay cloths as smoothly as possible in the bowls to receive the plaster. You will see the advantage of the rags over the sand, when you finish up the molds, particularly if you wish them to look very neatly on the outside. Having every thing at hand, (and be sure that you do have every thing ready, for the plaster will not wait your motion,) begin to mix your plaster ; at first, take but little, say a half pint of water or less ; into this filter your plaster until you get the consistency of batter for cakes ; we usually mix with an iron spoon. Pour the plaster into the hollows in ( 255 ) 256 PLASTER WORK. the sand, or into the bowls in which you have spread the cloth ; insert just one half of each piece of fruit thus : — let it remain until the plaster is hard ; then remove the fruit with the greatest care. If your plaster was properly mixed, you will have the exact impression of the fruit on the inside, and on raising from the cloth, a pretty smooth outside surface. Now trim the edges, cutting the plaster horizontally to the level of the impres- sion on the inner side of the mold ; the reason for this will be ob- vious when you see how beautifully the parts will fit together ; now make three or four grooves in the horizontal plane of the mold, thus : we make one oblong, another round, one large, another small, quite unlike for convenience sake; this done, oil every groove and all the edges just formed by your knife. The mold being now thoroughly oiled with the brush, except, of course, the inside, reset the fruit ; pin the thick brown paper around the mold which contains it, so as to form a case, which must be, at least, two inches higher than the fruit as it stands in the mold. The vessel in which you have mixed the plaster, as well as the spoon, being perfectly cleaned, mix again ; this time pour the plaster into the paper case ; it will cover the fruit and run down the grooves forming nice locks ; when hard enough to remove the paper, take hold of the plaster with both hands, and pull the two parts asunder, remove the fruit which was entirely en- cased in the plaster, and you will have a nice mold with firm locks. If our directions are carefully followed, there will be little need of trimming the last part. PLASTER WORK. 257 Should there be a few holes in your mold, mix up a little fresh plaster, and insert it with the point of your knife, smoothing and trimming the edges with your fingers. The molds being perfectly made, set them in a warm oven, or in an airy place, to dry ; they will not be hard enough for use for three or four weeks, when they will become hard as stone, and do many years’ service. We have on hand some peach molds which we have used these ten years ; and, for aught we know, they will be good for ten years to come. Do not expect to make the very best molds at the first attempt. The plaster hardens so quickly that you must have a little prac- tice in order to get things just right. Again, if you stir it too much or too little, it will in the first instance lose its strength, and in the second be lumpy. Be sure to have every thing perfectly cleaned at every mixing. We recommend Experience as the best of teachers ; she has treated us very kindly, and will be to you what she has ever been to others. Sometimes we make one mold in three or four pieces, of course mixing fresh plaster, and making new locks for every additional piece. While we advise you to mix but little plaster at a time, until you can mix it easily, we wish you to have several things in readi- ness, that you may use up all you mix. About a pint of the mixture would be sufficient for the half mold of a middling sized peach, an egg, and a nut; therefore it is best to have as many things in readiness, otherwise you must throw away your superabundant mixture. Now that we have told you how to make molds, we must lead your attention to the forms of the fruit, or whatever you intend for your model. 22 * 258 PLASTER WORK If you wish to make a mold from an ear of corn, in which the grains are irregular, it will be almost impossible for you to make it in two pieces. Try it, and you will see that you can not get the ear from the mold without breaking it; and this will teach you that unless the model can be easily removed from the plaster, it is worthless, inasmuch as you could not take an object in wax safely from such a mold. (See engraving.) In order to obviate all difficulty, either choose such fruits, etc*, as can be made in a mold of two parts, or make your mold in three or more parts, according to the fruit. Molds for small wax dolls can be made in two parts, the doll placed in the plaster in a lying position.' Molds for dolls’ heads of medium size may be made in two parts, and left open where the head is fastened on the body. Cut the plaster off level on the open side. Molds for sheep, lambs, and dogs, (lying down,) also for human hands, may be made in the same way. If you wish to take the mold of a hand, be sure to oil it nicely (that is, to oil it without leaving oil standing on the surface) before laying on the plaster ; leave the opening at the wrist. When you have succeeded in making good molds, you can try your skill at plaster fruits and figures. As much of your suc- cess will depend upon the non-adhesion of the plaster to the model, remember the oil and tallow. Mix the plaster as for molds ; pour into the mold as soon as it thickens on the sides ; pour out that which remains, if you wish your mold hollow. Should you wish to make plaster fruit, you must cut'an open- ing in your mold, (while it is fresh, of course,) to admit the thin plaster being poured from the spout of the vessel in which it is mixed. MOSS WORK. 259 MOSS WORK. OLLECTING and arranging, in va- rious forms of grace and beauty, the delicate and many-colored mosses with which our fields and forests abound, has long been a favorite pastime with all lovers of the beautiful in nature. A fertile imagination and inventive mind will readily perceive the many ob- jects for which moss work te well adapted — vases neatly and tastefully covered with delicate mosses, arranged with an eye to the harmony of colors, are very appropri- ate for holding dried grasses; crosses, little towers, “ancient and moss-grown,” for watch stands ; frames for holding collections of leaves, grasses, or flowers, — indeed, it is needless to particularize. Beautiful landscapes can be made, closely resembling nature. Collect all the varieties of wood moss, beautiful bits of bark, and dried leaves, within your reach. Make a design, perhaps of a landscape, in which are ruins, bridges, rocks, etc. Paint a sky as in water colors, then cut and glue thin bits of bark and moss on the ruins ; moss on the rocks ; dried algse or forest leaves on the distant mountains, and the bright- colored and green mosses, of various hues, on the foreground. Such a landscape is calculated to draw out the ingenuity of the pupil, and requires no little study, and when well done, is a very pleasant picture. Set in a deep frame. 260 SEA WEED. SEA WEED. HE sea shore is an inexhaustible source of pleasure and instruc- tion ; and to one who has a taste for the beautiful, or who loves to search out the wonders of the ocean, and trace in them the “foot- prints of the Creator,” new ave- nues are constantly being opened for the acquisition of knowledge, and the means of rational and elevating pleasures. The great variety of sea weeds, their beauty and delicacy, and the graceful and attractive forms in which they can be arranged by skillful hands, have given to their collection and arrangement a deserved popularity among all frequenters of the sea shore ; and it is a pleasant sight to see groups of children and adults, wandering along the surf- worn beach, selecting the delicate fringes of moss ; and afterward, to see the fruit of their labors arranged in beautiful groupings, their bright colors well preserved, and the whole form- ing a picture pleasing to the eye and elevating to the taste. After having collected your sea weeds, throw them into fresh water ; cut a piece of paper relative to the size of the weed, oil the surface, and put it under the weed you are about to lay out ; spread with a camel’s hair pencil, or pick apart with a pin ; we prefer the former. Great care, patience, and delicacy of handling are necessary in this process, for much of the beauty of the specimen depends upon preserving the minute thread-like fibers of the weed. SEA WEED. 261 Trace out each thread, separating them all, and giving them such a position on the paper as will show the plant to the best advantage. Then gently raise the paper from the water, holding it in a slanting direction to let the water run off. Then put in press. A good way to make the press is to put three layers of blotting paper on a board, and upon this place your specimens ; over this, muslin or linen, and over that, paper again, and then another board. Dry the paper and cloths above if necessary to facilitate the process. Take your specimens from the papers and arrange on paper in bouquets, wreaths, or what you like, adjusting them according to the different colors, and thus obtain a pleasing variety ; secure the ends neatly with gum arabic. It is well to brush over the coarser kinds of algae with spirits of turpentine, in which a very little gum mastic has been dissolved. Having arranged beautiful specimens of moss and sea weeds, we sometimes cut a very small basket through the middle, and sew it on the paper in front of our specimens ; then we fill our basket with various kinds of moss, which, standing out in relief against that gummed on the paper, presents a basket of moss to the admiring eye of the lover of nature. “ There ’s beauty in the sea.” A lady of our acquaintance, who has been in the habit of spend- ing much time in collecting sea- weeds, tells us that she filled no less than forty little baskets with moss, in one season, for presents to friends. We are so happy as to have one of them hanging in our parlor, which does great credit to the artist, so beautiful are the combination of colors and the delicacy and taste displayed in their arrangement. 262 HAIR WORK, HAIR WORK. O make hair flowers we need live hair, that is, hair from the head of a living person ; annealed wire, very fine ; pearl or gold beads, scissors, a pair of pinchers, a bit of whalebone, and knitting needles of three sizes. Brush the hair as smoothly as possible, and tie in bunches. Double a piece of wire in the middle, and twist about two inches. Let us begin with a leaf. Take the twisted w r ire between the thumb and fore finger of the left hand for a handle, as it were ; fasten to this the ends of a thin strand of smooth hair : (it is well to draw it several times between the thumb and finger to make it glossy,) Bend the ends of the wire to the right and left ; then, holding the end of a knitting needle horizontally over the twist of the wire, pass the strand of hair around the needle, and fasten it by crossing the wires below to the right and left. So continue till you have woven sufficient for the leaf. Slip from the needle, and you have nice loops neatly fastened by a fine wire much resembling gimp. Bend this into the desired shape, twist the ends of the wire, and cover with silk braid as near the color of the hair as possible. The leaves may be made of different sizes, and varied by the size of the knitting needle. To make daisies, asters, etc., turn this looped wire round and round to present a flat surface ; make firm by fine wire underneath. HAIR WORK. 263 It is well to have a pattern. If you can not see hair flowers, take natural ones, and by fastening strands of hair to a wire, and binding with floss, endeavor to imitate Nature. With the pinchers you make your wire fast, and with the whale- bone you obtain the desired wfidth of a petal by laying the hair over it. Thus, for a pansy, smooth a short strand of hair, fasten one end to a bit of wire, then pass the hair over the whalebone, winding to the same wire, but lower down ; this makes it firm, and enables you to give it what form you like, by bending the wire. Make five of these petals, and set them around a wire having a pearl bead on its end. Forget-me-not is a pretty little flower, and easy to make ; put a gold bead in the middle. Roses require much time and great care ; buds are easily made. Many persons moisten the hair with oil ; but our experience teaches us that the work is much more durable and neater when smoothed by the friction of the fingers. As it is often necessary to economize the hair as much as possible, it is well to state that as a general rule a piece of hair work is half the length of the hairs which make it. If you have but a scant pattern, use the short hairs first, not the shortest, but begin- ning with those perhaps of five inches in length, and then taking those which are longer. Practice in this art is of more value than precept. The artist will find the difficulties gradually disappear as the work is perse- vered in, and to study specimens of hair vork, now so common, will assist the learner in many points. 264 FEATHER FLOWERS. FEATHER FLOWERS. HOSE who are so fortunate as to have in their possession fine feathers can certainly make fine flowers. Have at hand gum in solution, French paper for wind- ing stems, and wire of different sizes. Draw the under side of the feather gently over the edge of your penknife to bend it in the required direction ; make a lump of bookbinder’s thick paste or wax on the end of a wire for a stalk, and begin your flower by sticking the smallest sized feathers into it for a center ; place other feathers of the same kind, but larger in size, around in order. Choose green feathers for leaves and calyx, and pure white ones for japonicas and white roses. Twist the ends of the same on a wire, and make fast with gum, glue, paste, or other similar adhesive substance. Be careful to select feathers of the same kind for the same flower. Arrange in a vase, and cover to keep free from dust. In this, as in all kinds of fancy work, let taste and neatness govern the process. It will often be found necessary to color the feathers to give the desired variety of hues ; and this can easily be done by attending to the following directions : Put the feathers into hot water, then drain them ; rinse two or three times in clear cold water ; place them on a tray, over which a cloth has been spread, before a good fire ; as they dry, draw them gently into shape between the thumb and finger. To dye Feathers blue. — Into about three cents’ worth of oil of vitriol mix as much of the best indigo in powder ; let it stand one FEATHER FLOWERS. 265 or two days. When wanted for use, shake it well, and into a quart of boiling water put one table-spoonful of the liquid. Stir well, put the feathers in, and let them simmer a few minutes. Yellow . — Put a table- spoonful of the best turmeric into a quart of boiling water ; when well mixed, put in the feathers. More or less turmeric gives different shades. For orange , add a small quantity of soda to the preparation for yellow. Pink. — Three good pink saucers to a quart of boiling water, with a small quantity of cream of tartar. If a deep color is re- quired, use four saucers. Let the feathers remain in this dye sev- eral hours. Red. — Dissolve a tea- spoonful of cream of tartar in a quart of boiling water ; put in one tea-spoonful of prepared cochineal, and then a few drops of muriate of tin. This dye is expensive ; there- fore use the plumage of the bird ibis. Lilac. — About two tea-spoonfuls of cudbear in a quart of boiling water ; let it simmer a few minutes before you put in the feathers. A small quantity of cream of tartar turns the color from lilac to amethyst. Bunches of orange blossoms can be made with good success in feathers ; the buds are to be made of starch and gum mixed ; the stamens of ground rice, colored with turmeric, into which the gummed ends of manilla grass have been dipped. The “untutored savages” of the Pacific Islands make beautiful feather flowers, rivaling the natural ones in delicacy and beauty. Pinks, orange blossoms, and roses of exquisite workmanship are often brought from these “heathen lands” which would put to the blush our most accomplished artists. Old ostrich feathers can be made to look as well as new by holding over hot steam, then draw- ing each vane of the feather separately over a knife to curl it. 23 266 CONE WORK. CONE WORK. ELECT good clear cones, and dis- sect some which have handsome, large scales, and brush them clean ; lay nice white putty, or a similar adhesive substance, smoothly on your frame ; set into this putty whole cones, large and small, in such figures as suit your taste, and fill up the entire groundwork with the scales, lapping one neatly over the other. Cut oval and round frames for light pictures, from bookbinder’s pasteboard, and cover with the scales in layers or rows. Scallop the edges with small whole cones, set in large cones surrounded by little ones equidistant, if the frame be broad, and fill in with the scales. When dry, take out those which are not firm, and replace. Add acorns ad libitum. Yarnish the whole once or twice. If you wish something nice, go over every part with a fine brush, and leave no varnish standing in drops. Cones can be found by almost any one in an hour’s walk through pine woods. Indeed, if one has a taste for the beautiful, and is quick in perception, it is impossible to ramble through woods and fields without finding many curiosities in the shape of mosses, grasses, cones, etc. SHELL WORK. 267 SHELL WORK. IS is very pretty for vases, frames, boxes, etc. Many shell flowers, animals, birds, and the like, are brought here from the Mediter- ranean. We have seen some that we would like to own ; but in general they have a stiff appear- ance. However, we will tell you how they are made. Assort your shells according to size and color — the more rice and other small shells you have, the better,, Melt white wax and glue together, two parts of the former and one of the latter. Have a clear idea of what you intend to do ; or, what is better, make a pattern before you begin to set your shells. If you will ornament a box, a rose in the center looks well. Take thin round shells, those most resembling rose leaves, of the smaller size, and dipping the lower ends in the hot wax mixture, set them close together for the center of a rose ; place other similar shaped shells around in circles, the largest outward. Care must be taken to form the shells into perfect circles, and to take up wax enough to make them adhere to the cover. Shells of different form, say more oblong, can be used for leaves. After arranging such figures as you like with the shells you have, fill up the spaces with the very small ones. Rice shells are the prettiest, but they are costly. Some prefer sticking the shells into a puttied surface, which does very well. Varnish with a very little copal varnish, using great care. 268 SHELL WORK. Animals are made of thick pasteboard, or turned in wood, and covered with one kind of shell. Shell Flowers. — The basis of each large flower is a piece of thick round pasteboard. The shells for petals are sometimes tinged with water color, and the leaves made of green paper. Del- icate sprays are made by threading small shells on fine wire. Thus made, with half a dozen huge black berries of wax on the top, in a vase all covered with shells, it will pass for the imported article. Ornaments for the hair are made from rice shells, thus : File down the conical end of the shell, and clean out the opposite end with a pin ; pass a silver wire (a guitar string) through the filed end, bring it down and twist for a stalk. From fifteen to twenty pairs on one branch, neatly covered with white or green silk floss. Two or three such stalks of different lengths are sufficient. Satin beads wired with a guitar string, and wound in pairs to form sprigs, with now and then a tendril, are beautiful for evening dress. In almost every family, enough shells, small and appropriate, can be found to make some ornamental article. Sea captains bring home valuable collections ; and who among our readers has not some friends or acquaintances who “ go down to the sea in ships ” ? WILD TAMARIND SEED WORK. 269 WILD TAMARIND SEED WORK. E wild tamarind seeds are brought into our market from the West Indies. They are about the size and color of apple seeds, but hard as stone. We tried various chem- ical solutions to soften them, but in vain ; finally, we soaked them in air- slaked lime some eight or ten hours, then wiped them with a rag wet in sweet oil. After this process they were soft enough to admit of being pierced by a needle. Our lady friends used them, with gold and silver beads, for purses, bags, baskets, bracelets, ear-drops, etc. When dried they returned to their pristine hardness, and formed durable and useful ornaments. Seeds of Cucumber and Musk Melon can be worked with steel beads so as to make handsome dress bags and table ornaments. They should be lined with silk appropriate to the beads ; for example, a rich green, cherry color, or black. A person of taste can make many very pretty things by arranging the seeds and varying the beads. Try it for bags, mats, catchalls, baskets, plates, and table ornaments. 23 * 270 IMITATION PEARL WORK. IMITATION PEARL WORK EOR EMBROIDERY. We do not think that a preparation of fish scales has ever been used in this country instead of the so much admired pearl ; and so we give it to our readers, knowing that they will like some- thing entirely new. Take the shining scales from a carp, or any other fish — the larger the scales, the better ; put them in strong salt water over night ; lay them on a linen cloth or smooth board ; wipe them carefully on both sides, and lay them between clean, strong paper, under a board, on which place a weight ; let them remain a day or two, until the scales are pressed dry and become hard. Draw some- thing, say an ivy leaf, on strong drawing paper ; cut it out, and lay it on each scale as a pattern by which to cut the scales with very fine scissors. Such a pattern, however, is superfluous to per- sons acquainted with drawing, who can cut leaves of that kind without one. Vein your scale leaves with a fine steel needle ; do it slowly, bearing on hard to give clearness : the leaves are now ready. Stretch a rich, dark- colored silk velvet tightly in an embroidery frame ; place the pattern, which you intend to copy, before you, and imitate it by sewing the scale leaves, one at a time, on the velvet, with fine gold thread, and the leaf stalks and tendrils em- broidered with the same. It is well to draw the thread through water before using it, to render it flexible. The beautiful effect produced by this simple process fully repays one for the trouble. That manifold changes may be made accord- ing to the taste and ingenuity of the copyist, is evident to the reader. PAPER FLOWERS. 271 PAPER FLOWERS. CCASIONALLY we see very hand- some paper flowers ; but then they are made by persons of taste with great care, and from the best of French tissue paper. Dip a large camel’s hair pencil in thin gum arabic, and brush quickly over the whole surface of the paper from which you intend to cut your flower ; this fills the pores of the paper, and gives it a little stiffness. Cut roses, japonicas, etc., from paper patterns ; then paint with water color. Form the petal with your fingers and a pair of scis- sors. Cut a fringe of yellow paper for stamens. Make your leaves and calyx of green tissue paper, well sized with gum. Cover fine well-annealed wire with green paper for stalks, and fasten the parts of the flower together with gum. For a daisy, chrysanthemum, or aster, double the paper two or three times ; cut down two thirds ; roll the uncut side firmly round and round the bent end of a piece of wire suitable for the stalk. Buds, pericarps, etc., are made either by stuffing with a bit of cotton, or winding up paper. Variegated pinks look well. Paint strips of paper in splashes here and there, as you see on the petal of the carnation — some very dark carmine, some merely light touches. Cut off suitable width for petals, and wind around a paper center. Take natural flowers for models. ( 273 ) HIS style of imitating the Chinese, Porcelain, Sevres, Japanese, and other kinds of vases, is quite simple, and if the following directions are closely adhered to, no difficulty will present itself. Choose such a glass vase as will be adapted to the style you mean to imitate, which can be readily obtained, with the mate- rials described, of the publishers of this book. With fine-pointed scissors, cut the paper close to the figures you use, which may be flowers, birds, or Chinese figures of bright colors, which are imported in variety for this purpose. After you have cut out what you need, and have determined their arrangement, gum them ( 275 ) 276 DIRECTIONS FOR POTICHOMANIE. on the face several times, until they are damped through and softened, letting them remain until the gum thickens a little ; then press them closely to the glass till every spot adheres, for otherwise white spots will appear, which disfigure the work. Many use Antique varnish now instead of gum, applying as in the instructions for that style of work ; though more difficult, it is a far better method, both as it is likely to be more durable, and also more beautiful. When the figures all adhere, and are dry, apply gently to the back, and on the edges of the work, a thin coat of gum. This will stop all varnish or paint from running between the figures and glass. Again, when it is dry, varnish over with Antique varnish ; or with Mastic or Outside varniffi, only, if you use either of the latter, varnish only where you last gummed. After this is dry, paint the inside over with the ground color, which should be always a pale tint, greenish white, bluish white, slight rose white, or, what contrasts better with the figures generally used, a pale yellow, or pine color slightly brown. Another way of making a beautiful style is, to take the common kind of potter’s ware, and gum the figures on the outside instead of inside ; then gum the face and varnish, and afterward paint between the figures the ground you wish, with a small pencil, generally reddish brown, dark blue, etc. These colors may be mixed with oil, varnish, or enameled ; the best material readily obtained is fine zinc paint, tinted, and mixed with Outside varnish. The tints may be made by mixing the Oriental colors spoken of in directions to that style. This art of ornamenting glass originated in France ; and from the easy method of gaining a beautiful effect, soon became a favor- ite source of employment for those who had leisure time, and a profitable art to those who made a business of it. By it, glass vases appear like richly painted porcelain, so much so, that, when DIRECTIONS FOR POTICHOMANIE. 277 carefully done, it would deceive any but the initiated. The process is perfectly simple, and has one thing to recommend it strongly to those who can only work in “ snatches ,” as it can be put down and taken up at any moment without injury. By observing the following directions closely, no difficulty will be found by the most ordinary manipulator. 1st. Select the pictures, either in sheets or otherwise ; go over the back with a strong coating of isinglass, taking care to cover every part. 2d. When they are dry, select those wanted for use, and cut them out carefully, so as to have them in good shape and no paper seen. 3d. WTien you have as many as you want, arrange them on the table, in the order you wish to have them on the vase, num- bering them, if requisite, on the back to prevent any mistake when placing them on the vase. 4th. See that the vase is perfectly clean, and free from spot or stain ; wet the front side of your pictures with gum tragacanth or gum arabic, and press them carefully with the flat of the nail against the inner side of the vase. 5th. When all is completed, and the vase submitted to a close scrutiny, to ascertain whether all the pictures keep their places, and whether there are any finger marks to remove, — if every thing is satisfactory, then mix your tint for grounding; it is better to mix up as much as will coat the entire over twice, so as to have it solid. 6th. WTien the color is thoroughly mixed, apply it with a soft camel’s hair brush, (a one inch flat camel’s hair is the best,) begin- ning at the bottom, and working carefully so as to cover every part equally. 278 DIRECTIONS FOR POTICHOMANIE. 7th. Allow a day or two to intervene, then coat it over again, so as to make it perfectly solid. These we consider quite sufficient directions to work from. In the fourth direction, two gums are named. We prefer using gum tragacanth, and would strongly recommend the manipulator to be exceedingly careful in the process of sticking the figures on ; to be sure that the edges are securely fastened ; to look at them occasionally afterward, and if any little corner is found raised up, pertinaciously to insist upon its being fast down before leaving it. We dwell upon this, and make an important point of it, because so much depends upon it — whether your work is good and per- fect in shape, or blotched and deformed with paint, as the least rising up of the picture makes an entrance for the coating paint to flow in. The reason we recommend the coating of isinglass on the back of the picture is, some paper is not sufficiently compact to resist the effect of oil paint, but with a coating of isinglass the picture is sure to retain its beauty. The isinglass should be put on warm. A few of the best delicate tints for coating are as follows : Pearl — white with very little black ; Buff — white lead or zinc white with a little deep chrome' ; Pale Blue — white or zinc white with a little ultramarine ; Salmon — white or zinc white with a trifle mineral red ; Fawn — white or zinc white tinted with burnt sienna; Pea Green, Emerald Green — white and a very little pale chrome; Chocolate — Indian red and Vandyke brown; Pink — white and pink madder ; Red Pink — white and a little vermilion. Any of these colors can be procured at paint shops, or of the pub- lishers of this book, in packages to suit, mixed in their usual way, with oil and turpentine, same as regular house painting, (inside nice work.) For pink, we would recommend tube paints of Win- TRANSPARENCIES. 279 sor and Newton, flake white, and rose or pink madder, thinned with turpentine. Ground Glass Imitation. — A good imitation of ground glass can be made by coating the vase thinly over with white and dab- bing it with a delicate piece of chamois leather rolled up into a small ball. Imitation of Alabaster. — - Alabaster can be imitated in the same way, only coating the vase a little thicker with the paint. TO MAKE TRANSPARENCIES. ,AKE some prettily colored landscape, and cut a slit I into the broad lights of it with a penknife ; put a white paper of medium thickness behind it, and interline with orange or rose-colored paper ; bind the three — that is, the landscape, the colored paper, and the paper which forms the back — - together with some suitable color for a frame ; now separate the cut edges of your landscape by pressing them apart. Hang up in the window, and when the sun shines through, the effect is beautiful. Try it ; we are sure you will be pleased. An engraving prepared as for Grecian painting is very pretty for a screen, or to hang in the window. Lamp shades may be made in this way, and many pretty designs will suggest them- selves ; bouquets, wreaths, vines, running round the shade, etc. Also still more beautiful is the antique style, before painting. 280 LEAF IMPRESSIONS. DIRECTIONS FOR TAKING LEAF IMPRESSIONS. OLD oiled paper in the smoke of a lamp, or of pitch, until it becomes coated with the smoke ; to this paper apply the leaf of which you wish an impression, having previously warmed it between your hands, that it may be pliable ; place the lower surface of the leaf upon the blackened surface of the oiled paper, that the numerous veins that are so prominent on this side may receive from the paper a portion of the smoke ; lay a paper over the leaf, and then press it gently upon the smoked paper, with the fingers or with a small roller, (covered with woolen cloth, or some like soft material,) so that every part of the leaf may come in contact with the sooted oil paper. A coating of the smoke will adhere to the leaf. Then remove the leaf carefully, and place the blackened surface on a piece of white paper, not ruled, or in a book prepared for the purpose, covering the leaf with a clean slip of paper, and pressing upon it with the fingers or roller, as before. Thus may be obtained the impression of a leaf, showing the perfect outlines, together with an accurate exhibition of the veins which extend in every direction through it, more correctly than the finest drawing. And this process is so simple, and the materials so easily obtained, that any person, with a little practice to enable him to apply the right quantity of smoke to the oil paper and give the leaf a proper pressure, can prepare beautiful leaf impressions, such as a nat- uralist would be proud to possess. Specimens thus prepared can be neatly preserved in a book form, interleaving the impressions with tissue paper. BOTANICAL SPECIMENS. 281 TO DRY BOTANICAL SPECIMENS FOR PRESERVA- TION. i HE plants you wish to preserve should be gathered when the weather is dry ; and after placing the ends in water, let them remain in a cool place till the next day. When about to be submitted to the process of drying, place each plant between several sheets of blotting paper, and iron it with a large smooth heater pretty strongly warmed, till all the moisture is dissipated. Colors may thus be fixed which otherwise become pale or nearly white. Some plants require more moderate heat than others, and herein consists the nicety of the experiment ; but I have generally found, that if the iron be not too hot, and is passed rapidly, yet care- fully, over the surface of the blotting paper, it answers the purpose equally well with plants of almost every variety of hue and thick- ness. In compound flowers, with those also of a stubborn and solid form, some little care and skill are required in cutting away the under part, by which means the profile and forms of the flow- ers will be more distinctly exhibited. This is especially neces- sary -when the method employed by Major Velley is adopted, viz., to fix the flowers and fruit down securely with gum upon the paper, previous to ironing, by which means they become almost incorporated with the surface. When this very delicate process is attempted, blotting paper should be laid under every part except- ing the blossoms, in order to prevent staining the white paper. Great care must be taken to keep preserved specimens in a dry place, and also to handle them gently ; and thus they can be kept a long time, affording a source of great pleasure. 24 * 282 DECALCOMANIE. DECALCOMANIE Is another name for a style of decorating that has been in vogue an indefinite time, and comes under the head of transferring. It is almost superfluous to mention the variety of pur- poses to which Decalcomanie may be applied : it can be transferred upon every thing to which ornamentation is required ; and the variety of designs which are printed specially for it are so numerous, that some thing or other may be procured that will suit the taste of the most fas- tidious. A few of the articles that may be decorated can be mentioned, by way of showing what a variety this style will embrace : all kinds of crockery, china, porcelain, vases, glass, book-covers, folios, boxes of all kinds, &c. The method of transferring beautiful designs is so simple, and all the material requisite for the *art so reasonable, that it brings it within the means of “ tout le monde.” Flat surfaces are more suitable for this style ; for, if DECALCOMANIE. 283 the surface present a concave or convex, the design has to be cut, and the beauty of the subject may be endan- gered to accommodate the shape. Articles Requisite. — Cement same as for Diapha- nie, copal- varnish, designs, a duck-quill sable, and a flat camel’ s-hair brush. Directions. — Cut out your designs neatly with a small pair of scissors ; apply the cement by means of your small sable, and apply it to the article to be deco- rated ; place on your design, and press equally all over to exclude the air; damp it a little, and keep pressing equally, so that the design may adhere firmly in every part ; when the cement is sufficiently dry, which will be soon, damp again with water a little more freely, and remove the paper. Be careful in manipulating this pro- cess : if you are not, you may remove some of the colored part with it. If such should occur, instantly replace it as well as you are able ; sometimes this can not be done. If such an accident should occur, and you possess a knowledge of Oriental painting, your panacea will be in that : you can retouch with those colors, and bring it back nearly to its original beauty ; in fact, a knowledge of Oriental painting and papier mache is an “ open 284 DECALCOMANIE. sesame ” to almost all the styles treated by Prof. Day, such as painting on rice-paper, signs, magic-lanterns, glass, heraldic emblazonry, illuminatory diaphanie, imi- tation of ebony-inlaying, &c. In case you have no Oriental knowledge, match the colors as near as possible with water-color paints ; allow time to dry, and varnish with copal. Sometimes the cement becomes too thick for use. It may be restored to its proper flowing consistency by placing your bottle in a warm bed of sand, and applying it while warm. If you have to apply your design to a ground-work that is dark, it would be advisable to give your picture a coat of white, — Winsor and Newton’s Chinese white ; the reason for which is, some parts of the pictures are semi-transparent, and if impasted on a dark ground they would lose part of their beauty ; but, by giving it a coat of white before transferring, it retains its brilliancy. DIAPHANIE. 285 DIAPHANIE. It is scarcely necessary to specify the purposes to which this invention may be applied. Windows, lamp- shades, fire-screens, and, indeed, all other uses for which stained and ornamented glass is ordinarily employed, completely superseding the clumsy wire and other blinds. As a pleasing occupation for ladies and gentlemen, the work is one of the most useful and beautiful of the imi- tative arts. Cleanliness and the comparatively small cost of the materials used also recommend it to the attention of those who have leisure, either for amuse- ment or for the purpose of profit, as windows in churches, halls, conservatories, &c., may be decorated in any style, ancient or modern, and made to appear of great beauty and value. The unsightly view of walls, chimneys, &c., from staircase-windows, so frequently an annoyance to the eye in houses situated in towns, may be completely ex- cluded without materially interfering with the light, and that agreeable appearance given to an apartment which stained glass invariably imparts. 286 DIAPHANIE. The designs used for this work are produced by new processes in lithography, and possess all the richness and fullness of color obtained by the most expensive art of glass-staining. The materials used in the work are as follows : Glass to decorate, prints or designs, a roller, a bottle of clearing-liquid, a bottle of washable varnish, a few brushes, and a bottle of vitreous cement. The roller is employed to press the paper upon the glass, to remove the bubbles of air : this can not be ac- complished without much difficulty by any other means, as the paper is apt to tear ; which, of course, spoils the picture. Observations. — In decorating a window, the effect as a whole is to be considered. For example, the posi- tion of a window : if at a distance or elevation from the eye, the design should be bold. Avoid, particularly if the panes be small, crowding each pane with little de- signs : the window-frames should not be made conspicu- ous by putting a border round each frame ; but the same grounding should be used, as a rule, and the border placed round the whole window, so as to make it appear one window, and not a number of little ones. Neither DIAPHANIE, 287 should the different styles be mixed. Frequently parts of several sheets are used to form one window : they should be chosen with some regard to the harmony of polors. The smallness of the cost, and the greater ease with which the operations are performed, render it desirable to use separate glass, cut to the size of the window ; and, when finished, they may be fixed in the sash or frame with a few brads, a bead, or any similar contrivance. However, windows already fixed, if within reach, may be decorated without being removed, but it is more difficult. One advantage in using separate pieces of glass is, that in cleaning there is no liability of damage ; besides, they may be removed at pleasure. Common sheet-glass, flat, free from specks and bubbles, should be selected. Instructions. — Clean the glass, and lay it flat upon a folded cloth ; and, having obtained the necessary mate- rials, cut out the medallions or subjects (unless the paper is to be applied in one piece), and proceed to ar- range and fasten it in its appointed place in the manner hereinafter described. If there is to be a border, that is to be next attended to. This finished, damp the printed side of the ground- 288 DIAPHANIE. ing-paper, and lay it over. Raise one end of the glass, and, looking through it, you will perceive the exact posi- tion the subject and border occupy ; trace round them carefully with a blacklead-pencil : remove the ground- ing, and cut it out, taking care to cut a trifle within the pencil-marks, so that the ground may overlap the subject a little. When this is done, thoroughly damp the uncolored side of the paper with sponge and cold water ; turn it over, and apply a generous coating of vitreous cement to the colored surface with a flat camel’s-hair brush of moderate width, and at once apply the cemented side to the glass, pressing it down with the roller, commencing at the center, and gradually passing to the edges, which should cause the superfluity of cement to ooze out a lit- tle. This effectually removes all air-bubbles ; and, if the cement has been properly applied, no difficulty will occur. Keep the white side damp during this operation. See that your roller works well before you commence, or your work may be irrecoverably spoiled. It is advis- able to have some pieces of wetted paper laid over the design, between it and the roller, to prevent the cement getting on to the roller. When the cement has become DIAPHANIE. 289 hard and dry (about eighteen hours is sufficient), the paper can be removed by wetting it once more, and rubbing it with a piece of cloth, a sponge, or the hand. The whole of it may thus be removed, as the cement holds with considerable tenacity the colored surface on to the glass ; care must, however, be taken not to rub too hard or too much when the greater portion of the paper is removed, or a blemish may thereby be caused. Be careful to keep the work wet during this operation ; and, when finished, stand it by for a little time to dry ; then coat it over with clearing-liquid ; and, when this has become dry and hard, a coating of the washable varnish completes the work. Both the clearing-liquid and the varnish should be applied with flat camel’s-hair brushes. Remarks. — If the colors on the sheet are not suffi- ciently rich, they may be heightened ; or if there be any scratches or blemishes, they may be hidden by applying color of the same tint. If they are retouched with water-color, it will be requisite to thinly coat over what you paint with varnish : if you retouch it with varnish- paint, same as is used for Oriental, there will be no occa- sion. The same holds good if you color over with lamp- black the joinings. 290 DIAPHANIE. SECOND METHOD. Give the glass an even coating of the transfer-varnish or antique-varnish, — either will do ; and, as soon as this becomes sticky, damp the back of the prints with a sponge and cold water, and apply them to the glass, and press down well with the roller, as before directed. Should the adhesion be imperfect, through the varnish drying uneqally, it may be remedied by holding it a few minutes to the fire. When the varnish is quite dry, the back of the print should have one or two coatings of clearing-varnish ; if two, the first must be dry before the second is applied. Allow the work to remain a day or so, and apply a coating of copal-varnish. The joinings can be penciled over with lampblack. SHEETS OF PLAIN COLORS. Very pretty windows may be made with the sheets of plain colors, by cutting out the design with a sharp pen- knife, and applying it to the glass, afterwards entirely covering the window with a second color : thus, if blue has been first put upon the glass, the design cut out, and another sheet of crimson is covered over the whole, the design will be crimson, relieved by purple ; or, the glass CHARCOAL-DRAWING. 291 may first be entirely covered, and any design in a second color cut out and applied. CHARCOAL-DR A WIN G. Provide yourself with some sticks of charcoal, black and white crayon, stumps, chamois-leather, rag, and crayon-holder. FOR CHARCOAL-DRAWING TO IMITATE LITHOGRAPHY. Get a pine-wood frame and a sheet of crayon-paper. Ascertain the size of the lithograph that you intend to copy ; have the frame near the size ; cut the crayon-paper to match, and commence to sketch it in the following man- ner : Put some strong flour-paste, such as bookbinders use, over the frame. Damp your crayon-paper with clean water, and paste your paper upon the frame : when dry it will be ready to work upon. Proceed in the fol- lowing way : draw in your subject with charcoal ; use the stump to blend, repeating the shades until you get what you want. As finer touches are required for foliage and branches, houses and figures, these have to be done with the fine point of your black chalk. A few 292 CHARCOAL-DRAWING. lights can be added to advantage with the white chalk. When all this is completed to your satisfaction, preserve the drawing by coating over the back of it with “ pre- serving-varnish.” When dry, cut out your drawing, and mount it upon a sheet of stiff* white board. The receipt for the “ preserving-varnish ” is at the end of the book. CHARCOAL DRAWING, AS PRACTICED MORE GENERALLY BY ARTISTS. Procure tinted, crayon, or common brown paper ; cut the size that you wish to make your drawing ; pin it on the drawing-board, and commence your sketch with charcoal. If a mistake is made, it is easily dusted off with the rag. Get your forms and shades in with char- coal, and tone down by using the stumps, and occasion- ally with the lingers. Half-lights can be wiped out by t means of the chamois, and high lights can be put in with white chalk. This style is exceedingly useful for artists and others, to get in their first ideas, as charcoal works so free and effective. When you have worked in all you can, use a liquid fixatif: this can be obtained from the publishers of this book, with full directions CHARCOAL-DRAWING. 293 how to use it. After the fixatif has been applied, it secures your drawing ; and, if desirable, you can re- touch with charcoal and chalk to good purpose. Always use the fixatif after retouching. This can be repeated indefinitely. The same process from beginning to end can be as readily drawn on canvas, the fixatif applied, and, when you have obtained all the effect you wish, you can com- mence oil-painting right over it. HINTS FOE DESIGNERS AND ILLUSTRATORS. To be a designer or an illustrator, artistically con- sidered, requires a natural talent for sketching objects with facility, a facile pencil, a versatile genius, a quick imagination, and ready invention. As we do not all possess these indispensable qualifications, we can not all be first-class illustrators or designers ; but, if we have a little to work upon, we may improve it, and perhaps, with perseverance and application, make our- selves quite acceptable in either capacity. For designers in prints, it is a profitable way to im- prove time by sketching single and separate flowers, and 294 HINTS FOR DESIGNERS AND ILLUSTRATORS. leaves and buds, then arranging them in little groups, then re-arranging them, making one flower the principal in one group, and the others subservient to it ; and, in another group of the same flowers, making one of the others the principal. By doing this a number of times, and following it up for a number of days, you will ob- tain a facility of arranging that can not be obtained in any other way. Many pleasing designs are made with combinations of ovals, rounds, squares, triangles, and all the manifold shapes that angles and curves can be put to. In sketching, always strive to be neat and clear with outlines, if you wish to be a successful designer. Some of the principal colors that designers use are the three chromes, Chinese white, lampblack, carmine, emerald-green, Prussian blue, vermilion, pink madder, burnt sienna, scarlet, and combinations that these colors will make. It will be observed that most of these enumerated are opaque colors ; but those that are not may be made so by adding white. To give facility for working with the brush, the draughtsman can not do better than study and practice the two pages of this book, 196 and 197. HINTS FOR DESIGNERS AND ILLUSTRATORS. 295 For an illustrator, a much wider range of sketching is necessary ; and he can not do better than begin with sub- jects either from nature or acknowledged good copies. For instance, make a sketch of a chair, then put the model away, and sketch one from memory. When fin- ished, compare it with the original : it is a failure perhaps ; so tear it up, and try again and again, until you have every stave and point correct, and well in your memory. Sketch every thing else in the same way, individually and collectively, until you can do them readily. Figures and all kinds of quadrupeds should be treated precisely in the same way ; and the more difficult the subject, the more pains should be taken. This copying from good models, and then drawing the same from memory until fairly accomplished, is a won- derful stepping-stone to a successful illustrator* A perusal of the article on charcoal-drawing as prac- ticed by artists would be advantageous, and could be followed out in developing the first ideas of subjects, and bringing them into form and order. 296 LINNiEOGRAPHY. LINNJEOGPAPHY. This is an easy method of procuring outlines soft and artistic, and can not fail to be correct, as they are copied from natural leaves ; and, if it is manipulated neatly, the result bears a near resemblance to stippling. We will give an illustration with a fern-leaf. Procure a fine-shaped fern, and place it flat upon a sheet of white drawing- board ; pin it down with little baby-pins, in order that it may lie close to the paper in every part ; then prepare a weak shade of Indian-ink in a saucer or plate. Dip your brush in it, charge it pretty well, and commence rubbing it on the comb, backwards and forwards, while holding it over your leaf. The effect will be, that the ink will be forced through the teeth of the comb, and descend upon the paper in small round dots. Proceed in this way until you have acquired the depth of shade you want ; then remove the pins and fern-leaf, and you will find a pleasing outline of the fern, shaded neatly. You can repeat this with other leaves, and form them into a group. Flowers may likewise be done in the same way. Flowers and larger leaves will require to be finished with LINNiEO GRAPH Y. 297 the sable by veining the leaves, and penciling in the stamens and anthers to the flowers. Colors may be used for variety, taking the place of the Indian-ink, and tinted board in place of white. If the paper be prepared with isinglass, in the same way as for bronzing (see page 198 ), you can proceed to linnaeograph your leaves in the same way as spoken of, and afterwards stain them with varnish-color, according to directions for Oriental paint- ing. The same method may be applied to silk, satin, and cloth. If either of these articles are used, they must be first stretched upon a flat board, and fastened with nails ; then coated over with isinglass : afterwards proceed in the same way as upon any other surface. The linnasographic process may be used to advantage in forming a background for water-color flowers, in doing which the flowers and leaves must be correctly drawn on tracing-paper, and neatly cut out with penknife or scissors ; then arrange your flowers and leaves upon your drawing-paper, and weight them down with little weights instead of pins. Be careful to have the edges close down ; then begin the linnacographing. If done carefully, it has a very similar effect to stippling, and is 298 PERMANENT FLOWER-PAINTING. done in a few minutes in comparison to the wearying time taken to stipple. You can now remove the paper, and proceed to paint the flowers and leaves in the ordi- nary way. Articles requisite for plain linn^eography : saucer, comb, tooth-brush, and crow-quill sable. Letters, horses, cows, dogs, sheep, figures, monograms, &c., may be linnseographed if cut out neatly and fastened well upon the paper. PERMANENT FLOWER-PAINTING. This style of painting is suitable for folding-screens, cuspadores, &c. Procure a tube of flake-white, a bottle of copal var- nish, palette, and knife, and the following colors in pow- der : carmine, Prussian blue, chrome-yellow, black, burnt sienna, and Van dyke-brown, a few sable brushes of vari- ous sizes, and a few camel’s-hair brushes. Sketch your design upon what you are going to deco- rate, with chalk, any color that will show ; then prepare some of the flake-white upon your palette, by mixing sufficient copal varnish with it to make it flow readily. Coat over your flowers, birds, leaves, and stems with PERMANENT FLOWER-PAINTING. 299 this twice or three times. Allow it to dry a short time ; then, with one of your camel’s-hair brushes, dry, char- ging the brush with the powder-color you wish, and shade on carefully the tint required. For pink flowers, use car- mine ; blue flowers, the Prussian blue ; for purple flowers, purple powder made with carmine and a little blue. Yel- low flowers, with chrome-yellow, afterwards with a little sienna. The leaves shade with green powders, made with chrome-yellow and blue, in various proportions, to suit the tint, introducing a little sienna or Vandyke-brown, if brown tints are required. For white flowers, use black and a little chrome with it : the stems shade green after- wards, adding a little Vandyke-brown. If you require any of the flowers of a much stronger color, it will be necessary to add a little poppy-oil besides the varnish. This will give it additional stickiness, and make it receive more color. Be careful to coat over the flowers and leaves evenly, or the powder-colors, when applied, will go on streaky. After the powder is all done, if you wish to vein the leaves, get a little varnish, and mix some VaDdyke-brown with it and pencil them in ; likewise the stamens of flow- ers that require them ; the anthers do with chrome yel- low. 300 TO PAINT FLOWERS ON TINTED PAPER. TO PAINT FLOWERS ON TINTED PAPER. First paint all over your flowers with Chinese white. When dry, repeat coating until you get them as white as London board. Some flowers require to be painted more solid with the white than others : such as yellow, scarlet, blue, and purple flowers. After you have your flowers and buds satisfactorily done, you can then proceed in the regular way, as written for flower-painting, only more care must be observed in laying the washes on, and not attempt to retouch before it is quite dry, or the white will wash up and mix with your colors, and the conse- quence will be that your flowers in the high lights will not be so brilliant as they otherwise would be. The green leaves paint on the tinted paper, in the same manner as if you were painting on white paper (see article on Green Leaves) ; and if you want a bright green, or part of a leaf bright, pencil on some Chinese white, and stain over it the tint required. TREATMENT OF AUTUMN LEAYES. 301 TREATMENT OF AUTUMN LEAVES. The painting of autumn leaves has most deservedly grown into public favor, owing to the artistic exertions of several in this line of art, who have succeeded in placing admirable specimens of brilliant leaf-beauty be- fore the patrons of art ; and whether they are introduced in single sprays, or harmonized in groups, never fail to attract attention, as the leaves are capable of being made into very handsome groups, owing to their varied tints, which are second to none but the flowers to which they are related. The treatment of the leaves is varied to suit the coloring of each. For yellow leaves, such as are often seen among the sumach and maple, use gallstone ; and while moist wash in a delicate tint of pink madder. For brilliant red leaves, paint over twice with gallstone and gamboge, and afterwards with pure carmine, the general tint required. If there are any dark parts on the leaf, wash in Vandyke-brown while the carmine is moist. For leaves that are partially turned, and have a variety of colors in one leaf get the tints mixed upon the palette, 26 302 TREATMENT OF AUTUMN LEAVES. all ready to apply, and wash them in with different brushes, first coating the leaf over with clean water, and putting some blotting-paper upon it, in order to absorb the superfluous moisture. Float on your color as near the real shade as you can mix it, using gallstone, Indian yellow, chrome-yellow, gamboge, raw sienna ; yellow ocher, for yellows, adding a little Prussian blue to either of the yellows to make green. For red parts, use car- mine and pink-madder. For brown leaves, such as are sometimes seen on beecfy-trees, use gamboge, burnt sienna, and burnt umber. For some oak-leaves that have a peculiar yellow tinge, use yellow-ocher, and float on a little raw-umber while the yellow-ocher is moist. All autumnal leaves washed in, in this general man- ner, require to have a little more finish, either in broad touches, or stippling, or lined. The veins can be painted in with a long crow-quill sable, in Chinese white, and stained if requisite. One side of the vein should be relieved with a stroke of dark color. Some of the veins are penciled in with crimson- lake and Vandyke-brown, equal parts. GREEN LEAVES IN WATER-COLORS. 303 TREATMENT OF GREEN LEAVES IN WATER-COLORS. Leaves are painted in various ways, and, if painted well, add very much to the beauty of the flowers. General treatment is to coat over the shadows and shades with neutral tint or Indian-ink, and then wash over with various-tinted greens. A few directions for treatment with different colors will greatly assist those who are fond of flower-painting. For dark leaves, coat over the shades with neutras pretty strong ; when dry, wash over all the leaf with green, composed of indigo and raw sienna ; when dry, retouch with broad touches the shadows and convolu- tions. For some kinds of rose-leaves, use emerald-green and carmine for the shades, and wash over with emerald- green and pale chrome-yellow ; finish with small touches to increase the depth in some parts. For small, delicate leaves, and new leaves, gamboge and Prussian blue. Let the gamboge predominate ; and in some leaves a faint trace of carmine may be pen- 304 GREEN LEAVES IN WATER-COLORS. cilled in. The majority of green leaves may be treated with gamboge and Prussian blue, in numberless tints, occasionally washing in a little carmine in some in- stances, and burnt sienna in others. All leaves, after the broad washes are in, can be worked over, sometimes to great advantage, by a little stippling or a few lines. The amount of finish in this way depends upon the skill of the artist. If you find you are not improving it after working over for a considerable time, leave off, and come again to it some future time, fresh, and deter- mined to succeed. Sap-green makes- a very good wash for some leaves, strengthened with a little burnt sienna and Prussian blue in the shades. The veins of green leaves, if dark, can be pencilled in with Vandyke-brown, adding a little indigo for the darker places. If the veins are lighter than the leaf, pencil them in with Chinese white, and stain them with color. For drops of water, the under part must be darker, and the light may be put in with white, or scraped up with the point of a penknife. The lights on a cluster of anthers in a flower are often made with good effect with the point of a penknife. Illnminalifln, &t. ( 30 5 ) ILLUMINATING. N ancient times, our forefathers had a way of introducing the* first letter of sen- tences to their readers, dressed and dec- orated with brilliant colors ; and some- times, by way of emphasizing a whole sentence, every letter would be illumined, so as to attract more attention. The style of letters usually selected for illumining are the old English. Any others can be used ; but these, and such as these, are better adapted to show the style. The letters should be neatly drawn, and skeletoned out with gold-bronze ; then filled in with one of the bright- est colors. For variety, some of the letters may be out- lined with silver or lampblack, always using the crow- quill sable for outlining. When silver or gold shell is used, it can be made to look almost as bright as leaf- gold or silver by rubbing with an agate burnisher. It is requisite to be provided with the following arti- cles : gold shell, silver shell, and the following cakes of water-colors : vermilion, cobalt-blue, carmine, lamp- 307 308 ILLUMINATING. black, emerald-green, gamboge, constant white ; two sable brushes, — one a crow-quill with hairs about five- eighths of an inch long, the other an ordinary duck-quill size, — and a tool called an agate burnisher. But, in the absence of this, any small rounded stone or piece of metal will do, so that it is quite clean. Observations. — The crow-quill brush is best suited for outlining the letters : being a little longer, it carries the paint better. If the letters are large, the duck size will be better for filling in ; and, in doing which, you can alternate the colors according to taste. If you de- sire a purple, you can make a very beautiful one by adding carmine to cobalt-blue ; and if you desire a scar- let, add a little carmine to gamboge. When the letters are finished, you can vary the appearance a little more by shading them very delicately with black, weakened down to a neutral tint. The emerald-green and vermil- ion make very rich contrasts in one letter. Blue and scarlet in others, and gamboge and purple, and blue, pur- ple, and emerald, for more sombre ones. SORRENTO-WOOD CUTTING. 309 SORRENTO-WOOD CUTTING-. Choose a simple pattern to commence with ; make a very exact drawing of it on paper, of such fabric as can be cut through easily. Paste the paper on the wood in- tended to be cut ; then saw and cut through paper and wood on the Unes of the drawing with small, sharp in- struments. If desirable, some of the pieces cut out may be painted and re-inserted. When in Italy, we saw splendid specimens of this work ; among them the wedding-gift of the city of Turin to Prince Umberto, a sort of box, valued at five thousand francs. It was a complicated piece of work, and exqui- sitely wrought. When shut, it was only a handsome box ; but it opened into jewel and sewing boxes, a writing- desk, toilet-table, music-stand, drawers, and various other conveniences, the whole inlaid and bordered with tiny bits of colored wood. 310 HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. HERALDIC EMBLAZONING-. “We do not intend to enter into the origin of heraldry, or give any elaborate description of armorial bearings, or attempt to trace out any family crests or coats of arms, but merely to give the modus operand* of fol- lowing out the emblazonry of any crest or coat of arms that may be found in heraldic books ; and to facilitate this object, it is requisite to be acquainted with the lead- ing terms used. The shield is divided into the following parts, A, B, C. The chief sub-divided into A, the dex- ter or right hand ; B, the middle chief point ; C, the sinister, or left-hand chief point ; D, the collar, or honor point ; E, the heart, or fess point ; F, the nombril, or navel point ; and G, H, I, the base, subdivided into G, the dexter base point ; II, the middle base point ; and I, the sinister base point. (See Fig. 1.) The shield, with its points and parts thus described, is distinguished by certain armorial colors called tinctures, separated by division-lines. The shape of the shield is optional : the whole space within the bounding-lines of the shield is called the field. The tinctures used in heraldry are metals, colors, and furs. HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. 311 Gold, as in Fig. 2, by dots ; Fig. 3, plain, for argent ; Fig. 4, azure, horizontal lines ; Fig. 5, gules, by perpendicular lines ; sable, Fig. 6, by cross-lines, horizontal and perpendicular; Fig. 7, vert, lines from dexter chief to sinister base ; Fig. 8, purpure, lines from sinister chief to dexter base ; Fig. 9, tenne, transverse lines from the dexter chief to sinister base, and from sinister chief to dexter base; Fig. 10, sanguine, lines horizontal, crossed by other lines from dexter chief to sinister base. DOVETAILED. /z/z REGULE. INDENTED. DANCETTE. Ln_n_ru EMBATTLED. ENGRAILED. NEBULI. WAVY. INVECKEB. 312 HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. Names abridged. In English. Or, Or, Gold. Ar., Argent , Silver. Az., Azure , Blue. Gu., Gules , V ermilion. Sa., Sable , Black. Vert, Vert , Green. Purp., Purpure , Purple. Ten., Tenne , Tan. Sang., Sanguine . Indian Red. The two principal furs used in heraldry are ermine and vair. Emblazonry is represented in engravings, that are not colored, by the following marks : gold is represented by dots ; silver, by the shield being plain ; blue, by horizontal lines ; red, by perpendicular lines ; sable, by cross-lines, horizontal and perpendicular ; green, by lines from the dexter chief to the sinister base ; purple, by lines from the sinister chief to the dexter base ; tan, by transverse lines from the dexter chief to the sinister base, and from the sinister chief to the dexter base ; Indian red, by lines horizontal, crossed by other lines from the dexter chief to the sinister base. (See Figs. 2 to 10.) HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. 313 ATTITUDES OR POSITIONS OF ANIMALS. When a lion or other beast of prey stands upright, with one ear and one eye seen, he is termed rampant ; when walking forward, with one eye and one ear seen, passant ; when sitting, sejant ; when lying down, cou- chant. If in any of these positions the animal looks full face, so that both eyes and ears may be seen, the word guardart is annexed to passant, rampant, sejant, or couchant, as the case may be ; and if he look back, the word reguardant. Animals of the deer kind have their positions otherwise blazoned. Thus, when looking full- faced, they are said to be at gaze ; when standing, sta- tant ; when walking, tripping ; when leaping forward, springing; when running, courant ; and when at rest on the ground, lodged. Parts that are specified in the directions to be gold are mentioned as Or. Such parts can be done two ways ; viz., with gold-leaf or gold-bronze : the latter is most simple, and easier to do. Get gold-bronze, mix it with a little dissolved gum-arabic, and coat over all the parts marked Or, and, when thoroughly dry, rub it hard with the agate burnisher, same as mentioned in directions for 314 HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. illuminating. If leaf-gold is required, you dissolve isinglass in liot water : make it pretty strong, and pencil over the parts (while the isinglass is warm) that are to be gold ; allow it to dry ; then pencil over the same with gold-size, and proceed in the same way as directions for gilding. (See page 206.) The parts marked Ar., argent, silver, may be done with white bronze mixed with a little gum, and, when dry, rubbed with the agate ; or the part can be left white, if the coat-of-arms is being painted on white paper ; and if tinted paper, a few coatings of constant white will answer the purpose. For vert, use emerald-green ; for purpure, use carmine and a little cobalt-blue ; for gules, use vermilion ; for sable, use lampblack ; for tenne, use yellow ochre and a little burnt sienna ; for sanguine, use Indian-red ; for azure, use cobalt-blue. In finishing, gold and bronze are shaded with burnt sienna; and in the darker shades add a little Vandyke- brown. All the other colors may be enriched by a little shading : for vermilion, use carmine ; for purple, use purple, and add very little black, to darken it a trifle ; for green, gamboge and a little black ; for tenne and san- guine, use Vandyke-brown ; for white, use the black, HERALDIC EMBLAZONING. 315 diluted down with water to a very pale shade ; for azure, use cobalt, and add a little black. You will observe that what has already been treated upon has all been painted with water-colors : if you re- quire something more permanent and durable, we would recommend the varnish-colors, and refer you to the arti- cles on Oriental painting and papier-mache. The color- ing will be exactly the same as already laid down for water-color emblazoning ; but the treatment of colors will be different. The mixing of paints will be the same as mentioned on page 171 ; and the coating of the white will be the same as pursued for flowers, page 194. This treatment can be painted upon any dark ground. If on tinted paper, it will be requisite to prepare the paper with isinglass, exactly in the same manner as men- tioned on page 198 for bronzing. MATERIALS REQUISITE FOR EMBLAZONING. Leaf-gold, gold-bronze, white bronze ; cake water-col- ors, — burnt sienna, Vandyke-brown, carmine, cobalt- blue, vermilion, emerald - green, lampblack, gamboge, yellow ochre, constant white, Indian-red ; agate bur- nisher, crow-quill and duck-quill sable brushes. 316 CUTTING OUT PAPER ORNAMENTS. HOW TO CONVERT BROKEN CAKE-COLORS INTO MOIST COLORS. Put the broken color into a small cup, and cover with water. Let it remain until the color is dissolved or suffi- ciently softened ; then get it out and place it upon a porce- lain palette or clean plate. Add about one-third of its original bulk of honey to it ; mix it well with a small palette-knife, and put it in one of the porcelain pans : when the water moisture has evaporated, it is ready for use. DIRECTIONS FOR CUTTING OUT PAPER ORNAMENTS. Procure several tints of tissue-paper of delicate colors, such as pink, blue, green, yellow, and white. Decide upon the size and shape you wish your subject, whether round, square, or oval. For example : We will suppose it to be a circle the size of an ordinary plate. Draw out your circle with com- passess, or from your plate, upon the tissue-paper. CUTTING OUT PAPER ORNAMENTS. 317 Double it over and over four times, in such a way as to make your paper assume the shape of a cone one-eighth of a circle. Now cut a piece of white letter-paper exactly the same size as one-eighth of a circle, and upon it draw a single design with pen and ink, observing that each figure should be separate. When complete, place it carefully inside the first division of your folded paper. You can now trace the pattern with lead-pencil on the tissue-paper. That being done, remove your original pattern, and commence cutting out the parts you have marked with a pair of embroidery scissors. When you have cut them all out, unfold your paper, and you will have your pattern repeated eight times ; and, when done neatly, it has a pleasing appearance. If it is not all you desire, try again. A few trials will make you perfect. The paper ornament, when finished, may be used as a mat-stand, scent-bottle, or pincushion, or to place upon a dessert plate. This style of paper-cutting may be used for many pur- poses that your own ingenuity may suggest. 318 DIRECTIONS FOR BRONZE STENCILLING. DIRECTIONS FOR BRONZE STENCILLING. Procure papers of three or four different kinds of bronzes, — white, gold, copper, and salmon. A bottle of gold-size, a flat camel’s-hair brush, penknife, and a flat piece of tin six or eight inches square. Make a rubber of a bit of soft leather, with soft cotton inside. Tie it with thread, so as to keep it in shape. Draw the subject you want on thin, strong writing- paper. Whether flowers, figures, houses, letters, or scroll ornament, place the paper with your drawing on the tin, and commence cutting out with the point of your penknife, leaving a little band, now and then, to hold your design together. With a little practice this can be done very neatly. Your design being ready, coat over any article you intend to decorate. For an example, we will take a little fancy table that has been varnished or coated with oil-paint. Wash it well, so as to free it entirely from grease. When quite dry, coat it over evenly with gold-size with the flat brush. Allow it to dry about twenty minutes ; then get all your bronze papers open ; place your design on the ENGRAVINGS OR PRINTS UPON GLASS. 319 part coated with gold-size. Charge your leather rubber well with the desired bronze, and rub gently the bronze on to the stencil. Great care is requisite in rubbing oh the bronze, or you may break some of the delicate bands that hold together your design. The bronze readily adheres to the sticky property of the gold-size. If desirable, you can stain with transparent color what you have stencilled. In that case you must allow it to dry a few days, and use the same colors as directed in Oriental painting. FOR USING ORDINARY ENGRAVINGS OR PRINTS UPON GLASS. The engravings or prints used for this purpose should be on paper that contains little or no size ; and those answer best that are strongly printed. Lay the print flat, and damp with sponge and water the plain or unprinted side. Apply a generous coating of transfer-varnish on the glass. Place on the print face to the glass ; then press with the roller, as before directed in the article on diaphanie ; and, having satisfied yourself that no air-bubbles remain between the face of 320 IMITATION OF INLAYING WITH EBONY. the print and the glass, lay it at some distance from the fire to dry. Damp the back of the print again with water, and commence rubbing off the superfluous paper. This must be done with care, or the face of the print will be injured. When you have removed sufficient of the paper, and allow’ed the moisture to dry, apply with the camel’ s-hair brush the clearing-varnish. If you wish, you can stain some of the parts with varnish-color, as used in oriental. Afterwards varnish all over with copal-varnish. IMITATION OF INLAYING WITH EBONY. Procure any article that is made with holly-wood or any other light-colored wood. Trace neatly with lead- pencil any design you wish, and proceed to outline the same with your crow-quill sable. Afterwards fill in all the interstices with lamp-black. The designs for this style may be as simple or as elaborate as for any style of decorating ; and any one who has a steady hand for outlining can accomplish it. IMITATION OF INLAYING WITH EBONY. 321 We will suppose, for example, that you only want a border composed of ivy-leaves. Sketch in your pattern with your crow-quill brush charged with black. Vein the leaves, and leave all the connecting-stems white. Fill in to the width of your border with black. The same design may be reversed, which is much easier to do for a border. In this case, pencil in your leaves with black, leaving the veins white ; the connect- ing-stems do with black. Make your black smooth and solid, even if you have to go over two or three times. Chinese designs, with figures, buildings, birds, trees, flowers, &c., look very well in this style, on small tables, folio, and book-covers ; indeed, this style can be applied to advantage on any article that is made in light-colored wood. I once saw a complete toilet-set ornamented in this style, chairs and bed included. The articles required are a pan of Winsor and New- ton’s lamp-black ; two sable brushes, — one a crow-quill sable, with the hairs five-eighths of an inch long ; the other a duck or goose-quill, according to the spaces you have to fill in. After finishing your design, if the article is one that will be handled much, it is better to give it a coat or two 322 DIRECTIONS FOR CLEANING BRUSHES. of copal-varnish. If two, allow the first coat to dry a couple of days before applying the second. The reason for varnishing is, the lamp-black is water- color ; and, if any moisture gets upon it, it would smear and spoil the effect of your work. If you are an oriental-painter, and have the requisites for that style, you can use your lamp-black mixed with varnish, in place of using water-color. To those who have painted papier-mache, and are familiar with varnishing, if they wish they may put an extra finish upon their work by giving it two coats of varnish as before directed, and then following the direc- tions for polishing as mentioned on page 202. DIRECTIONS FOR CLEANING BRUSHES. Always leave your brushes clean. For water-color brushes, Indiau-ink, and sepia, wash them in clean water. Brushes that are used in alcoholic varnishes, such as spirit-sandarac, cabinet, varnish for pearling, preserving- varnish, and Grecian varnish, should be washed in alcohol. IMITATION OF GROUND GLASS* 323 All brushes used in oil painting, oriental and papier- mache, and turpentine varnishes, such as transfer-var- nish, antique varnish, mastic, and copal, should be washed in turpentine, and afterwards with soap and warm water. Attention to this, and your brushes will always be in working order, and will last a long time ; but if neglected, and the color or varnish is allowed to remain in, they soor spoil and get ruined. IMITATION OF GROUND GLASS. Take one part of flake-white ; add two parts of sugar of lead ; mix with equal parts of oil and turpentine. The color must be used thin, and applied with a paint- ing-brush of moderate size. Then, with a painter’s duster or badger, clean and free from dust. Commence gently dabbing the glass with the ends of the hair until your work acquires uniformity of appearance. This will wear a considerable time, and it may be washed with weak soap and water if necessary ; but, should you require to repaint it, the first may be removed with very little labor by applying with a sponge a solution of pot- ash. 324 GRECIAN VARNISH. Another method, more simple : Get some putty ; pre- pare it in a round ball, and dab over your glass evenly ; let it dry a couple of days, then repeat it. If evenly done, it looks well, and answers every purpose for which ground glass is used. If you should require to remove it, it may be done with very little trouble, by applyiug, with a piece of sponge or cotton, oil of tartar, or solution of potash. TRANSFER-VARNISH. To six ounces of fir-balsam add three ounces of recti- fied spirits of turpentine. Shake well together, and it is ready for use. GRECIAN VARNISH. Take three ounces of fir-balsam, two ounces of ninety- five per cent alcohol, and one ounce of rectified spirits of turpentine. Shake well together ; strain if requisite, and it is ready for use. SEALING WAX. 325 SEALING WAX TO IMITATE CORAL. ELT sealing wax of the de- sired color in first proof al- cohol. Spread thickly over a pasteboard, basket, plate, or small waiter. Stir rice, sago, and small bits of tap- ioca, into the vessel of dis- solved sealing-wax ; spread the same over the basket, etc. ; dry thoroughly. This is pretty for card receivers. Sealing-wax Painting. — Into twelve large-mouthed bottles, containing about half a gill each, put as many colors and shades of sealing wax. Pour over alcohol, best quality, sufficient to dissolve the wax. Paint flowers, birds, etc., with the same to imitate enameled painting. A friend of ours, who had much skill in painting, received $60 for a small table painted in this way. 326 PRESERYING-YARNISH. CLEAR VARNISH SUITABLE FOR ENGRAV- INGS, &c. To six ounces of fir-balsam add twelve ounces of rec- tified spirits of turpentine. Shake well together ; strain if requisite, and it is ready for use. PRESERVING-VARNISH. To half an ounce of shellac add one pint of ninety-five per cent alcohol. Let it remain two days, occasionally shaking it. Pour off from the sediment, and it is ready for use. l\, a, ttaram, &c. ( 327 ) THE AQUARIUM. giving some simple directions for making aquaria, we believe that we are performing an acceptable service to our readers ; for within comparatively short time the aquarium has become a popular source of entertainment and in- struction, and by means of it a fresh impetus has been given to the study of the won- ders of the ocean depths. No more attractive object can be found, than a well-stocked aquarium, with its living curiosities of animal and vegetable life, nor one so continually changing in its character — ever varying, ever new. We give a few simple directions to assist the reader, although the subject is not strictly within the scope of our volume. But we have frequently been in- quired of relative to the mode of constructing an aqua- rium, and think our readers will be gratified to find a few simple rules within their reach. The first requisite is a tank, which can be of any ( 329 ) 330 THE AQUAKIUM. shape to suit the maker’s fancy and his facilities for construction. The square or oblong forms are generally preferred, being easier of manufacture, although octagons, or other angular forms, are readily made. Great care must be taken that the tank is perfectly water-tight ; and this is one of the chief difficulties to be encountered. Of course, simple tanks can be made of glass tumblers, china howls, etc., but we are speaking of those on a more extensive scale. The tank is, in few words, a water-tight box with glass sides and a slate or marble bottom. A cabinet maker, or any ingenious person, can easily make one by constructing the skeleton of a box, or the frame of a box, and fitting glass sides into solid grooves in the frame. Also have a glass slab for a cover, raising it a little from the top of the tank by placing bits of cork upon the edges, in order that air may pass over the water. The dimensions can he decided according to taste or convenience. The following are found to he very available sizes : — 18 inches long, 13 inches wide, and 13 inches high. 30 “ “ 18 “ “ 18 “ “ 48 » “ 24 “ “ “ 24 “ “ Having completed the tank, the next, and perhaps more difficult step, is to fit it up, or “ stock it ; ” and THE AQUARIUM. 331 here is a field for the display of taste and beauty. Of course, this process depends upon whether the tank is for a salt or fresh water aquarium — the tank itself being the same for both. In a small aquarium it is not best to fill up the tank with rock-work, as all the space thus occupied diminishes to that extent the room for the ani- mal and vegetable life. Before fitting up the tank, it should be well soaked for two or three days, to remove any loose particles and all scent and foul matter from the cement used in fastening the glass sides, as any such im- purities will destroy all the animal life contained in the tank. Cover the bottom of the tank evenly to the depth of one or two inches (the depth is not essential) with coarse sand, pebbles, small shells, etc., washed clean. In this layer the aquatic animals will delight to amuse them- selves. Next, place stones and rocks of different sizes in the tank, piling or adjusting them so that open spaces will be left between the stones, corresponding to the caverns and hiding places in the beds of brooks and on the bottom of the ocean. Allow one piece of rock to project above the surface of the water, so that such of the animals as desire can crawl up and breathe atmospheric air. The tank should be filled perhaps two thirds full of 332 THE AQUARIUM. water, and the hight marked on the side of the tank. As the water evaporates, fill up with fresh water to this mark. If the aquarium is for salt water, the filling up to compensate for evaporation should be done with fresh water, (not sea water,) as the salt remains in the tank after the evaporation. The water should be occasionally- supplied with fresh air, by means of a syringe, and changed from time to time during the Arst week, or until the plants and animals seem to thrive naturally. The aquarium should be stocked with the vegetable life^rs^, and the plants should be suffered to remain a week or more before any animals are introduced, as some plants may die, and dead leaves and sticks may accumu- late. These should be removed as soon as seen. In a marine aquarium, branches of coral make a very pretty ornament to the interior arrangement. An excur- sion on the sea shore will supply a variety of plants, etc., with which to stock the tank. Make your exploring expedition when the tide is out, supplied with a basket, hammer, chisel, etc. Turn over large stones, and under- neath them you will generally find excellent specimens. Search in the fissures of the rocks, pools, and basins, and find marine plants. If possible, do not detach them THE AQUARIUM. 333 from the rock, but cut away the piece to which they are attached, and bring the whole away ; the plant is more likely to live in this way. If it is a delicate plant, place it in a jar and cover it with water, or it will soon die by exposure. In these excursions, you will find mollusca, univalves, bivalves, barnacles, etc. Sea anemones will be found adhering to the rocks ; star-fish, curious specimens of the crab, and others, will be found under loose stones at the lowest tide level. The knowledge of a practical naturalist would be of great assistance in fitting up the aquarium, as his prac- A ticed eye would detect many beautiful specimens which might wholly escape the notice of those unskilled in nat- ural history. The water for a marine aquarium should of course be from the sea. The fitting up of a fresh water aquarium is easily done. We subjoin the names of a few plants, simply to specify those most desirable : — Forget-me-not, Ferns, Water Yiolet, Common Rushes, Common Dock, Duck Weed, White Water Lily, 25 Yellow Water Lily, Water Cress, Tape Grass, Sweet Flag, Golden Club, Water Lobelia, 334 THE AQUARIUM. and many others which are familiar to the reader Most of these are common to our brooks and ponds. In placing plants in the tank which require fixedness of roots, it is well first to inclose the roots in a ball of wet clay. Pond snails are easily procured, and are an important accession, as they consume decayed or decaying vegeta- tion, and in fact act as natural scavengers. Care must be exercised to have neither too strong nor too feeble a light. The fresh water muscle, and all the genera and species which abound in ponds and creeks, are suitable for the aquarium, and the same may be said of the fishes. The spawn of the mollusca furnishes some food for the fish ; but they should be fed daily, not with bread, but with red worms cut up small, and occasionally with millet seeds. Pieces of dried beef, in minute fragments, will answer as a substitute for worms. All impurities should be removed from the tank, to prevent an unpleasant odor, and to preserve the life of the animals. From the hints thus given enough can be gleaned to enable any one to attempt to make an aquarium with a good prospect of success. An examination of one well arranged would be of great advantage in giving correct ideas of the construction and arrangement. A FERN-CASE FOR A SHORT PURSE. 335 A FERN-CASE FOR A SHORT PURSE. The base, which can be made by a carpenter if re- quired, must consist of a plain board for a bottom, three inches longer and wider than the case is to be. To the bottom attach ogee-moulding, the large side downwards, three inches wide, iu the top of which there should be a groove for the reception of the glass. Get five panes of glass : three of them, say, ^twelve inches by eighteen ; and two, twelve inches by twelve, or in those proportions. Then set the lower edges of two of the larger panes, and of the two smaller ones into the grooves of the mouldings, and paste them together (using gum-tragacanth dissolved in water to the consistency of flour-paste) over the joined edges with silk galloon. Cover all the edges with the galloon, lay the remaining pane over the top, and your case is ready, with the exception of a zinc pan, which any tin- man will make for you, and which is to be of a size to fit into the base. Its depth should be of the width of your moulding, — say three inches. This pan is to be filled half full of pieces of charcoal, of, say, an inch to an inch and a half square, with some smaller pieces mixed in, but without dust. 336 A FERN-CASE FOR A SHORT PURSE. The plants, which will grow better if transplanted in their native earth, can be placed upon the charcoal. Then moisten, but do not wet the soil. It will require little or no care, and will not need to be watered for months, as the moisture arising in the case is sufficient. For the plants, a trip into the woods for mosses, ferns, ground-laurel, little pine-trees, and checkerberry, squaw- berry, and cranberry vines to enliven the picture, and such other plants as your taste may suggest, will be a pleasant way of spending an afternoon. The arrangement of the plants in the case must be left to the taste of the maker ; but it is a good rule to place the tallest plants in the centre. IffettllamM $Urapfs. ( 337 ) TRACING PAPER. ^ET a sheet of fine tissue paper, and rub it all over thinly with clarified linseed oil, when it will be quite trans- parent ; hang it up to dry ; it takes some time to dry, but it must be allowed to dry thoroughly before using it, or it may spoil the picture or engraving you trace from. With this kind of tracing paper, being trans- parent, you have merely to place it over pictures or engravings, and with a lead pencil mark over your drawing with a steady hand. SPIRIT SANDARAC YARNISH. Six ounces of pulverized sandarac, two ounces of pulverized shellac, four ounces of pulverized resin, four of turpentine, thirty-two ounces of alcohol ; let the vessel you make it in be surrounded with warm water, graduallj’’ made hot ; when all the gums are dissolved, strain, and in a few days it will be ready for use. Good for varnishing any thing that is wanted to dry quickly. TRANSFER YARNISH. To six ounces of fir balsam add twelve of rectified spirits of tur- pentine ; shake well together ; strain if requisite, and it is ready for use. Good for transferring engravings, and holds the ink firmlv ; is sometimes used for varnishing maps, engravings, etc. ( 339 ) 340 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. MASTIC VARNISH. Dissolve (without heat) six ounces of bruised mastic in twelve ounces of rectified spirits of turpentine ; when dissolved, strain it into another bottle, cork it, and place it where the sun will strike. After a time there will be a precipitate ; then put it in another bot- tle clear. This is a good varnish for maps and engravings. Another. — Six ounces of 95 per cent, alcohol ; six ounces of mastic ; fourteen of turpentine. Likewise good for engravings, maps, etc. HOW TO MAKE TRANSFER PAPER. Take any opaque color, and mix it with a very weak solution of gum water. The opaque colors best for this purpose are Indian red, yellow ocher, chrome yellow, and white. When mixed, coat it over thin drawing paper, with a flat brush ; when dry, it is ready for use. It is very serviceable to transfer your sketch made on the tracing paper ; for oil pictures, for instance, when you have made your sketch on the transparent tracing paper, place your transfer paper, the color side to face the canvas, fit on your trace, and mark all your drawing with a bone tracer, or with the point of your sharpened pencil stick, when a very legible outline will be trans- ferred to the canvas, of whatever color your transfer paper is. Of course you will choose a color that will show ; chrome or yellow ocher shows quite sufficiently on light-colored canvas. After removing your paper, it is well to mark over on your can- vas with lead pencil. In making the transfer paper, be careful not to put too much gum in, or the color will not leave so freely as is requisite for tracing. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 841 ANTIQUE VARNISH. This receipt has never before been given, although large sums have repeatedly been offered for the secret. All other receipts are worth- less, and no other preparation will stand the test of time, as this has done. Take one ounce of pure Venice turpentine; mix well with two ounces of pure spirits of turpentine ; warm in a large bottle. In another bottle put four ounces of best fir balsam, (it must be pure,) with two ounces of 95 per cent, alcohol ; shake well each bottle frequently for six hours or more, then mix both preparations in the large bottle. The whole should stand several days before using, in a warm place. CABINET VARNISH. To one gallon of alcohol add six ounces of gum sandarac, three ounces of gum mastic, one half ounce turpentine varnish ; put all in a tin can, and in a warm place, occasionally shaking. Twelve days or so will dissolve the gums. Strain, and it is ready for use. This varnish is good for any sort of wood work, violins, etc. TURPENTINE VARNISH. To one gallon of oil of turpentine add five pounds of powdered resin ; boil for thirty minutes ; strain it ; when cold, it is fit for use. PAPIER MACHE VARNISH EOR PEARLING. Take one quart of the spirit sandarac varnish, mix in three ounces of lampblack, and one ounce of Prussian blue ; blend them together, and it is ready for use. 842 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. TO VARNISH COLORED ENGRAVINGS, CHARTS, MAPS, ETC. Make a frame stiff and strong, similar to those used for canvas in oil painting, except it better be secured at the corners. Then procure cotton cloth two inches larger than the frame all round ; this paste well on one side with strong binder’s paste ; also paste the picture or map, which should lay a few minutes to become moist throughout, and place the pasted sides together, (the cloth and paper,) and rub -with a bone folder, commencing at the middle, out to the corners, that it may not wrinkle. The assistance of a second person would be desirable to hold up the corners until you are prepared to smooth as directed. Before this is dry, tack with lace tacks to the frame evenly ; when it dries it will become very tight and smooth. After the whole is thoroughly dry, take a piece of isinglass, say three inches square, break in small pieces and pour on hot water, about a small cup full, and keep it hot till the isinglass is all dis- solved, and while the solution is warm, with a flat camel’s hair brush, coat the face of your picture evenly, avoiding as far as pos- sible touching a second time (particularly if it is colored) till the first is dry. Be sure that every part has received a portion of the size. When dry varnish with Outside, or Mastic varnish. RECEIPT FOR MAKING GOLD SIZE. Take one pint of boiled oil, and three quarters of a pound of litharge; boil them together for three hours, occasionally stirring it up ; when cold, let it settle for a few days, pour off the clear liquid, and it is ready for use. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 843 TO STRETCH ENGRAVINGS FOR FRAMING. Prepare them as already directed. Pictures much soiled may be washed in clean water, and with blotting or other porous paper the superfluous water absorbs the dirt ; they may be then stretched, and be made to look as smooth and fresh as new. TO CLEANSE CABINET WORK. An excellent method is, in the first place, to saturate the surface with pure olive oil, and then apply a solution made by dissclving gum arabic in boiling alcohol. This will give to the furniture a most brilliant appearance. Another mode is to dissolve a pound and a half of potash in a gallon of hot water; then add a pound of virgin wax, and after boiling it for half an hour, allow it to cool, and the wax will rise to the surface. Put the wax into a mortar, and work it with a marble pestle, adding soft water until it becomes of the consistency of soft paste. Lay this on the furniture, and rub it carefully, when dry, with a w r oolen rag, and a beautiful brilliancy is soon ob- tained. SPATTER WORK. Select the pattern of leaves, ferns, or other design, according to fancy, and affix to the surface of the material which is used, by means of fine needles thickly placed, and closely securing every part of the pattern, so that the edges leave no space between the pattern and the material. Mix India-ink with water in a thin paste. Dip a tooth-brush in the mixture, and, holding the satu- rated brush over the work, quickly draw the teeth of a fine comb over the brush, repeating the operation until the surface is com- 3 44 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. pletely spattered as desired. When thoroughly dry, remove the pattern ; and it will be found in relief tastefully set off by the spattering. Very coarse spatter is made by using the brush without drawing a comb across. All kinds of holly-wood ornaments, tidies, velvet cushions, etc., may be ornamented by spatter work.