Chapter III: Part 3

It is not necessary to mix paints on a palette, washing one color over another will produce better results. A tint is a color absorbed in the picture, and washing or wetting will not remove it. A surface color remains on top, and water will remove it. You can use colors stronger over the shadows. Use just what liquid you will find on the cork of the bottle, added to about one teaspoonful of water, for flesh; for draperies you can use it stronger, or as you desire.

The liquid colors are mostly used, and consist of twelve one ounce bottles, and are very powerful. Therefore, make your application very weak, a mere tint only is required. Repeat the washing or tinting until the desired shade is produced. The colors used are as follows: Black, Red, Blue, Green, Carmine, Gold, Brown, Violet, Orange, Purple and Lemon, all of which are transparent, soluble in water, and used as tinting colors. White is a surface color, and opaque.

For Flesh—Use first a weak wash or tint of gold; over this a tint of red, a little stronger for the lips.

White—This is always used last for high lights; you can make the white any tint by use of other colors.

Black—Can be used for a natural tint if toned down; valuable for all kinds of shading.

Red—Takes readily, and produces all tints from rose to scarlet; used in flesh.

Carmine—A delicate pink to magenta.

Gold—Takes readily; is a substitute for yellow; used for jewelry, flesh, blonde hair, etc.; use weak, and wash over with red for deeper results.

Brown—Takes readily; darkened by tinting over with violet or black.

Violet—Takes on touch, and is very powerful; first application very weak to insure even coloring; it makes all tints from lilac to purple, etc.

Blue—Takes slowly; repeat the washing for deep results.

Green—Takes easily, lighten by washing over with gold; darken with the blue; always let your first wash or tint be very weak; increase as desired by repeating.

The colors in moist cake form are often used, but the liquids are preferable. Sable brushes, about Nos. 3, 8 and 12, are sufficient for ordinary purposes.

HOW TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS
BY THE
GELATINE DRY-PLATE PROCESS

The latest and =most= rapid advance in the art is due to the discovery of the sensitiveness of a gelatine film. This knowledge has been practically applied in the introduction of plates prepared with such a coating; they are called “dry plates,” to distinguish them from plates which must pass through the silver bath, and be used while wet. The gelatine-bromide dry plates are now in general use for taking pictures of out-door scenes, landscapes, houses, groups of people, etc. To make photographs, =First Procure an Outfit= from a dealer in photograph requisites, costing from ten to twenty-five dollars, consisting of a view camera, for making 4×5 or 5×8 inch pictures. This camera is so constructed as to make either a picture on the full size of the plate (5×8 inches), or by substituting the extra front (supplied with the outfit), and using the pair of lenses of shorter focus, it is admirably adapted for taking stereoscopic negatives. Also, by the same arrangements, two small pictures, of dissimilar objects, can be made on the same plate. Included in the outfit, are also one patent double dry-plate holder, one large achromatic nickel plated lens, one pair “Waterbury” achromatic matched stereoscopic lens, one Taylor folding tripod, one carrying case.

=Filling the Plate Holder.= If this is done in the daytime, a closet or room is selected, and all white light excluded from it. It is difficult to make this exclusion absolute. One ray of white light will spoil a sensitive plate, and therefore the evening is generally chosen to develop negatives, and for illumination, the light from a ruby lantern is employed.

Gelatine Plates are glass, with one side coated with gelatine, containing a haloid salt. Place one of them in a dry-plate holder, with the sensitive (or the coated) side facing outward. Handle the plates by the edge, between the thumb and fore finger, without touching the sides. After putting into the holders as many plates as are needed for the day’s work, pack the outfit so that it can be carried about.

=Taking the Picture.= For field service a camera, a number of plate holders, filled with sensitive plates, a lens, tripod, carrying case, and focussing cloth are needed. When these have been taken to the place which you want to photograph, fasten the camera on the tripod, throw the focussing cloth over your head, gather it under your chin, draw out the back of the camera, thus extending the bellows, and continue the movement until the image on the ground glass appears distinct, then fasten the back of the camera. This is called “focussing.” At the first glance, an inexperienced person sees no reflection on the ground glass, but the eye soon becomes practiced to perceiving the inverted image there. Substitute a plate holder for the ground glass, see that the cap is on the lens, pull the slide out of the holder, place it on the top of the camera, or in a convenient place. If everything is now in readiness, and the time for exposing the sensitive plate determined, uncap the lens, re-capping it at the end of the allotted time, and replacing the slide in the holder. After you have picture impressions on each sensitive film, pack your outfit and return home.

=Making Negatives.= Amateurs may content themselves with making the exposures, and sending their plates in a light, tight, negative box, to some photographer, who will produce the finished picture, and mount them on cards. It is not necessary that this should be done at once, months may elapse, and these dry plates be carried hundreds of miles.

The chemical outfit for making negatives comprises the following items: Two vulcanite trays, a glass graduate, a set of small scales, and weights for weighing chemicals, a ruby lantern, a bottle of varnish, a package of dry plates and of chemicals, a small quantity of bromide of ammonium, neutral oxalate of potash, protosulphate of iron, hyposulphite of soda, alum, and sulphuric acid. These chemicals are not dangerous, neither will they injure any one who handles them, and they do not emit offensive odors. Silver stains, and the disagreeable smell of collodion belong to the old or “wet” process.

At a convenient time take the plate holder into the dark room, illuminate it with ruby light, take the sensitive plates out of the holders, being careful not to touch their surfaces. Hold them by the edge. Place one of the sensitive plates, film side up, in a tray partly filled with water. While it remains there, mix this solution: Neutral oxalate of potash, 5 ounces; bromide of potassium, 20 grains; water, 20 ounces. If the solution does not turn blue litmus paper red, add a few drops of oxalic acid, enough to make it do so. A graduated glass is used to measure out the liquids. After rinsing the glass out, mix a second solution made as follows: Protosulphate of iron, 5 ounces; water, 20 ounces; and acidulate it with 20 drops of sulphuric acid. Both of these solutions keep well. Now combine a quarter of an ounce of the latter solution with two ounces of the former and mix them well. Pour off the water in the tray containing the gelatine plates. Be certain not to touch the sensitive side of the plate. Flow the combined developing solution over the plate and displace, by a touch of your finger, any air bubbles that may form. After a short time traces of the image on the sensitive film will appear. If they do not, pour the developing solution back into the tray and add a quarter of an ounce more of the iron solution. Pour the strengthened solution over the plate and look at it intently. In a short time the details of the picture may be dimly seen. Wait patiently till the milky white appearance is changed to a grey color, and then pour off the developer into a developing bottle, if you have one. Wash the plate in two changes of water. In the unused tray mix a solution composed of 4 ounces of hyposulphite of soda and 20 ounces of water. (Label this tray “Hypo.,” and do not use it for any other purpose.) A plate lifter is a convenient device for taking plates out of the solutions or baths. Change the plate to the hypo. tray, and let it remain there until every vestige of the milky white appearance has vanished, even from the under surface of the plate. The plate can now be examined by white light, which has no effect upon it at this stage. Wash it thoroughly. A negative washing box will be found to be of great assistance. If this washing of the plate is not done thoroughly, the hyposulphite of soda crystals will adhere to the plate and mar the picture. Meanwhile rinse out the tray first in use and partially fill it with a solution consisting of 20 ounces of water and all the alum it will hold in solution. Allow the plate to remain in the alum bath five minutes. Cleanse your hands from any adhering soda solution. Again wash the plate, and set it on edge to dry in a negative rack.

All the preceding instructions can be briefly summarized.

1. Put some sensitive plates into dry plate holders.

2. Make the exposure.

3. After taking a plate out of the holder, place it in a tray filled with water.

4. Drain off the water and put the plate in the mixed developing solution.

5. Wash the plate and place it in the soda solution.

6. Wash the plate and give it an alum bath.

7. Wash the plate and set it in the rack to dry. When perfectly dry, coat the plate over with negative varnish, and have that coating dry and hard. Now it may be touched by the fingers.

=Making Prints from Negatives.= At this point the work ceases to be one of faith, as the results are now to appear. An outfit of printing requisites comprises a printing frame, a porcelain pan, a vulcanite tray, some ready sensitized paper, a bottle of French azotate, a bottle of chloride of gold, a glass graduate, some hyposulphite of soda, a glass form, a Robinson trimmer, some sheets of fine card-board, a jar of parlor paste, and a bristle brush.

=Sensitized Paper Prints.= In the morning prepare a toning bath sufficient for the prints to be toned that day. Put 7½ grains of chloride of gold into 7½ ounces of water. Label the bottle “Chloride of Gold Solution.” Take 1 ounce of French azotate, 1½ ounces of the chloride of gold solution, and add 6 ounces of water, and you have a toning bath which keeps well. Where the prints do not give the required tone, the bath must be strengthened by adding to it some new solution. Place the glossy side of a sheet of sensitized paper upon the film side of the negative in the printing frame. _Do this in a very dim light._

The printing has gone far enough when the print looks a little darker than you wish the finished picture to appear. Make as many prints from the negative as you desire. Wash the prints in several changes of water. Take seven ounces of the toning solution and change the prints to the pan containing it, where the prints should be turned over and over to make the toning even. The toning process should go on until the dark part of the pictures have a very faint purplish tint and the white portion is clear. Wash the picture, but preserve the toning solution. The pictures should now be left for twenty minutes in a solution composed of 4 ounces of hyposulphite of soda, 1 ounce of common salt, ½ ounce of washing soda, and 32 ounces of water. This solution should also be prepared a day or two in advance. Give the pictures a final and effectual washing. After they are dried, lay them out one by one and, using the Robinson trimmer, cut them to the desired size. Now spread over the back of each in turn some parlor paste, and lay them down with the center on the sheets of card-board. This operation is called “Mounting Pictures.” Press with a paper cutter upon the pictures and toward their edges until you are satisfied that they will lay flat.

DRAUGHTSMEN’S SENSITIVE PAPER,
FOR COPYING DRAWINGS.

Procure a printing frame, such as photographers use; lay the tracing, face down, upon the glass, upon which place the sensitive paper, prepared side down, then several thicknesses of cotton flannel for a pad to equalize the pressure, and cause the sensitive paper and tracing to lay in close contact, and then close in the back. If, on turning the frame over, any wrinkles appear, that side of the hinged back may be opened and a piece of paper laid in just above the spot, when all will come smooth on closing the frame, (this should be done in a dimly lighted room), then expose to direct sunlight, care being taken that the whole frame comes under the light, without shadows; let the exposure be from five to ten minutes, according to the brightness of the day. Remove again to darkened room, examine by opening one of the hinged backs; if the lines have slightly turned in color, it has been highly exposed; it can be removed and washed in clear water, with two or three changes, then hang up to dry. You will have an exact copy of the original, with white lines on a blue ground, at a cost of about one tenth that of tracing, with absolutely no error. The paper must be kept in perfect darkness until used.

THE NEW
WOOD PAINTING.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.

The term wood painting has, through the numerous designs invented for the purpose, found such a widespread use that it would be wasted pains to attempt to substitute a more fitting one. Not everything that is painted upon wood, falls under the knowledge of wood painting. No one would think of counting an oil painting, executed upon wood, under the category of wood painting. But if the colors were the distinguishing sign, then wood and water color painting would fall together, or wood painting could be only an aquarelle painting applied upon wood. Wood painting permits itself to be thus defined, inasmuch as the character of the material and the choice of its objects differ, so _wood water-color painting_ differs from the actual water color.

While it is possible for the water-color artist to produce upon paper the softest tones and most brilliant phenomena of nature, so that the painting inspires the observer through its life-like freshness; if the same picture, by the same artist’s hand, were reproduced in exactly the same manner upon wood, it would appear raw and unfinished,—yes, even wholly incorrect.

The prepared wood takes the softest tint, as well as paper, but the texture of the wood shimmers through the transparent tones, and though the fibres and pores of the same have taken another hue, they still act as wood, and thereby destroy the effect which the artist intended. For it is originally the task of the artist to thus deceive the human sense of vision in such a manner, and so faithfully imitate the appearance of things in nature that the observer must believe himself transported in the midst of reality and actual life, through the activity of fancy; in short, the artist must reproduce true to nature, and his pictures have the effect of nature.

If one was to try with exclusive body colors which do not allow the grain of the wood to penetrate, to attain this ideal of painting, and attempt to create upon wood an actual life-like picture, we would not conceive such an aquarelle, that never can compare with a picture upon paper in softness, just as little as an oil painting upon wood, as wood painting in the general sense.

Therefore, neither the material to be painted nor the colors applied are the criterion of distinguishing reasons for wood painting on one hand, and the oil or nearer related aquarelle painting on the other.

The difference in a measure lies herein, that the characteristic peculiarity of wood does not subdue, but is drawn upon for the effect of the painting, partly in the nature of that which painting upon wood represents or should represent.

Wood painting, as far as we have touched upon it, cannot and does not intend to create natural pictures; it only serves to ornament objects in wood, which through colored and tasteful designs are to produce an agreeable charm to the eye. It is not an object in itself, like a painting, the frame of which serves as a folio, but an external addition, like the ornaments of buildings, to make an otherwise monotonous surface interesting.

Wooden articles admit of being ornamented in various ways, through sculpture work, by inlaying of colored woods and metal, and by painting.

The choice of ornamenting is naturally dependent upon the purpose the object to be decorated is intended for; a table, which must naturally have a smooth surface, we would not think of making useless by carving the top.

Wood painting, as it is now _en vogue_, is of a recent date, and originally sprang out of the idea to imitate the mosaic work of art cabinet-makers.

It may, with consideration for the purpose of the objects to be ornamented, also imitate carving, but must not go beyond the wood tones and the production of the effects of light; it may even attempt to imitate enamel work by the application of strong, bright colors; but it ought at the same time be in keeping with the purpose the object in hand is intended for, and never involve itself in contradictions.

Its refined field should always remain the imitative, and should therefore confine itself as near as possible upon the application of ornaments with a surface where effect is flat, and consequently do not mar the surface. To apply figures, modest, decorative additions for the ornamentation of surfaces, is allowable, as long as they do not clash with the character of the surface; but here the limits that are drawn by the nature of the article are not to be overstepped. For every perspective representation of a figure painted with the application of light and shade intends to deceive the observer; it lifts itself off the surface and no longer works upon our fancy as a part of the surface, but as body. Cases, chests and other large pieces may be decorated in this manner; tables, portfolios and similar pieces which in themselves are required to have smooth surfaces; smaller objects to be handled, where the sense of touch can at every moment convince itself of the attempted deception intended for the eye, one will do well to take heed in not painting these with figures of a plastic effect. Such contradictions are not to be tolerated in principle and should be avoided in the selection of patterns and designs.

To create a real picture in the beginning lies outside the province of the art of wood painting, and therefore the practice of the same, as far as it does not reach into the professional art, must always be confined within the circle of amateurs. Good, correct drawings of the outlines, cleanliness in coloring and a proper combination of the colors, is the highest aim the art of painting upon wood may achieve; for the artist is greatly answerable for the composition of ornaments, where designs are used as patterns.

But even in the narrow limits in which the art of painting upon wood moves, it accomplishes much that is beautiful, that the acquirement of the same cannot be too strongly recommended.

This is especially intended for young ladies, who, in the occupation of painting upon wood, find just as agreeable and remunerative diversion as the tedious, sense-dulling work of embroidery.

=General Preliminaries.= The first essential requirement to paint upon wood is, without a doubt, practice in drawing.

One is easily inclined, inasmuch as there is no self-inventive gift employed in connection with it, to consider painting on wood as a purely mechanical work, because the design is traced and transferred upon wood, by means of tracing paper; yet there remains, up to this easy beginning, the further embellishment entirely to the free hand, and it is just here that difficulties meet the painter unskilled in the art of drawing.

The difficult point in wood painting lies in the conscientious, artistic execution; the more pains taken in that direction, the stronger the lines of beauty and harmony in coloring, the more certain it is to obtain something excellent in this work.

The simplest design, when correctly and cleanly painted, has a more agreeable effect upon the observer than the most beautiful pattern that has been faultily produced through a series of shortcomings.

=Requisites.= The possession of a good and complete set of instruments, in a measure, assists in the success of the work. The following utensils are used in wood painting: Lead Pencils, (Faber’s B, HB, HH), a pen knife, a lead pencil file, an eraser, a horn protractor upon which to rest the compass upon round articles, a ruler, a square, a porcelain palette with six cells, several good fine and coarse water-color brushes on handles with metal ferrules, several sheets of extra fine tracing paper or cloth; the latter is more expensive than the paper, but far more durable, in such cases where the drawing is gone over again. For the drawing of fine outlines, pens (Gillott’s crowquill pens are best); for heavier outlines or large designs goosequills are best. It is desirable to possess a complete outfit of drawing materials, of which the following are indispensable: A drawing pen, a compass with pen and pencil pieces.

=The Colors.= It is advisable to use only the genuine India ink, as the ordinary India ink nearly always discolors the soft tints that are painted over it, which sometimes spoils the entire work. The ordinary water-colors, not the covering or Gouache colors are to be used. The prepared wood just as readily takes the Gouache and covering colors, as a large number of designs of natural flowers show, yet this method should not be indulged in, for this reason, because it completely covers the texture of the wood, thereby giving the art critic an opportunity to censure.

Since wood painting is mostly an imitation of inlaid wood work—mosaic—as a rule the preference should be given to the application of the fitting colors to the stained wood tones. Who does not possess a complete outfit of colors, ought at least secure the following: sepia, dark sepia, burnt sienna, light ochre, dark vermilion, carmine, cobalt blue, Indian red, olive green, Roman brown, lampblack and white.

The best colors are the Dusseldorf (Schonfeld or Winsor & Newton’s) moist water-colors, in metal tubes or porcelain pans. Gold and silver is generally painted from shells, this is to be used sparingly, and is polished when the work is finished with a steel instrument, a knitting-needle, glove buttoner, or an agate burnisher. Red gold has a dark effect, retreating; green gold, on the other hand, stands out and has a light appearance. Black-lead is to be had in lumps, and is most effective for bright or red ornamentations. Bronze powder is prepared with a little gum water. The possession of a magnifying glass is of importance in going over the work when finished, and subjecting the same to a severe scrutiny. It also greatly assists in the correction of faults that may have crept in.

=Transferring the Drawing upon Wood.= A design should be chosen that corresponds with the size and shape of the wood article. A design is seldom spoiled by extending the outer lines, yet we should be cautioned against the reverse case, in trying to force a large design upon a small space by omitting the outer lines that serve as a frame.

=Enlarging and Reducing Designs.= If a design is to be brought within the compass of another, reduced or enlarged, take a proportional divider, or draw a net of equal squares, the original or a drawing of the same with a lead pencil, in proportion required for the wood surface, which are numbered. In each square exactly the same parts are drawn from the design which are contained in the corresponding square on the wood.

=The Divisions of the Wood Surface.= At the beginning of the work, the surface to be painted is divided by distinct pencil lines into halves, quarters, sixths, etc., just as the design admits of; these lines serve as a starting point for the traced design to be placed upon this, where halves, quarters, etc., must fit exactly into these. The measuring is done by means of a compass or a strip of paper the length of the object, which gives the center point by cutting the same in two. In painting round articles, such as lamp plates, table tops, etc., a sheet of paper of the exact size is cut out This is folded once, in halves and quarters, as the case may be. It is spread upon the surface of the article, then prick through the creases where they cross each other. To avoid injury to the center of a round wooden plate by the repeated application of a compass, a horn protractor is fastened to the center with thumb tacks, which leaves the center transparent, upon which the compass may be applied with considerable pressure. In the absence of a compass with an extension where large circles are required, a strip of pasteboard is substituted; this is fastened to the center by a needle. For every cross line a hole is made into the strip, the pencil is inserted and drawn around by moving the strip in a circular motion.

=The Tracing and Transferring of Designs.= The design is carefully drawn upon tracing paper or tracing cloth, by means of a medium soft pencil; the more perfect the drawing is made, the more it will lighten the work. If the drawing obtained is perfectly symmetrical, i. e., the right half of the same exactly like the left, it will save much time and labor by transferring it upon the surface by rubbing. If the symmetrical design is accompanied in the center by a monogram, motto, figures or flowers, these are for the present omitted and traced in a manner which will be explained further on.

The tracing of an entirely symmetrical design is reversed, with the drawing turned downward upon the wood and carefully observed that the center of the tracing lies completely in correspondence with the center line of the division line of the surface. The tracing paper is fastened with wax, and held as firmly with the left hand as possible, that it cannot be displaced, and rubbed with a paper folder or the thumb-nail of the right hand over all parts of the design, until the same is plainly transferred upon the wood. For figures, flowers, monograms and all not strictly symmetrical designs, the following manner is applied: The tracing paper is laid upon the surface, design upward, under which a piece of colored transfer paper is placed and the design is retraced with a hard lead pencil. For this somewhat slower and more tedious manner it is advisable to fasten the tracing and transfer paper with thumb-tacks. Those parts of the surface are selected for the thumb-tacks that are afterwards to be painted with black or other ground colors, so that there will be no visible traces left after design has been transferred.

=Fixing the Transferred Design.= After the design has been transferred, all the straight and intersecting lines are carefully measured and compared with the compass from the center or the dividing middle lines; then with the drawing pen and India ink the entire design is gone over in fine lines. In figures and light ornamental designs, that come upon a dark ground, the India ink line is not put over, but closely to the outside pencil mark, or such figures will become too faint in the beginning, and are lost in the dark ground, whilst it can always be remedied by the subsequent removal of parts that have been drawn too heavily. The entire article is now cleaned from all pencil marks left by tracing, and the coloring begins.

=The Coloring.= Spread upon the palette, before beginning to paint, all the different colors, in sufficient quantity, that are to be used. A good rule in coloring the design, is not to apply the colors in too dry a state, so that the separate brush strokes may not be visible. The coloring is just that part of the work which cannot be explicitly enough described and taught in written instructions, and can only be thoroughly comprehended through the practical knowledge gained by experience, and thereby perfected.

Upon the most delicate tinting of entire surfaces the middle tones follow, lastly the dark ground colors, black, and the metals. Allow each color to dry thoroughly before beginning with the next, or going over it. The colors must stand out boldly from each other and should not be too lightly applied; this must be particularly observed in the dark body tints, as the colors lose a little of their depth in the process of polishing.

When the work is completed, the entire drawing is gone over again with a fine brush or pen; all the outlines lost in painting are reproduced with India ink.

Clear white upon light wood is to be avoided as much as possible; on the other hand, a mixture of white serves to make the light colors stand out more effectively upon gray or black wood.

=Retouching.= If there are any weak points in the painting, the spots are to be carefully removed with a damp sponge, and the dampened parts scraped clean with a penknife. If visible holes are left by the thumb tacks used in the tracing of the design, a small drop of clear water is applied to them, when they will gradually draw together. Paint in good light, have a steady table, and keep the design constantly before the eyes during the work.

In painting boxes and other high objects, it is necessary to place on the right and left of the same some other objects, such as books, to reach the plane of the surface being painted, in order that the hand and arm may rest with ease.

=The Wood Articles.= Wooden articles ready for painting are procured from the cabinet makers, or at the art stores.

There are over 900 different articles in wood for decorating, in all shapes and sizes, beautifully and tastily finished, for the artist and amateur to paint upon. A few of them may be mentioned here—tables, panels, workboxes, paper weights, fancy boxes, fans, hat brushes, glove boxes, albums, dust pans and brushes, photo frames, easels, trays and newspaper holders. What canvas is to oil painting, and paper is to color painting, the above articles are to the art of painting upon wood.

Not every ordinary smooth-planed piece of wood is adapted to painting. The wood must be prepared for the purpose it is intended for, or it would cause the color to flow or spread. Lime, maple, chestnut, ash and holly are the woods generally manufactured into articles intended for painting upon. Olive wood is also excellent for this purpose. In the south of France and Italy, painted olive wood, forms quite an article of commerce, being closely allied with the inlaid work.

=Polishing.= Procure a bottle of the wood varnish (prepared for this purpose); in a warm room, with a soft flat brush, go over the article as rapidly as possible, with a thin coat. Leave this first coating until the next day to dry, in a place entirely free from dust. The varnish is applied twice more in the same manner; then have at hand a small bottle of white shellac polish and one of linseed oil. Make a small ball of flannel; put upon this a few drops of the oil; then cover it with a piece of linen, which is moistened with the polish, and the article is rubbed in a circular manner, without resting upon the article when the rubbing is discontinued. If the linen should adhere during the polishing, put a drop of the oil upon it. It sometimes requires from one to two hours of constant rubbing until the surface is completely smooth and polished.

=Designs= recommended are those by Minna Laudin, Hermann Schaper, E. Wendt, Emil Zschimmer and Elizabeth Hubler. They are lithographic color plates, and come in the form of sets.

Minna Laudin’s designs are among the newest. The two sets contain over twenty patterns, each fitting exactly in size and shape the wooden articles already mentioned.

Schaper’s designs are intended for larger pieces, such as table tops, music holders, lamp trays, etc. His first series (entirely new) is divided into five sheets, with as many sheets upon which the outlines of the designs are clearly printed, to facilitate the transferring of the same upon wood.

E. Wendt’s designs are both unique and rich in their way, and contain considerable ornamental work in gold and silver. His designs for table tops are extremely handsome.

Emil Zschimmer’s and Elizabeth Hubler’s are acknowledged as standard works, and favorites of the artists engaged in painting upon wood.

TRANSPARENCIES.

These transparencies, or window pictures, are of late very much used and admired, and are purchased by those who have no knowledge of how they are made, at exorbitant prices. They are made upon glass, perfectly transparent, and require a good light to see them. The way these pictures are produced is simple, and the process easy to learn. In it lies the secret, or fundamental principles, of all glass pictures.

=Instructions.= Procure a fine, clear, French plate glass, size required, to receive the picture, and make it perfectly clean with alcohol. Select the picture you may desire from the list of fine steel engravings contained in magazines, etc. Go over the face with a damp sponge, in order to remove the dust or spots that may have accumulated upon it, and smoothing it out. Apply to the face of the print, with a brush, a paste made from amylum, a teaspoonful, and nitrate strontium, ⅛ ounce—sometimes albumen is used. Now go over the glass in the same way, evenly and smoothly. When this is done, lay the picture, face down, upon the glass, and press with dry cloth until every part of the picture has adhered to the glass, and all the air bubbles pressed out. Lay away the glass for a few hours, until perfectly dry, when you wet the paper and commence rubbing it off; if it works well without any further wetting, continue the process until every vestige of paper has been removed, and nothing left upon the glass but the outlines of your engraving. Oil it now with castor oil three parts, oil of lavender one: if too thick, add turpentine. It is now complete, and by holding it to the light it will present a beautiful, steel-like engraving transparency.

You can add a border if you like, by pasting around the margin a tinted paper; or to give them still a better finish, back them up with a pane of ornamental ground glass, and place in a transparency metal frame, with rings to hang them by, which can be found at any art store.

THE
Crystal, or Oriental Painting.

INSTRUCTION.

Lay the glass over the pattern or copy you wish to paint from, such as flowers, birds, wreaths, etc., then with a fine pencil brush, or a common writing pen, trace all the outlines of your pattern as well as possible on the glass, using for that purpose black paint made from lampblack and copal varnish; if too thick, add a little turpentine. When this is done, paint all the glass outside the picture, or that part not occupied by your drawing, with the black paint, same as used in making the outlines, only a trifle thicker. This will give your picture a neat background; other colors can be used, but this gives the best body, and is the most appropriate, contrasting well with the other colors to be used in the picture.

Let it lay until well dried, so the black will not unite with the colors you are about to use. Now, with the glass still remaining over the copy, you may commence applying the paints, if the tracing lines are dry. If you are painting a red rose, use carmine and flake white, Prussian blue, and chrome yellow for the leaf, etc., using a small camel-hair brush. Continue in this way until you have used all the colors which appear in your copy or picture underneath, which remains there to guide you, and the pen lines upon the glass to separate the colors. When the first color is perfectly dry, apply the second, and so on until you have completed all the work which the copy demands, using your own judgment in the matter, applying them as they appear in the picture you are working from.

When the painting is done and dry, cover the back of the transparency with _copper or tin-foil_ crinkled, which gives it a sparkling, crystal-like appearance. It is now ready for framing. In placing it in the frame, be careful and not press the backboard too close on to the foil, or it will destroy the brilliant effect in the picture.

The colors used in this kind of painting must be _transparent_ oil colors, with the exception of the background.

For white, use ground silver or flake white; for blue, Prussian blue; for pink, mix scarlet lake and silver white; orange, mix chrome yellow and scarlet lake; for red, use scarlet lake, crimson lake, or carmine; for green, mix Prussian blue and yellow lake; for purple, mix red and blue. Use the best tube paints and camel-hair brushes.

No style of painting has yet been produced which shows transparent colors to such advantage, and never fails to attract attention and admirers wherever introduced.

It is called Oriental from the fact of its producing effects of coloring equal to the colors of Oriental flowers, and the plumage of Oriental birds.

ANTIQUE
Italian Landscape Painting

ON GLASS.

All honor to the worthy sire who produced the first pictures upon glass, paper or canvass, with oil; and, although those pictures have passed from sight of the present generation, we live to enjoy the knowledge given to us through history, that many a fine artist did live long enough to give to the world the highest productions of his artistic hand; and, although passed to “that bourne from whence no traveler returns,” his teachings are still practiced among men. And no man, however original he may be, can to-day sit down and paint the form or ornament of a house, but that it will be the development or degradation of forms practiced by the artists of early days. The style of painting which is given below is somewhat ancient, but very ornamental and useful; and, although to an extent it passed from existence years ago, the lovers of decorative art have again revived it in the East, and it is now being sought after and practiced by thousands on account of its being cheap and easy to attain. This plan of transferring the engraving from paper to glass, and discarding the paper wholly, is simply wonderful. We give it below:

Procure a fine quality of French glass, make perfectly clean with alcohol, then apply with a stiff brush a coat of damar varnish; after drying about an hour, apply another coat, evenly and smoothly; this allow to dry about ten minutes, or just long enough to make it sticky. Procure an uncolored steel engraving that you may desire to see painted, and trim off all the paper not connected with the picture. Dampen it with a sponge or wet cloth, and while yet damp place the engraving on the glass with the face to the varnish, rubbing with your dry hand or cloth until every part adheres to the surface, and all air has been removed, rubbing from the center.

Lay this away a few hours, until it is perfectly dry, then dampen the picture again, and commence rubbing therefrom the paper; continue this until you have removed every vestige of the same, nothing remaining upon the glass but the face of the engraving. Now apply a coat of boiled oil, let it dry fifteen or twenty minutes, and apply another, or a coat of varnish, evenly and smoothly; after laying an hour or two it is ready to receive the paint. As the paper has been all removed the colors will strike through readily. Arrange the glass to the light in such a manner that you may see through it, and apply the colors to the engraving on the back, as in the Grecian oil. The outlines and shades are already produced by the engraving, and all that is necessary now is to place the colors where they belong, which, with a little practice, can soon be acquired.

The paints used are, yellow lake, yellow ochre, chrome yellow, chrome green, Prussian blue, burnt sienna, Vandyke brown, ivory black, verdigris green, silver white, mixed with damar varnish. Use brushes as in Grecian oil.

THE
GRECIAN OIL PAINTING.

Grecian oil paintings are made from engravings and lithographs. There is but little of it done in this country; and, although there was quite an interest manifested in it here a few years ago, it did not live long, and this is the first time I have seen the instructions in print since or before.

We select the engraving most desired to hang upon our walls, (regardless of size), and place it upon a frame or stretcher with small tacks or glue; this prepares it for the work. When ready, commence by sponging it with clean water; when dry, saturate it well with turpentine, applied with a large size paint brush; when this is done, apply Grecian varnish in the same way, spreading it smoothly and evenly over the surface, until all the dry spots in the paper have entirely disappeared. The application may be made on either side of the picture. When done, let it lay level (with the face down), twenty-four hours, and it will then do to paint, if free from spots and perfectly transparent. When you commence upon the back to paint, follow the lines with those colors necessary to make it look natural; the shading being made by the engraving, nothing is necessary but to apply the colors required. Suit your taste in choosing those colors. Mix the paints with varnish made from balsam fir three parts, alcohol two parts, and spirits of turpentine one part; or use _tube paints_, which are already prepared.

In painting the figure of a person, if the eyes are blue, mix Prussian blue and white; for dark eyes or hair, Vandyke brown works with good effect; for flesh color, mix red, white and a little yellow, adding a little more red for lips or cheeks. You may suit your own taste in regard to the color for background, but I will suggest equal parts of blue, red, green, and Vandyke brown, covering all that part which is not connected with the object you have painted. Don’t apply a second color until the first is perfectly dry. When done, give the face a coat of varnish.

The colors suitable for this painting are chrome yellow, yellow lake, emerald green, carmine, Prussian blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna, Vandyke brown, ivory black and silver lake.

The brushes required are one large varnish brush, with two or three small to medium size camel or sable hair paint brushes.

ORNAMENTAL
GLASS SIGN WORK.

FOR LETTERING DOOR PLATES,

ORNAMENTING GLASS WORK BOXES, ETC.

How this art may be applied to making signs of every description, numbers of dwellings, door plates, ornamental borders for pictures, ornamenting work boxes, etc., which are made at a trifling expense, and unsurpassed for brilliancy.

First. Clean well the glass to be used, with alcohol. Second. Wet with your tongue the side cleaned, and immediately lay over the whole of that side a coat of gold or silver leaf. Third. Let this dry on—it will take from two to four minutes. Fourth. When the leaf has dried on the glass, polish it with a ball of cotton. Some of the leaf may possibly be rubbed off by the polishing, but this is of no consequence. Fifth. After polishing, wet again with your tongue the whole side you have polished, and lay another coating of leaf over it. Let this dry. Sixth. After the second coat of leaf is dry, polish it as before, with the ball of cotton, and then your sign or door plate will be ready for lettering.

As a border will add much to the appearance of the plate, I will now instruct you how to make one. Rule with the point of a needle two lines around the edge of the plate, the outside line one-quarter of an inch from the edge. After the lines have been ruled, wet your pencil brush, and with it moisten the leaf laying outside of the space between the lines you have ruled, and remove with the brush the leaf thus moistened, working gently from the lines. Your border is now made.

Your next step is to put the lettering on the glass. To do this, first measure the height of your letters, then rule with the needle two lines as far apart as the letters are high. When this is done, lay the letters on the leaf, one at a time, beginning at the right hand, and placing the back of the letters up, or backwards. Hold the letters on firmly with your left hand, and with your right mark around them with a needle. When you have marked around all the letters in this way, wet with your tongue the pencil brush, and apply it to all the leaf on the glass, except what is needed for the letters and border; then remove the leaf thus wet by rubbing it gently with the brush.

The next process is to apply the Japan. Do this with a small paint brush, and cover the whole of the side which has been covered with the silver leaf. It will require two coats, and after these are dry you have an elegant plate.

All that now remains to be done is to place the plate in a frame, to do this apply a little putty to the edges of the glass, and set it in the frame; then lay upon the back a piece of paper of the same size, and over that a piece of tin, and fill up the remaining space with plaster of Paris. Your door plate is now complete.

To ornament glass work boxes, flowering, etc., proceed as above.

=Articles Used.= A small camel-hair pencil brush, cost three cents; blue or black enamel, or Japan, per gill, 25 cents; selected silver leaf, per book, (24 sheets), 24 cents; patterns for letters, per set, 37½ cents; patterns for numbers, per set, 25 cents.

[NOTE.—A gill of Japan will answer for fifty signs. A book of silver leaf will answer for six or eight door plates.]

VITREMANIE.

FOR THE EASY AND INEXPENSIVE DECORATION OF WINDOWS, CHURCHES, PUBLIC
BUILDINGS, AND PRIVATE HOUSES.

Vitremanie is the process by which glass of all kinds may be easily, durably, inexpensively, and elegantly decorated by any person. Diaphanie, which this art supersedes, was a great success, (no less than 250,000 sheets of designs having been sold in England alone). It had, however, its defects; the sheets being applied with transfer varnish, bubbles of air sometimes remained between the design and the glass, which in the subsequent process of rubbing off the paper, resulted in holes; this rubbing off, moreover, required much time, patience, and care, and was rarely perfectly performed. These defects are obviated by Vitremanie. By this method the designs, after being covered with Glucine, may be applied to the glass with water only, and the paper removed entire, a few minutes sufficing for the operation, and nothing being left upon the glass but the design in colors of unclouded brilliancy and transparency.

=The Materials Required= are as follows: The printed designs, three brushes, (two of camel’s hair and one of hog’s hair), a bottle of each, Glucine and enamel varnish, a roller, a sponge, a little blotting paper, and a pair of scissors.

The instructions are very simple. With the camel-hair brush pass a coating of Glucine over the colored face of the designs that are proposed to be used, care being taken that the Glucine does not touch the plain side of the paper; the sheets of the designs should be laid flat to dry, they should be left two or three days before being used, and they will remain good for three months, or even longer.

To apply the design to the glass it should be wetted with water on both sides, the glass should also be wetted; lay the design on the glass, and roll well down—all air bubbles will be easily removed by this means—keep the plain side of the paper wet for a few minutes, then, with the point of a knife, carefully raise a corner of the paper and pull it gently off; the work is now to be washed with a camel-hair brush and water, and afterwards dried by placing a piece of blotting paper over the work, and rolling it; leave it now for a few hours, then coat it with enamel varnish, and the work is finished. In removing the paper it is sometimes better, particularly when the design is large, to carefully scratch a hole in the paper, and tear it off in pieces from the center. The work is more easily performed on free glass, cut to the proper sizes, and afterwards fixed over the glass already in the window, by means of a bead; it may, however, be done upon the window as it stands.

The designs may be arranged to fit any window, strips of lead foil applied with gum being used for the purpose of covering the edges of the borders, groundings, etc., where they join. For circles and other shapes the strips of lead may be stretched with the thumb and fingers to any pattern desired, the creases being smoothed by the handle of a knife or paper-cutter, slightly wetted.

DIAPHANIE.

The Diaphanie prints for transferring to glass are very similar to the Decalcomanies; they are colored lithographs arranged on paper for transferring to glass, to represent stained glass, and is equally as pretty, and not so expensive. By this plan you may ornament your church windows, lamp shades, glass work boxes, or wherever stained glass is employed.

The materials required are a bottle of fixatif for fastening it to the glass, one or two medium size brushes, a bottle of transparent varnish, a plate of glass, and your design.

=The Application= is as follows: Lay on a coat of the fixatif to the face of the design, and place it upon the glass, pressing it closely and evenly, that it may adhere perfectly to the entire surface of the glass. In order to do this, it may be well to lay over the design a piece of heavy damp paper, and then roll it to the glass with a small roller used for that purpose; when this is done, and it is dry, apply a coat of transparent varnish with a flat camel-hair brush.

Some of the designs used are as follows: There are the Japanese and China figures, autumn leaves, Grecian and Egyptian heads, birds of paradise, soldiers, national figures in bronze, butterflies, angels with wings, roses, fruits and flowers, buildings, landscapes, etc., besides ten thousand other choice selections which can be furnished to you by mail, at catalogue prices.

PAINTING ON
SILK, SATIN AND VELVET,

WITH THE ENGLISH OIL COLORS.

From all the different styles of modern painting, we select this as the most admired, and seemingly the most sought after by ladies of taste, fashion, or wealth; for nothing will aid more in beautifying the dress than a beautiful flower or butterfly painted upon the little satin or silk scarf which surrounds the neck, the collar or cuffs; your monogram on one corner the pocket handkerchief, or any other portion of the dress desired by the lady artist and lady of taste.