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picture which do not appear satisfactory, or to produce particular effects, such as representations of smoke, dust, mists, and the like. Caution is, however, necessary in glazing with opaque colours; because, if used in excess, they will deteriorate the picture, by destroying its transparency. Should a glazing produce a result different from what was intended, the glaze may easily be removed by a rag, or, if the spot be small, by the finger, provided the removal be effected immediately, that is, before the glaze has had time to fasten itself upon, or to soften, the colour on which it is laid, and in no case must glazing be attempted before the colours over which it is laid have become perfectly dry and firm.

IMPASTING. - In oil painting, the shadows, or dark portions of the picture, are painted thinly, while the lights are laid on, or impasted with a full pencil and a stiff colour. In the lights of the foreground, and of parts not intended to be remote, or to retire, the impasting should be bold and free; while, in the more brilliant lights, it cannot well be too solid. There is, however, a reasonable limit to the practice; since actual protuberance or prominence of the paint itself will, in certain lights, produce a false shadow, and therefore a bad and false effect. This will be understood, from observing that the loading of thick masses of colour upon the picture, so as to make them project considerably from the surface, is done with the view of their being strongly illuminated by light actually incident upon the picture, and of thus mechanically aiding in the production of roundness and relief, or in giving a sparkling effect to polished objects or glittering points. But this artifice must be had recourse to sparingly and cautiously; else it defeats its own object, and produces a coarse and vulgar air and effect. The palette knife has always been a favourite instrument of this impasting, or laying on of colour, capable as it is of producing an agreeable brightness on, and of giving an appropriate flatness to, the pigment. A clear and appropriate tint, for instance,

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skilfully swept across a sky by these means, often produces a surprisingly brilliant and charming effect.

SCUMBLING.-Scumbling, the opposite process to that of glazing, is done by going lightly over the work with an opaque tint, generally produced by an admixture of white. For this purpose a hog-hair brush is employed, charged with colour but sparingly; and with it the tints are drawn very thinly, and somewhat loosely, over the previous painting, which should, as in the case of glazing, be dry and firm. Scumbling is used to modify certain effects, by rendering the portion, to which it is applied, cooler, greyer, and in fact less defined, than it was before, and to give air and distance to objects that seemed too near. It is thus of service both in correcting a tendency tc muddiness or dirtiness of colour, and to what may be called hardness or overdistinctness of detail, and in weakening the force of colours that are too powerful by softening and uniting such tints as may be too violently contrasted. It is desirable to avoid, as far as possible, scumbling over shadows, as an inexperienced hand might thus destroy their transparency.

Harmony of Colours. - Harmory of colour is produced by an equable use and distribution of the primary colours, whether used simply as sach, or united in various proportions in their compounds. Harmony is recognized in a picture when nothing exists in it that disturbs the eye by violent opposition or contrast of colours; judicious contrast, however, tends much to produce har mony, when the force of the contrast is diminished by the juxtaposition of tones partaking more or less of the colours employed in producing the contrast. This we shall End is the process employed by nature, the reds in which are harmonized with the contrasting green by hues of orange, or yellow green; and so with other colours. Harmony of colour in painting is best obtained by setting the palette with those pigments which, through the prevalence of any of the primaries, blend, or, as it were, run into

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Painting in Water Colours.The practice of the art consists of sketching the outline, of tinting or shading with sepia, bistre, or india-ink; and of the application of the pigments, in three or more successive stages, to the attainment of a finished drawing. Our instructions must, of necessity, be of a general character, because almost every artist of genius finds out for himself and practises some peculiar methods of applying the pigments, which can only be learned by those who become his pupils. These peculiar methods constitute the various styles of the masters of the art, by which their works are so readily recognized and distinguished.

Materials. The principal materials required by the painter in water colours are drawing paper, ivory, for miniatures, a drawing board, pigments or colours, lead pencils, hair pencils, or brushes, palettes, slabs, and saucers, cups or glasses for holding water, sponge, gum water, ox-gall, india-rubber, drawing pins, a sharp convex-pointed knife, a flat ruler.

The Painting Room.-The choice of a situation for the practice of painting is not a matter of indifference: the room should be well lighted, of a northern aspect, if possible, and free from reflected colours from opposite objects. As dust and grease are inimical to the delicacy and integrity of water-colour painting, it will be the first care of the student to

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guard against them. The light should fall on the left hand of the painter, and not be admitted below the head. A room lighted from above, or by a skylight, is much to be preferred.

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Pencils, or Brushes for Water Colours. The hair pencils, or brushes used in water-colour painting are made of camelhair, and fitch, or sable. The best are those known as soft brown or black sables; those made of red sable are not so useful, as they possess the bad quality of stiffness, and disturb the colours by their harshness. These brushes will hold a considerable quantity of fluid, and should be used full, but not to overflowing, so as to become unmanageable. After using, they should be carefully washed in clean water, and then slightly pressed in a piece of clean linen rag. brush put away unwashed, especially if it has been used for india-ink, or any dark pigment, can scarcely ever be cleaned again so as to be fit to use with light or delicate pigments. For large drawings brushes are prepared, both round and flat, mounted in tin; these are also useful in washing. The most essential quality of a good pencil is, that it should yield a good point, for it is that part only which is used; the hairs when moistened should form a cone terminating in a fine and delicate point. It should also be firm, yet elastic, returning to a straight direction immediately upon being lifted from the paper.

Management of a Water-Colour Drawing.-The manipulation in water-colour painting is of the greatest simplicity, consisting merely in selecting the pigments required, mixing from them the various tints the subject demands, and leaving them in their proper places upon the paper. These pigments are rubbed with boiled or distilled water, on earthenware slabs, with the addition of a small quantity of gum water, for the strong marking of the shadows, and so on. It is the usual practice to lay on the first tints or washes with the hard-cake pigments ground on the slabs, while the middle or foreground is painted with the soft, or body-colours; which, by remaining constantly moist, are always ready for use.

The pigments should be ground in sufficient quantity, and with so much water as to be quite fluid, and capable of entirely filling the brush; the superfluous quantity can be easily removed by slightly pressing the brush on the edge of the palette; for unless the pigments are reduced to this state of fluidity, the drawing acquires a dry and harsh appearance; while, at the same time, an excess of fluidity produces a thinness and meagreness, leaving a dark edge surrounding the coloured surface, which inevitably betrays the inexperienced hand. The progress of a water-colour drawing is from simply washing with the requisite colours, as a preparatory stage, and proceeding by gradual and delicate additions where they are required, and so on to the finishing, which consists in applying the colours in their full body and strength, giving solidity to the forms, and a definiteness to the outlines that constitutes a finished picture, equal in vigour, freshness, and richness of tone to oil painting. Many parts of the drawing must unavoidably be gone over with colour that should be left white for the high or brilliant lights: the colour must be removed from these places by rubbing with a sharp scraper or by moistening the spot to be reclaimed with a pencil dipped in clean water; after it has remained a few moments, the moisture is removed with a piece of clean blotting paper, and then rubbing the surface of the paper by means of a white handkerchief, india-rubber, or bread-crumbs.

House Painting. To produce the different tints, various colours are added to the white-lead base, in quantity according to the intensity of the tint desired, amounting, sometimes, to an exclusion of the white-lead in the upper or finishing coats. The following are the colours generally used by the house painter :

White. White-lead, Nottingham white, flake white.

Black.-Ivory black, lampblack, blue black, patent black.

Yellows.-Chrome yellow, King's yellow, Naples yellow, yellow ochre, raw sienna, yellow lake.

Browns.-Burnt umber, raw umber, Vandyke brown, purple brown, Spanish brown, York brown.

Reds.-Vermilion, scarlet lake, crimson lake, Indian red, Venetian red, redlead, orange-lead, burnt ochre, burnt sienna.

Greens.-Brunswick green, emerald green, verdigris.

Blues.-Prussian blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine.

To bring these colours to a state fit for use, they are ground up with a small quantity of oil; but for painting in distemper, the colours must be ground up in water. Linseed oil is that which is in general use, and is quite sufficient for the purpose of the plain painter, especially when improved by being kept for several years, as it then loses a great part of its colour. In rare instances, where the least yellowness in the oil would be injurious, nut or poppy oil may be used with advantage. Spirit of turpentine is largely employed in vainting; it is obtained by distillation from crude turpentine, which is procured from the larch and fir trees: being of a volatile nature, it is used by the painter to produce what is called a flat; it evaporates, and leaves the paint without the least shine. It is also employed in those situations where oil would not dry, as in the first coat on old work, which is likely to be a little greasy from smoke.

DRIERS. To hasten the drying of paints, driers are generally used. Those most in use are sugar of lead, litharge, and white copperas. These, when well ground and mixed in small portions with paint, very much assist them in drying; indeed, some colours will not dry without them. Red-lead is also an excellent drier; and in cases where its colour is not objectionable, is much used. Sugar of lead is, however, the best drier, though somewhat more expensive than the others. It should be observed that, in the finishing coats of delicate colours, driers are generally avoided, as they have a slight tendency to injure the colour. Linseed oil has sometimes a drying quality given to it by boiling with drying substances, which renders it extremely

useful on some occasions. A very good drying oil is made by boiling 1 gallon of linseed oil with alb. of litharge, or red-lead, reduced to a fine powder. It must be kept slightly boiling for about 2 hours, or until it ceases to throw up any scum; when cold, the clear oil must be poured off, and kept for

use.

HOUSE PAINTERS' TOOLS.-The brushes used are of all sizes, both round and flat, and are made chiefly of hog-hair. The large round brush called the pound brush, and a smaller one called the tool, are those mostly used in plain work. The smallest hog-hair brushes are called fitches, and are used for putting in small work where the tool would be too large. The pound brush is used as a duster for some time previous to putting it in colour, and thus it is rendered much softer. The smallest brushes are the camel-hair pencils with long or short hair, according to the work to be done. The stopping knife has a shorter blade than the palette knife, and is pointed. It is used for making good the holes and cracks with putty. Putty is made of common whiting, pounded fine, and well kneaded with linseed oil, till it becomes about the consistence of stiff dough.

GRINDING COLOURS FOR HOUSE PAINTING. When a colour-mill is not used, the grindstone and muller is an apparatus necessary to every painter, as the purity of the colours sold ready ground at the shops is not to be depended upon; and some colours, as lakes and Prussian blue, will not keep long after grinding. The grindstone is a slab of porphyry marble, or granite, about two feet square; the chief requisite is, that it be hard, and close-grained. The muller is a hard and conical-formed stone, the diameter of the base or rubbing surface of which should be about one-sixth of that of the grindstone, and the cone high enough to get a sufficient hold of it with the hands. The face of both grindstone and muller should be perfectly flat and smooth. A large palette knife is used to gather the colour from the stone as soon as it is sufficiently ground. All substances employed for painting in oil require to

be ground up with a small portion of the oil, previous to mixing them with the whole quantity required for use; for this purpose, they must first be pounded, and passed through a tolerably fine sieve, then mixed with a portion of linseed oil, just sufficient to saturate them; a quantity, about the size of a small egg, is to be taken on the point of the palette knife, and placed on the stone; the muller is then placed upon it, and moved round about, or to and fro in all directions, bearing a little weight on it at the same time. This should be continued until it is ground perfectly fine, having the consistence and smoothness of butter. The colour must be occasionally trimmed from the edges of the stone and muller with the palette knife, and put under the muller in the middle of the stone. When sufficiently ground, it is removed from the stone with the palette knife, and a fresh quantity taken. It is not well to have much colour on the stone at one time; it makes it more laborious, and will take a longer time to grind the same quantity equally well.

MIXING COLOURS FOR HOUSE PAINTING.-Before the colours which have been ground can be applied to the work, they must be rendered fluid by the addition of linseed oil, or spirits of turpentine, or certain proportions of both. When a tinted colour is required to be mixed up, a small quantity of the proper tint should be first prepared on the palette, which will serve as a guide to mix the whole quantity by. With the ground whitelead there should first be well mixed a portion of oil, and then the tinting colour should be added, as ascertained by the pattern on the palette. When these are thoroughly mixed and matched to the proper tint, the remaining portion of the oil or turpentine is to be added; this is better than putting in all the oil at once. it should then be strained through a piece of fine canvas, or fine sieve, and should be about the consistence of cream, or just so as to work easily. If it is too thick, the work will have an uneven, cloudy appearance, and it will be hard to spread; while, if it be too thin, it will be likely to run, or will require a greater

number of coats to cover the ground, and render the work solid. The straining ought not to be neglected where the appearance of the work is studied.

PAINTING NEW WORK. Clean the work, carefully removing all projections, such as glue, or whiting spots; this is easily done with the stopping knife and duster then cover over the knots with a composition of red-lead, called knotting. If the knots are very bad, they must be cut out. After knotting comes the priming, or first coat of paint. When the priming is quite dry, all nail-holes, cracks, and defects, are to oe made good witn putty; then proceed to the next coat, called the second colour; when this is dry, those places are to be stopped which were omitted in the last coat and proceed according to the number of coats intended to be given. It should be observed that second colour for new work is made up chiefly with oil, as it best stops the suction of the wood; but second colour for old work is made up chiefly with turpentine, because oil colour would not dry or adhere to it so well. The colour should be spread on as evenly as possible; and to effect this, as soon as the whole, or a convenient quantity, is covered, the brush should be passed over it in a direction contrary to that in which it is finally to be laid off; this is called crossing. After crossing, it should be laid off softly and carefully, in a direction contrary to the crossing, but with the grain of the wood, taking care that none of the crossed brush marks be left visible. The criterion of good workmanship is, that the paint be laid evenly, and the brush marks be not observed. In laying off, the brush should be laid into that portion of the work already done, that the joining may not be perceived. Every coat should be perfectly dry, and all dust carefully removed, before the succeeding one is laid over it.

PAINTING OLD WORK.-Carefully remove all dirt and extraneous matter with the stopping knife and duster; those places near the eye should be rubbed with pumice-stone, and greasy places

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should be well rubbed with turpentine. Bring forward new patches and decayed parts with a coat of priming; stop and make good with putty, then proceed with the first coat, or second colour, in turpentine. The quality of the next coat will depend upon the manner in which it is to be finished. If it is to be painted twice in oil, and flatted, the next coat, or third colour, should be mixed up chiefly in oil, and tinted like the finishing colour, to form a ground for the flatting. The greater the shine of the ground, the more dead will be the finishing coat or flatting: likewise, the more dead the ground, the better will the finishing oil shine; therefore, it is a general rule that for finishing in oil the under coat should be turpentine, and for finishing flat, the under coat, or ground colour, should be oil; but observe, that all turpentine undercoats have a little oil with them, and all oil under-coats, except the priming or first coat on new work, have a little turpentine with them. Knotting is made with red-lead, carefully ground, and thinned with boiled oil and a little turpentine. For inside work, red lead carefully ground in water, and mixed up with double size, is a good substitute, and is generally used: it must be used hot.

Priming for New Work.-This is made of white-lead, with driers and a little red-lead to harden it, and further to assist its drying; it is thinned entirely with oil, and should be made very thin, as the new wood, or plaster, sucks it in very fast. It is a frequent practice with painters to save the oil coats by giving the new work a coat of size, or size and water, with a little whiting, called clearcole; but where durability is consulted, this should not be done. The size stops the suction of the wood or plaster, but at the same time it prevents the oil paint from adhering to the work, the consequence is, that it is apt to peel or chip off, especially in damp places. Clearcole is sometimes advantageously used on old greasy work on which oil paint would not dry.

Second Colour for New Work, or oil

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