and put in the cloud effect with the large eraser, then lay it on the
table again, and clean it off about four inches from the edge all
around with pumice stone and a fresh piece of cotton where you have
rubbed with the eraser, and blend the background into this four inch
space. Return the enlargement to the easel again, and with the broad
eraser clean up the lights throughout, and with the cotton and pumice
stone blend them into the shadows; then with the peerless stump, crayon
sauce and fingers strengthen the larger shadows, using the nigrivorine
eraser when necessary to clean up the lights, and the tortillon stump
for the work in the smaller shadows, if it is required to make them
darker. Now with the No. 0 crayon finish the face by completing the
stipple effect in the patches of light and shade. You will have a good
guide in the background for finishing and giving the stipple effect, as
there you will have this stipple effect quite perfect, especially in
the light places. This finishing with the No. 0 crayon is the nicest
part of the work, and when doing it you must keep in mind that you are
putting in the stipple effect, and that alone; that is, the portrait at
this stage is supposed to be very nearly right in light and shade and
expression, and it should not be necessary to strengthen it in the
shadows by using the No. 0 crayon. You are to cut up or divide the
portrait into small black and white spots, but do not take out white
spots with the No. 0 crayon that are larger than the white spots
desired in the stipple effect; these light places must be cut into
smaller light spots. If you should take out these white spots (and this
is an error you must be very careful to avoid), you would produce an
effect of large dark and white spots that would be entirely wrong, the
real process being to divide large white and dark spots into smaller
ones of the same color.
This stipple effect should be worked all over the face with the
exception of the highest lights, and even these will very often need to
be worked over except at the single points of the very highest lights.
In this work you now have an opportunity to demonstrate the theory of
contrast. Sometimes the enlargement is too dark in the shadows, and
although you require to have them lighter you have already removed all
the crayon from the surface, and it still remains too dark. The crayon
pencil is many shades darker and blacker than the shadows, yet you can
by its use make them lighter by putting in the stipple effect, as the
dark touches of the pencil in their contrast with the shadow color
under them cause them to appear lighter. This is a very essential
principle to remember in crayon portrait work: that the effect of dark
against light is to make the light appear lighter, and the dark darker.
After the face and hair are completed as above, then finish the
clothes with the peerless stump, eraser and fingers. If there are any
very dark strong shadows--for instance, under the collar or around the
neck--put them in with the velours crayon and subdue them with the
fingers. When at work on the clothes at the bottom of the portrait do
not finish straight across, but in a circular way. Next taking up the
background you will discover that there are some large patches of light
and shade that must be changed and made the required color to
correspond with the adjoining surface; lean back as far as possible in
your chair, and join these places together with the pencil and eraser;
then in the same position finish the face by removing any light or dark
places, strengthening the eyes, nose, mouth, and any point of the
likeness requiring a final touch. Remove with the point of your knife
any small black spots such as sometimes show in the photograph, and
then with a fresh piece of cotton and pumice stone clean off the edges
of the crayon all around.
Before regarding the picture as quite complete, examine it by holding
it at right angles to the light, to see if there are not some marks of
the crayon pencil that show too prominently. These can be subdued with
the ends of the fingers. Sometimes in finishing with the No. 0 crayon
the paper will seem to be gritty so that you can hardly work on it.
The difficulty is that some of the pumice stone has adhered to the
surface of the paper. This can be disposed of by rubbing it with the
fingers. It should be remembered that the pumice stone must be entirely
removed from the whole surface of the paper, as otherwise it will
settle in the crayon, and give a dirty gray effect. When, as sometimes
happens in commencing the portrait, dark or white spots or streaks show
themselves, do not pay any attention to them until you have entirely
finished the crayon, then if they are dark, make them the proper shade
with the eraser, and if light, with the crayon.
MONOCHROMES.[B]
These are portraits in one color on porcelain, glass or any hard
material that has first been coated with gelatin and then photographed
on. First treat the whole surface with pumice stone as directed for the
bromide paper, afterwards go over it with the crayon and cotton. Then
put in the cloud effect in the background, and clean off the lights in
the face, hair, and clothes with the eraser; next put in the
half-shadows with the peerless stump; then with a solution of India ink
darken the stronger shadows throughout the portrait--in the eyes, nose,
mouth and eyebrows, and finally in the hair. Finish the face with the
No. 0 crayon and the 4 H. Faber's lead pencil according to directions
given for finishing bromide enlargements. The Faber pencil is used
almost exclusively throughout the face. Very nice effects of strong
light can be made on porcelain by scraping through the gelatin surface
with the knife. This process is specially adapted to making pictures of
smaller size, say 10×12, or 11×14 inches, as it produces a very soft
and delicate effect.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote B: For photographic process, see the American Annual of
Photography and Photographic Times Almanac, 1888.]
VALUES.
The matter of values enters into the essential quality of every work of
art, and especially of a portrait. It is the truth of their rendering
that will give a faithful likeness. By the term values is meant the
relations of light and shade to each other. This subject has been so
admirably treated by John Burnet in his essay entitled "Practical Hints
on Light and Shade,"[C] that I give his observations on this point.
"Before proceeding to investigate light and shade in their various
intricate relations, it may be proper to notice a few of the more
palpable and self-evident combinations; and for the better
comprehending of which I shall divide them into five parts, viz.:
Light, half-light, middle tint, half-dark and dark. When a picture is
chiefly composed of light and half-light, the darks will have more
force and point, but without the help of strong color to give it
solidity it will be apt to look feeble, and when a picture is composed
mainly of dark and half-dark the lights will be more brilliant; but
they will be apt to look spotty for want of half-light to spread and
connect them, and the piece be in danger of becoming black and heavy.
And when a picture is composed chiefly of middle tint, the dark and
light portions have a more equal chance of coming into notice, but the
general effect is in danger of becoming common and insipid. Light and
shade are capable of producing many results, but the three principal
are relief, harmony and breadth. By the first the artist is enabled to
give his work the distinctness and solidity of nature; the second is
the result of a union and cement of one part with another; and the
third, a general breadth, is the necessary attendant on extent and
magnitude. A judicious management of these three properties is to be
found in the best pictures of the Italian, Venetian and Flemish
Schools, and ought to employ the most attentive examination of the
student, for by giving too much relief he will produce a dry hard
effect, by too much softness and blending of the parts, wooliness and
insipidity, and in a desire to produce breadth of effect he may produce
flatness."
The student should make a careful study of the values, as upon these
will depend the entire effect of the portrait and its fidelity as a
likeness; and the absence of these qualities of rendering light and
shade are one of the marked features of the work of amateurs, as they
are apt to make their shadows too dark and their lights too light. You
should compare the portrait with the photograph you are working from,
and preserve the same contrasts between the lights and shadows in order
to produce satisfactory results. The best way of examining your work is
by the use of a mirror. To the student the mirror is his best critic.
It is before this silent observer that he submits his work with the
certainty of receiving an honest criticism. At every step of your
progress look at your work in a good mirror, as here it is changed
about, the left side being the right side, and no error will escape
detection. Sometimes you will see that what appeared true was in
reality false, what seemed graceful in contour was distorted; here an
eye which you thought was looking at you quite straight now mocks you
from the glass in manifest obliquity; the mouth, which you thought had
a pleasant expression, now looks as disdainful as can be. And so all
through your work you will be startled; you will doubt the mirror.
Doubt it not; your work is false. If you will be convinced show it to
some competent artist, and he will confirm the judgment of the
impartial mirror. Experience will soon teach you to put such reliance
on its never capricious council that you will follow its suggestions
implicitly, and, when your work is altered, the result will satisfy you
invariably, that, as the proverb says of two heads, so two images are
better than one. When you have come to this conclusion there is not a
beauty of eighteen who will consult her glass (though it is true for a
somewhat lighter purpose,) more eagerly, more devoutly, more
frequently, or finally, we hope, with more triumphant satisfaction than
will you.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote C: Essays on Art by John Burnet, New York, Edward L. Wilson.]
STUDIO.
The amateur is not to consider the selection of his studio or work-room
of minor importance; the perspective, coloring, and the effect of the
portrait will all depend, in a great measure, upon the situation and
dimensions of the studio. It may be said in a general way that the
larger the apartment the better. To secure the effect which it is
essential to produce, there should be space enough left behind the
artist to permit him to step back from six to ten or twelve feet to
accurately view and see the effect of the portrait. I cannot urge too
strongly upon the amateur the usefulness of frequently viewing his work
from a distance. I would gladly save him the disappointment and chagrin
which I have myself experienced, when having neglected this precaution,
I have quite finished a portrait only to find it thoroughly
unsatisfactory when looked at from a greater distance than that at
which I had worked.
You should choose a room with a north light if possible; if that is not
available then one with a south light, and the room should be as near
the top of the house as possible. Let the light be arranged so as to
strike the easel at an angle of 90 degrees, and if it is a side light
darken the lower half of the window. Do not have the side walls white,
they should be a neutral shade; reddish is the best. For work with
water colors or India ink you need a stand, and be sure and set it so
that the light will be at your left when you work. Keep the studio as
free from dust as possible, and when you have finished working for the
day wash your brushes and place the corks in the water color bottles,
so as to exclude the dust from them. For crayon work also set the easel
so that the light is at the left hand.
A word in regard to selecting materials. I have already spoken in
regard to the selection of photographs for coloring. As to
brushes--camel's hair will cost only about a third as much as sable,
and will answer every purpose for beginners; the fine sable should be
procured after the pupil has advanced sufficiently. In choosing a brush
for water colors, dip it in a cup of water and draw it over the edge of
the cup; if it has a little spring to it, and comes to a point readily
without any of the hair straggling, it is all right; if not, reject it.
Winsor and Newton's Chinese White is the best white paint. For mixing
the colors you can get a slant with eight divisions, or a nest of
saucers. In selecting glass for mounting pictures choose that which is
free from blisters.
FRAMING.
The following directions in regard to framing will, I hope, be found
advantageous. When framing with a passepartout mat, always use
For a 16×20 portrait an 18×22 frame,
" 18×22 " " 20×24 "
" 20×24 " " 22×26 "
" 24×29 " " 25×30 "
I make a life-size portrait 25×30 on a 24×29 strainer. The reason for
using a larger frame than strainer is this: that it invariably happens
that the head of the portrait will not come in exactly the proper place
in the opening of the passepartout, and by having the frame two inches
larger each way you will be able to bring the head wherever desired in
this opening. When placing the picture in the frame, lay the latter
face down on a table and put in the glass, which should have been
perfectly cleaned; lay in the passepartout and fasten it with small
brads. Then lay the crayon down on the table face up and turn the frame
over on it, and after you have it in the proper place, draw the picture
and frame partially over the edge of the table, and from underneath
mark the back of the passepartout where the edges of the picture come;
then turn the frame and picture over so that it shall be face down. Now
cut eight strips of old tin-type metal one-quarter of an inch wide and
three inches long, making holes at each end of them for the tacks, and
with these strips fasten the picture in its place by tacking one end of
each to the strainer and the other end to the frame. Also cut a piece
of heavy manilla paper the size of the frame, lay it on a board, dampen
it with a sponge, apply starch paste around each side and the ends for
a space of six inches, and lay it over the back of the picture and
frame, pressing it down on the latter; then set it away to dry. This
will make a neat smooth back which will exclude moth and dust from the
portrait.
PASSEPARTOUT MOUNTING.
The following method will be found useful, especially if you want to
exhibit a crayon without the expense of framing it. Lay on the mounting
board a piece of heavy manilla paper somewhat larger than the picture,
then put the crayon on this face up, next the passepartout, and last
the clean glass. Mark the size of this on the paper, and then, having
removed the glass, crayon and passepartout, cut the paper enough larger
than the marks to allow it to come up one inch all around over the
edges of the glass; next dampen the paper, and apply the starch paste
to its edges about six inches all around, then lay the crayon,
passepartout and glass back where they were on the paper, and bring the
latter up, lapping it over the face of the glass; cut the corners out
so as to bring them over properly; rub the edges down thoroughly on the
glass, and with a ruler and knife trim off the paper, allowing
one-quarter of an inch margin; then set away to dry. This will put the
crayon in good condition to be exhibited, and will thoroughly protect
it.
Transparent Liquid Water Colors for Coloring Photographs.
[Illustration]
TRANSPARENT LIQUID WATER COLORS FOR COLORING PHOTOGRAPHS
_Materials Required in Their Use._
A good photograph, an engraving or photogravure mounted on
card-board
Camel's hair brushes, Nos. 3 and 5,
Sheet of blotting-paper,
Small sponge,
Clean white cloth,
Cake of Chinese white, Winsor and Newton's water color,
A divided slant or nest of small dishes for holding the color when
mixed,
Box transparent liquid water colors,
Stick of India ink,
Box pulverized pumice stone,
Two tumblers for water.
It has passed into a proverb that he is a bad workman who complains of
his tools. It is certain that good ones simplify work and give better
results. One of the most important things for successful art-work is to
have at hand the proper materials and good instruments. In their
selection do not follow a penny wise and pound foolish policy, but get
the best you can; and these you will often find not too good.
THEORY OF COLOR.
The principles connected with coloring should be understood if one
desires to produce the most pleasing and harmonious effects in
painting. The three colors, red, yellow, and blue, with the white of
the paper, are equal in theory to all the requirements of art in its
true relation to color. Red, yellow and blue are called primary colors;
that is, we cannot produce these colors from the combination of any
others. Orange, purple and green are called secondary colors, and are
produced by the combination of the primary colors. By the mixture of
red and yellow we obtain orange, from red and blue, purple, from yellow
and blue, green. The tertiary colors--broken green, gray and brown--are
produced by the mixture of the secondary colors. From orange and purple
we obtain brown, from orange and green, broken green, and from purple
and green, gray. The three primary colors must always be present in a
picture to produce harmony. Colors are divided into what are called
warm and cold colors, the yellow and red being termed warm, and the
blue cold. Yellow and red produce light and warmth, and it is
impossible to produce coolness without the use of blue. In painting we
use the three terms, light, shade and color, because they best express
the qualities of color. Light is expressed by yellow, shade by blue,
and color by red. While red is particularly designated as color, we
must not forget the claims of yellow and blue, as they, together with
red, complete the primary scale of colors. It is by placing these
different colors in juxtaposition that we produce the proper qualities
existing in each of the other colors. It is impossible to produce the
effect of warmth by red and yellow unless we use the blue in connection
with them. It is this filling up, or completing the primary scale of
colors, that gives the term complementary, so often employed in
speaking of colors. Thus red is said to be complementary to green, as
green contains the other two colors of the primary scale--blue and
yellow. Blue is complementary to orange, as orange contains red and
yellow. Yellow is complementary to purple, as purple contains blue and
red. The principle of using the complementary color is of the utmost
importance in painting, or the use of color by any method, and it is on
this principle that the harmony of color is based. When a painting is
produced that has the colors red, yellow and blue properly balanced, a
pleasing and harmonious effect is attained; but if these colors are not
used in their proper relations, there is a discord, and the work is not
satisfactory. These rules must be borne in mind by every student in
coloring, whether he uses oil or water colors. One of the most common
errors of amateurs is to overlook the red in landscape. Thus trees are
too green, and the grass is insufferably green: the complementary
color, red, has been left out.
By the following experiment you may prove that when you see one color
the eye is in a perfect condition to see its complementary color. On a
piece of white paper, three inches wide and five inches long, draw with
a lead pencil an oblong, half an inch from the top, one inch wide, and
two and one-half inches long from right to left, and a similar oblong
one-half an inch below the one already drawn. Then draw a six pointed
star (or any other not too large figure you desire) in the centre of
the upper oblong, and paint it with vermilion water color. Now look
intently at the painted star for thirty seconds, and then look at the
plain oblong below, and you will observe that the latter will gradually
assume a very beautiful shade of green, the exact complementary color
of the vermilion, with the figure in white upon it--unless you should
happen to be color blind. If that is the case, the experiment will
demonstrate that fact.
COLORS.
Transparent water colors are put up in boxes containing nine colors,
and as you reduce them in the proportion of one part of color to eight
of water, a single box will last a long time. They can be bought of
almost any dealer in artist's materials, and are designated as
Florentine, Egyptian, Grecian, and by other names. Care should be used
in procuring those which are pure and fresh. The colors are yellow,
blue, rose, violet, magenta, flesh, brown, gold and black. The labels
on the bottles give directions for mixing.
YELLOW.
Yellow is one of the primary colors and one of the most useful, as it
enters into the coloring of almost every picture. Transparent yellow is
very brilliant, and can be used with any other color. Yellow and red
make orange, yellow and blue make bright green, yellow and black a dull
green. In landscapes, yellow is used in the middle distance with blue
and rose and magenta. In the foreground it is used with blue and black
for green, and is especially adapted for brilliant touches of foliage,
grasses, and light places in the ground. In portraits a very little can
be used in the reflected lights on the faces, and, when mixed with
brown, for light shades of hair and eyebrows; for light dresses, used
weak, it makes a very nice cream color. It can also be used very weak
for laces, the strong lights being afterwards touched up with Chinese
white, but not when the picture is to be mounted on glass. This color
will ordinarily work nicely and give good results wherever its use
seems appropriate, but care must always be exercised not to use it too
strong.
BLUE.
This is another of the primary colors and a very essential one, it
being the nearest allied to shade, and although not shade itself, no
shadows can be produced without it. We will find it, therefore,
mingling with all the shades of nature between the lights and shadows.
It would be in vain for us to introduce all our warm colors, if the
cool tints that are produced by blue are wanting; for, without that,
the work will appear heavy, as it is the contrast between blue and the
warm colors that produces a balance of color. Blue mixed with yellow
makes a very brilliant green, with gold a duller green, with magenta a
purple. In landscapes it is used in skies and the middle distances, but
not in the foreground, unless mixed with yellow. Blue can be mixed with
rose or magenta for sunset skies. When the horizon is represented a
streak of blue or rose, or of blue and magenta, will give a very
pleasing effect. In portraits if you have a light background, a thin
wash of blue can be used over it. The same can also be used for blue
eyes and for dresses when they are light in the picture, also in all
the half-shadows of the dresses or draperies without regard to what
their other color may be.
ROSE.
This is the nearest approach to red that we have in these colors, and
as it fills out the scale it is an essential one. It is, in fact, a
very delicate shade of rose. For landscape it is used only in the
skies, and then only a little near the horizon for sunset effects. For
portraits it is used in the drapery for making a very light shade of
pink, and it can be used generally when you want to make a very
delicate effect. The photographic print on which it is used should not
be too dark.
VIOLET.
This is a very strong and brilliant color, and therefore needs more
than usual care in handling. In landscapes it is only used in certain
skies near the horizon, and but very seldom even then. It is more
especially designed for portraits, and there particularly in drapery to
make very decided effects of strong color; but it can only be used when
the dress or draperies are dark in the photograph.
MAGENTA.
This also is a powerful color and must be used carefully. It is not
adapted to landscapes, but in portraits is used for dresses and
accessories. If the photograph requires a dark dress this color will
make it a beautiful shade.
FLESH.
This color can be used a very little in the skies of landscapes when
there is a sunset effect to be represented. In portraits it is used to
color the faces and hands. After it is dry, retouch the cheeks and lips
with the same color.
BROWN.