instances, it serves for use in the middle distance and foreground; the
light places should be retouched with yellow or gold. It is also used
for tree trunks, fences, and the like. In portraits it serves to color
the hair and eyes, and appears in the dark shadows of the drapery and
furniture. If the background is dark, a nice effect is produced by
tinting it a little with this color.
BLACK.
In transparent color this has more the effect of a dark gray than a
brilliant black, such as is produced with body colors. When you want a
very dark black, it is better to use a little India ink with it. It is
used in the skies of landscapes when you wish a gray effect, or to
subdue a too strong blue color or red, and in foregrounds for rocks. In
connection with yellow it will make a sombre green for trees,
mountains, etc. In portraits it is used for the hair and eyes, in the
shadows around the mouth, and in drapery in connection with the other
colors.
GOLD.
This is a combination of yellow and red, and in general can be used
wherever either of these colors would answer. In landscapes a little
can be used in the skies, the middle distances, and lights on the
ground in the foreground. In portraits it is used to color the drapery
and jewelry.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING LIQUID WATER COLORS.
Fill the two tumblers with water, and have all the other materials
ready and convenient to work with. If you have selected a burnished and
mounted photograph wet its surface with saliva; unburnished
photographs, photogravures and engravings do not require this
treatment, but in coloring them it will be necessary to mix a weak
solution of gum arabic with the colors to prevent their penetrating the
paper. If printed on too thin a paper the photogravure or engraving
should be mounted. If it is found that the colors "crawl" or spread on
the photograph, mix a little acetic acid with the colors you are using,
and should this fail to remove the difficulty, rub a pinch of pumice
stone over the photograph with the fingers.
If the photograph is a portrait commence with the background, washing
it all over with a brushful of diluted color, being careful not to get
any on the face. If the background is light, use a weak solution of
blue, if dark, a brown solution. The majority of backgrounds only need
a very little tinting--just sufficient to change the color. For the
face use flesh color, diluting it to the proper shade, washing it
entirely over the face, and with a stronger solution of the same color
tint the cheeks and lips, giving them a little brighter effect than the
flesh color. Touch up the shadows in the face with the brown, and if
there are any reflected lights use a very weak solution of the yellow
color for them; then with some very weak black make the shadows around
the mouth a little darker; next with a solution of blue, also very
weak, strengthen the shadows in the forehead and around the temples;
then color the eyes, using a small brush. If they are blue, use a weak
solution of blue, if gray, use a little black, and if brown, then that
color. Next color the hair; if brown, use brown mixed with a little
black to take away the reddish color; if auburn, use brown and yellow,
with a little gray between the lights and shadows. In working on the
hair, move your brush in the direction of the lines of the hair; if
wavy, then cause your brush to follow its lines. After you have thus
gone over it, darken the shadows with a stronger solution of the same
color. After the hair, paint the eyebrows and beard, if there is any,
with the same color.
DRAPERY.
You must remember in using these liquid colors that they are
transparent, and, therefore, whenever the print is light you cannot
make it dark, unless you strengthen the shadows by applying opaque
colors. For dresses, if they are light, use the delicate colors to suit
your fancy, either the rose, blue, yellow, or gold; when they are dark,
use the magenta or violet, being careful to spread the colors evenly.
After you have once colored the dresses, then with a stronger solution
of the same color darken the shadows; if you then touch up the
half-shadows with blue the effect will be still finer. For neckties or
ribbons use the complementary color to that of the dress. For laces use
a weak solution of yellow, and after it is dry touch up the strong
lights with Chinese white. If there is a curtain in the picture use the
complementary color to the dress. For chairs use brown. If sky, trees
and grass are to be painted, color them according to the directions
given for landscapes under the different colors; only be sure to modify
them, and keep them low in tone and color.
In laying on flat washes of color, the brush must be held nearly
upright and should be passed boldly over the surface; the color should
then gradually be brought down and spread equally over the whole
surface as rapidly as possible, in order to avoid letting any part dry
before the whole has been covered; then whatever surplus there may be
should be carefully sponged off. When you apply the wash of color to
the picture the latter should not be held flat, but at a slight angle,
so that the color will settle down towards the bottom of the picture.
These colors are more suitable for figures and landscapes combined than
they are for landscapes alone, yet very pretty effects in landscapes
can be produced with them. If any white spots should be found in the
photograph, as very often happens, after the picture is quite complete,
touch them out with India ink, using a small brush.
LANDSCAPE.
If the sky is to be blue, wash it all over with a weak solution of
blue; if there are white clouds, you can touch up the highest lights
with Chinese white; if there is a sunset or rosy effect, use a weak
solution of rose or a little magenta. But it is best not to try to make
too much of the sky, as the gray that is generally in it will give a
very pretty effect and leave more contrast between the figures and the
sky. For the middle distance mix blue, rose, and a little yellow or
gold if you want it greenish, or you can use a very little brown. The
nearer the trees come in the foreground the stronger in color they
should be; that is, they should tend more to the green and brown and
less to the bluish color. If they are to be bright green use blue and
yellow, and retouch the light places with yellow. You can make the
green duller by mixing a little black with the yellow, or you can make
a richer green by using blue, gold and brown, and then touching up the
lights with gold, and the shadows with brown. For the grass use blue
and yellow, and retouch the lights with yellow; for the ground use
brown, and retouch the lights with gold; for tree trunks, fences, and
the like, use brown; for rocks, use black and a little brown.
THE PRINCIPLE.
The study of painting as an art is based on three considerations, form,
light and shade, and color. I will now treat of color--the form, and
light and shade being furnished for us in the photograph. Photography
as a means of art education in its influence on the public is salutary.
In spite of all its falsity it is the best teacher of the first
elements of criticism and knowledge of the facts of form and light and
shade. Photography does not produce color, so that we will add the one
link to the chain that is wanting. As we are dealing with pictures
finished in light and shade, it is well that we should have rules to
aid in choosing good ones to work on.
In selecting a photograph to color we want as perfect a print as it is
possible to procure. A light one is preferable. Notice in particular if
it is well defined, that the shadows and middle shades are clear, the
lights pure, and that it is free from defects and spots. Many think
that they can take a poor photograph, and, by coloring it, cover up the
defects, but they are wrong in this, for the transparent colors will
not conceal defects. The best rule is that the better the photograph
the better will be the picture when finished. The Soule Photograph
Company, No. 338 Washington Street, Boston, Mass., furnish photographic
reproductions, mounted and unmounted, of all the best paintings in the
world, in both public and private art galleries, and their photographs
are the best to color. Therefore, to begin with, have a perfect picture
to color. Scholars in commencing to use the brush will not be able to
produce bold effects of color, and will only acquire that power by use
and practice. By bold effects I do not mean that one part is to be more
prominently rendered than any other portion of the work, but merely the
brilliancy of coloring which distinguishes professional from amateur
work. In any kind of painting it must be borne in mind, that there are
no decided lines forming the edges of any object. The point insisted on
is that the boundaries of objects must be of that color that will
harmonize and subdue the picture, producing a soft, delicate effect.
I would advise all who begin to paint to commence with water colors, as
they are the easiest to manipulate, the liquid water colors being
easier than the body colors, and their use the simplest of all kinds of
painting. The photograph being a fac-simile of a subject as it appears
to the eye in form and light and shade, furnishes a picture perfect
except in color, while the liquids supply the color in the form best
adapted to teaching the first steps in its use. It is hoped, though,
that after the student has thoroughly mastered this course of study, he
will attempt something higher and more difficult in the study of art.
French Crystals.
[Illustration]
FRENCH CRYSTALS.
These are photographs colored with liquid water colors and mounted on
glass. For several years a process has been taught by which a
photograph is rendered transparent by the use of paraffine oil, etc.,
then mounted on glass, and colored from the back with oil paints. While
by this method a picture pleasing at the time could be produced, yet
unless the process was perfectly executed the oils would decompose and
the picture become yellow and spotted. The use of water colors entirely
overcomes these objections, as it is so simple that any one can employ
them perfectly, and as there are no oils used in their production they
cannot change or turn yellow.
MATERIALS.
Convex glasses on which to mount photographs,
Bottle of Florentine, Egyptian, Grecian or other compound for
mounting on glass,
Best French picture glass,
Some gummed paper,
A dish in which to soak photographs,
Some dark, thin, fancy paper,
Sheet of blotting paper.
THE METHOD.
Having secured a good photograph, rub a little pumice stone over it
with the finger, and then, if it is mounted, remove it from the card by
placing it in warm water and allowing it to soak for an hour or two, or
over night if necessary. After it is thus freed from the card lay it
face down on a piece of glass, and sponge off all the starch from the
back. Cut a piece of blotting paper the size of the picture and lay it
on a glass, wetting it with water applied with a sponge; then lay the
photograph, still wet, on the blotting paper, and, with a sponge,
remove all the surplus water from its surface. Now proceed to color it
according to the directions given in the preceding pages for coloring
photographs with transparent liquid water colors. In case you should
put on too much color, let the photograph soak a few moments in warm
water, when the surplus color will gradually come out, and you may then
recolor it. After it has been finished to your satisfaction, proceed to
mount it according to the directions next given.
MOUNTING FRENCH CRYSTALS.
The glass for mounting, whether flat or convex, should be the same size
as the picture. It should be dipped in water and permitted to drain
off, but do not dry it; pour a little of the compound on the side
against which the photograph is to be placed--the hollow side, if the
glass is convex--let it drain off and lay the picture face down upon
it. With the thumb and finger commence at the centre of the photograph,
smoothing it down close to the glass, forcing all the air bubbles out
to the edges, thus continuing until the picture is entirely smoothed
out, and at every point in actual contact with the glass. During this
process hold the glass at an angle, so that you can see if there are
any air bubbles or glistening places in it by examining its face
occasionally; and always let a little of the compound get on the back
of the photograph, as it allows the fingers to glide over it more
easily and lessens the chance of tearing it. Now take a second glass
the same size as the first, and having thoroughly cleaned it, fasten it
to the back of the other by small strips of gummed paper. Then place a
piece of card-board of the same size on the back of the two glasses and
fasten the three together also with small strips of gummed paper;
finally securing the whole firmly together by binding it with some
large strips, and your picture is ready to frame. In case you do not
care to frame it, cut out a piece of some dark fancy paper, a quarter
of an inch on each edge larger than the picture, and fasten it, dark
side out, on the back, allowing the quarter of an inch to lap over and
be pasted on the face, after which straighten the edges with a ruler
and sharp knife.
FINISHING PHOTOGRAPHS IN INDIA INK.
The principles that have been given in regard to finishing photographs
with lines, apply also to finishing with India ink--with the exception
that in the manipulation of the ink it must be remembered that it
cannot be taken out; therefore, you must commence to finish the
photograph gradually, and produce the proper strength by repeatedly
working over it. The old method of making India ink portraits was to
have a print on "plain" paper--a kind without albumen on its surface.
The great disadvantage of "plain" paper is that the lights and shadows
on it are not strong, and therefore it takes too much work to finish
the picture.
The following method (which is very simple and can be used in work on
albumen paper, provided you have treated it by rubbing pumice stone
over its surface with your fingers), adapts it to India ink. Of course
the pumice stone treatment destroys the albumen on the surface, causing
it to have a dull appearance, but after the picture has been finished
its lustre can be restored by the use of a not too warm burnisher.
In finishing the photograph commence on the hair by washing it all
over (with the exception of the highest light) with a weak solution of
the ink, using the brush in the same direction that the hair goes;
after this has dried, indicate the half-shadow with a little stronger
wash, and after drying it again put in the deeper shadows, then the
eyebrows, eyes and beard, if the subject has one.
Faces are finished in India ink on the line principle,[D] which shows
the grain of the flesh. Commence on the forehead with a very weak
solution, and then continue it all over the face, repeatedly working
and cross hatching with lines until the face is dark enough; then
strengthen the shadows under the eyes, nose, mouth and chin. After the
face is completed put in the clothes. This you do by washing them over
with two or three solutions of the ink, and then producing the line
effect as in work on crayon portraits, explained on page 76, the
difference in the nature of the material used being always borne in
mind. After the picture is otherwise completed, you can brighten up the
eyes and some of the strongest shadows with a solution of gum arabic
and water.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote D: See pages 57 and 72.]
CONCLUSION.
While it is thought that all essential instructions on the topics
treated of have been given in the foregoing pages, and that if
faithfully followed they will lead the pupil to attain satisfactory
results, it is hoped that my readers who have accompanied me thus far
will not be content to continue to use a photograph as the basis of
their work, but will advance to the pursuit of art in a broader and
more scientific manner. As a step in this direction the study of form,
and light and shade, by drawing from the cast should be taken up; and
to this work the directions as to light and shade given in the
foregoing pages fully apply, that requiring the object to be placed in
such a position that the light will strike it at an angle of ninety
degrees being always borne in mind.
The student will do well to gain all he can from the published works of
the leaders in the profession, whose writings, both theoretical and
practical, are invaluable. Three essays by John Burnet I can very
heartily recommend. They are "Practical Hints on Light and Shade,"
"Practical Hints on Composition," and "The Education of the Eye." These
are published in a single volume, which is illustrated with examples
from the great masters of the Italian, Flemish and Dutch schools, and
should be in the hands of every amateur. They will all repay perusal
and study until their principles are mastered. An English edition of
these books is published by James Carpenter, London, and in this
country they have been reproduced by Edward L. Wilson, editor of the
_Philadelphia Photographer_. Another book which abounds in valuable and
practical information for the amateur and can be highly commended, is
"Art Recreations, a Guide to Decorative Art," by Marion Kemble,
published by S. W. Tilton & Co., Boston; also J. Bacon's "Theory of
Coloring," issued by Geo. Rowney & Co., England.
Those who are disposed to treat disdainfully the work of finishing
photographs in crayon and color as not demanding truly artistic
qualities, should not forget that success here has still a real value
in awakening in many who undertake it a feeling for art of a higher
kind, and in developing a natural talent which otherwise might have
been undiscovered. Many an artist now looks back with pleasure and
gratitude to this sort of work, in which he received the first impetus
toward higher effort.
In answer to the assertion which is sometimes made that transparent
water colors are not permanent, I claim that in the sense in which the
word is ordinarily used in connection with photography they may
properly be called so. In this sense the lasting qualities which
characterize the materials used by the old masters are not looked for,
but where photographs have been thus colored, finished in the form of
French crystals, and properly sealed from the atmosphere, they are
practically permanent. I have some in my possession that were made
years ago, and they are as bright and fresh to-day as when first
colored. It can be truly said that photographs colored in this way make
very beautiful and pleasing pictures, obtainable with but little work
and expense, and having practical permanency of color.
As a final word to those who intend to follow art as a profession, I
urge the earnest study and mastery of drawing at the outset as the
foundation of all art; then take up work in body water colors, and when
the theory of coloring is fully understood, do not neglect the careful
reading of books of acknowledged merit bearing on your work. The more
notes you take in the course of your reading the more fully you will
assimilate the author's thought, while, at the same time, you furnish
the easiest means of rapid review. After all, your soundest basis for
work will be your deep and continuing love for it, and your willingness
to labor long and conscientiously to attain excellence. Do not imagine
that the profession of an artist is that of an idler. On the contrary,
of all occupations it is perhaps the most active, for one is constantly
engaged, if not with art itself, at least with its materials.
Every artist will confess that were it not for the charm with which it
rewards the votaries who follow it from love, the pursuit would be a
painful one, such vigilant precaution does it require, such constant
foresight, such calculation and preparation against possible difficulty
on every hand; but the true artist, happy in the daily gain of
knowledge which his experience brings him, and delighted with the
gradual mastery of his work, as a rule lives along enjoyably, retaining
more than most men the freshness of youth while he gains in power as he
advances in years. So pleasant a fate as this for each of his readers
is the closing wish of the author.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Moved some illustrations to avoid breaking up paragraphs of text. The
page references in the List of Illustrations refer to the original
book.
Corrected minor punctuation errors and hyphenation inconsistencies, and
made the following changes:
Page 50: Changed necesssary to necessary:
(all the details necesssary).
Page 67: Changed Appelton to Appleton:
(From the Annual Encyclopedia. Copyrighted, 1891, by D. Appelton).
Page 74: Changed where-ever to wherever:
(using the latter where-ever a lighter effect is required).
Page 90: Changed picrure to picture:
(And when a picrure is composed chiefly of middle tint).