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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
ORNAMENTAL
GLASS SIGN WORK.
[Illustration]