Colors Used, and the Process of Burning them in.
[Illustration]
At the present time this art is receiving a great deal of attention
among the American people, and especially the intelligent class, who are
taking every opportunity of informing themselves in regard to the plan
of moulding the various ornaments for use, the art of decorating them,
the particular kinds of paints used, and the operation through which
they pass in the _burning in_ of the colors. It would be useless for me
to attempt a book on art that would meet the wants of the people, and
omit China Painting, which is gaining universal favor among the higher
classes in eastern cities.
The art is applied directly to the ornamentation of the house, which
makes it much sought after by ladies, who take pride in ornamenting
their china and earthenware by the use of the _La Croix Enamel Colors_,
which are arranged especially for this kind of painting.
After the paints are applied, the ware requires a certain amount of heat
to fix the colors, and prevent it from being effaced by washing.
Commence work by first
=Tracing the Drawing.= For tracing, details should be left out as much
as possible, or at any rate indicated soberly.
DIRECT OUTLINE. If the pupil can draw well, she will outline her subject
lightly on the object she wishes to paint, directly, without tracing, by
means of a lithographic pencil.
TRANSFERRING. When you want to make a minute and complicated drawing,
you are obliged to transfer, to avoid getting double lines on the china.
Before transferring, prepare your piece of ware as follows: Pour three
drops of alcohol on the plaque or white plate intended for decoration.
It is very easy to trace on a perfectly flat surface. We shall mention
several ways.
FIRST METHOD. _Tracing by Rubbing._ After having traced from the
engraving, or original model to be reproduced, the outline of your
subject (figure, ornament, or landscape), with one of the lithographic
pencils, you reverse the tracing over a sheet of white paper, and go
over the outline again very carefully with the same pencil; this being
done, prepare your piece of china with medium as we have just described.
The vegetal tracing paper is then fixed, by means of little lumps of
modeling wax, on the exact spot the subject is to occupy; and when that
is done, you have only to rub all over the outline with an ivory knife,
to make the lead that is on the vegetal tracing paper convey itself
distinctly on to the previously prepared oiled enamel.
SECOND METHOD. _Tracing with a Tracing Point._ Take either black, blue,
or carmine transferring paper, according to the tint of the painting
that is to be done. The carmine gives all security for the success of
the painting; it does not soil it. When the piece of paper has been
rubbed with carmine from a soft crayon, after taking great care to
remove what is superfluous it is cut to the size of the subject, or
rather to that of the space you are to paint on.
To make sure of tracing on the exact spot, you must draw a horizontal
line in the middle of your drawing, one also in the middle of the
tracing paper, and one as well on the porcelain, with crosses and
letters to each end as landmarks; two crosses marked A and B on the
horizontal line of the enamel, and + + _a b_ on the horizontal line of
the tracing paper. The piece is _prepared_ with oil of turpentine or
spirits of wine. At the end of two or three minutes you place your
drawing on the porcelain in accordance with the marks + + _a b_, taking
care to place the middle lines one on the top of the other, _a_ on A,
and _b_ on B; you fix the vegetal tracing paper by means of small bits
of gummed paper, or else with little balls of modeling wax; the sheet of
tracing paper being quite firm, you slide beneath it the piece of paper
rubbed with carmine, blue, or black lead; you then take a porcupine
quill with a fine point, and without leaning too hard you go over all
the outline. You must be careful not to press your fingers on the
drawing, for it often causes the deposit of powder to be of the same
color as your transferring paper, which spoils the result and prevents
careful painting. Before finishing all the work, lift up a corner of the
overlying paper to see if the tracing does mark. It will be but an
affair of habit to trace well, for it is by experiments frequently
repeated that one comes to know exactly the amount of strength to be
used so that the transferring paper may mark sufficiently. This paper
lasts a long time, and improves as it grows old; you must prevent it
from getting creased. For this, each time it has been used, it should be
put away into a brown paper cover, wherein the tracing papers are also
placed.
THIRD METHOD is by pricking the outline with small holes, and in making
what is called a “Poncif.”
In a bottle containing alcohol the brushes and the dabbers are cleaned
after each day’s work. To preserve these useful instruments it is
indispensable never to leave any color in them; you must take care to
wipe them well after this washing, and even to blow a little on them, to
make the spirits of wine evaporate, for if any were to remain it would
spoil the color and take away the painting already finished. With a few
drops of spirits of wine, the most loaded palette can be instantaneously
cleaned, and the driest painting can be effaced. For this reason I
recommend that the little bottle of spirits of wine be kept always far
away from you during your work; if a single drop were to fall on the
painting, it would immediately smear and obliterate the work done.
Cleaning brushes with spirits of wine has to be done every day. From
time to time a more thorough cleaning with soft soap is resorted to; the
brushes are steeped in the soap, and are washed the next day only.