Embroidery and Fancy Work/Painting in Oils
PAINTING IN OILS.
Color, however brilliant or charming, can never disguise bad drawing, nor will time, which may tone down and mellow too glaring or vivid coloring, lend any disguise to faults of drawing. An old Italian proverb may be freely translated: — "If time corrects painting, it does nothing for drawing. " But if you wish to begin painting, you need not necessarily wait till you are a proficient with your pencil. Good drawing may be learnt as well with the brush as in any other way; and in fact, the artist must learn to draw with his brush, that is, to produce the right effects of light and shade, true perspective, etc. Good lessons are, of course, of inestimable value, but many have done much for themselves by study and assiduous practice.
As for the outfit required, it need not necessarily be a very expensive one. If you can manage to have a room to yourself, however small, so much the better. Darken all the windows but the one at which you have your easel. A northern exposure is to be preferred, as the light is more even. If painting from nature, the lower part of the window should be darkened, in order to give the proper effects of light and shade. Your palette should be light and fit your hand comfortably. Nos. 2, 4, 6, and 9, flat red sable brushes, one flat bristle brush, and one badger blender No. 4, will be a good assortment to begin with, which can be added to as you wish. It is well, however, to have two or three No. 6 brushes, as that size is constantly needed. Get the best brushes, as it is very unsatisfactory to work with poor tools. For the same reason, get Windsor & Newton's paints, which are more reliable than the American. A good selection of colors would be the following: —
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*Silver White. Yellow Ochre. Light Cadmium. Medium Cadmium. Orange Cadmium. *Light Red. *Vermillion. Madder Lake. Rose Madder. *Indian Red. Cobalt. |
Permanent Blue. *Antwerp Blue. *Terre Verte. Zinnober Green (light; Schonfeldt's) Raw Umber. Burnt Sienna. Bone Brown. *Ivory Black. Blue Black. |
This list can be shortened by taking only the colors marked with an asterisk, with the addition of burnt umber, raw sienna, and Naples yellow. For some reasons it is far better to restrict yourself to as few colors as possible, so as to learn their capabilities. The old masters had a much more limited range of colors than we now possess, yet who will dare to dispute their claims to pre-eminence as colorists? To your list of materials add a two ounce bottle of poppy oil, a tube of Soehnee frères' retouching varnish, some soft old calico or muslin, a tube of megilp, and, if necessary, transfer and tracing papers.
A sketch block for oil painting, containing 32 sheets, 7x10 inches in size, can be bought for $1,00; 10x14 for $2.00. These are good to practice on. You can also purchase wooden panels, or papier maché, wooden, or porcelain plaques for decorating. It is considered advisable, generally, to paint standing, but as some will find it necessary to paint at a table, a small easel for the purpose will be desirable. It can be made by any carpenter from the following measurements: The top and bottom pieces are respectively fifteen and seven inches wide, with a perpendicular brace, eighteen inches in height, connecting top and bottom. The side pieces connecting the top and bottom should have holes in them at regular intervals for about half their length; a couple of pegs fitted into these holes serve to support a loose bar of wood, on which the picture rests; by means of the holes the picture can be placed higher or lower on the easel as is desired, A leg twenty inches long and pointed at the end, is hinged to the back of the easel at the top; and one twenty-two inches long, pierced with holes, is hinged to the bottom of the easel. By means of these holes, the inclination of the easel is governed. Academy board, or canvas stretched on a frame, can be used to paint on, instead of the sketch block referred to above.
Sketch your design correctly, but lightly; if you cannot draw, trace and transfer it as directed elsewhere, but if you paint much you will soon be able to throw aside these aids. Now study your subject and "set your palette" with the needed colors. It is well always to put the colors on in the same general order, as you will then work more systematically. To "set the palette," squeeze out of the tubes portions of color about the size of a pea, and lay them along the upper edge of the palette, be, ginning from the thumb side in the following order:—White, Naples yellow, raw sienna, burnt sienna, light red, Indian red, vermilion, terre verte, zinnober green, umber, blue, and black. You have thus ample space for mixing, with the palette knife (which must be added to the list given above), the various tints on the lower part of the palette. The lighter tints are usually placed on the right hand side of the palette. White or black is usually combined with all colors as they are required lighter or darker.
To make any tint, take on the point of the knife a small portion of megilp, and the colors you want, mix them on the palette, scrape them up, and lay them in gradations for use.
Of course in a single chapter we cannot enlarge on the laws of color. The amateur should, if possible, possess and study thoroughly some good book on the subject.
The following lines by Henry Hopley White were originally published in connection with a diagram illustrating the relation of the colors. They may help some in the study of color, and are convenient for reference.
(By mixture unobtained) we Primaries call:
From these, in various combinations blent,
All the colors trace their one descent,
Each mixed with each—their powers combined diffuse
New colors forming Secondary hues;
Yellow with red makes Orange, with blue—Green;
In blue with red admixed, is Purple seen.
Each of these hues in Harmony we find,
When with its complimentary combined;
Orange with blue, and green with red agrees,
And purple tints near yellows always please.
These secondary Tertiaries produce,
And Citrine—Olive—Russet—introduce;
Thus green with orange blended forms citrine,
And Olive comes from purple mixed with green;
Orange, with purple mix'd, will russet prove;
And, being subject to the rule above,
Harmonious with each tertiary we view
The complemental secondary hue.
Thus citrine—olive—russet harmonize
With purple—orange—green, their true allies.
These hues, by white diluted Tints are made;
By black, are deepened into darkest Shade.
Pure or combin'd, the primaries all three,
To satisfy the eye, must present be;
If the support is wanting but of one,
In that proportion harmony is gone;
Should red be unsupported by due share
Of blue and yellow pure—combin’d they are
In green, which secondary thus we see,
The harmonizing medium of all three.
Yellow for light contrasts dark purple's hue,
Its complemental, form'd of red and blue.
Red most exciting is—let nature tell
How grateful is, and soothing green's soft spell.
So blue retires—beyond all colors cold,
While orange warm—advancing you behold.
The union of two primaries forms a hue
As perfect and decided as 'tis new;
But all the mixtures which all three befall,
Tend to destroy and neutralize them all;
Nay, Mix them—three parts yellow, five of red,
And eight of blue—then color all has fled.
When primaries are not pure, you'll surely see
Their complementals change in due degree:
If red (with yellow) to a scarlet tend,
Some blue its complemental green will blend;
So if your red be crimson (blue with red),
Your green with yellow would be varied;
If yellow tends to orange, then you find
Purple (its complement) to blue inclin'd;
But if to blue it leans, then mark the change,
Nearer to red you see the purple range.
If blue partakes of red, the orange then
To yellow tends: if yellowish, you ken
The secondary orange glows with red,
In the first painting, the aim should be to get in what is called the "dead coloring," which blocks out the design in the principal colors. This done, the background can be laid in. If a smooth background is wished, it can be obtained by the use of the blender, using it somewhat after the manner described for china painting. If a mottled background is wished, two paintings are required. First, cover the background with a simple flat tone, say terre verte and burnt sienna. In the second painting, which must not be done until the first is perfectly dry, wipe the painting over with a little poppy oil, being careful to leave no superfluous oil on the painting. This causes the two coats of paint to combine. Now go over the painting with the same tints used in the dead coloring, correcting, improving, and softening, making the high lights (that is the parts nearest approaching to white), laying them on with spirited touches, and with rather stiff color. For the mottled effect in the background use Antwerp blue, yellow ochre and white, with a very little light cadmium; prepare also some terre verte and burnt sienna, with madder lake. Paint in these contrasting tones in alternate masses, large or small, as desired, and then blend them with a large soft brush. This will give a mottled olive-blue effect. A spray of pink and white chrysanthemums would look well on this ground.
For the third or last painting, when perfectly dry, oil as before, and touch up where it is needed, putting in the last delicate touches which often serve to emphasize and bring out the picture.
The "glazing" is put on at this stage. This process is the laying some transparent color, mixed only with megilp, over any part to enrich and give it depth; thus burnt sienna put on over red has a very good effect. It must be put on sparingly, so as to see the former paintings through it, and even taken off entirely with a rag or the finger, in some places, as in the highest light.
In painting, endeavor to lay on your colors steadily and boldly, with as few strokes of the brush as possible. Keep your tints pure and distinct, each in the place you mean it to be. Do not, by going over and over them with the brush muddle and mix the tints, for some tints destroy each other, and the transparency and beauty of the painting will be lost. In softening or uniting the tints, it is best either to use an intermediate shade, or else, with a clean brush and no color, to melt them together. Much depends on the first painting. It should be lighter in color than the picture is intended to be, as all colors sink, more or less, into the ground as they dry, and it can easily be glazed and toned down to the proper color. The shadows should be put on thin in color, the lights with a greater body of paint, with a sharp and firm touch. The brightest lights may be painted quite white, and glazed to the required hue; beautiful effects are produced by glazing, but it is dangerous for the student to be too free in the use of it.
"Scumbling" is the reverse of glazing, and is done by going over the painting, when quite dry, with opaque tints of a lighter hue, generally with a mixture of white. Colors that are too bright can thus be cooled down, and objects made to appear more distant; smoke mist, and the haziness of far-off hills, can be thus produced. The color should be laid on very thinly, with a hog's bristle brush, and should not be laid over shadows.
When painting, often retire from your work and look at it from a distance, so as to judge of the effect. When copying from nature, as in painting flowers, look at them sometimes with your eyes half closed, or through a tube formed of rolled up paper. This will isolate your subject, and help you to see the lights and shadows more correctly.
Much of the comfort, and success also, of an amateur depends on their keeping their painting materials in good working order. Brushes put away with paint in them will soon spoil, while if much paint is left on the palette considerable waste is involved. You can save your pure colors by taking them off the palette with your knife, placing them on a plate, and then covering them with water; they can be kept for several days in this condition. Now scrape all the waste color and oil off your palette; wipe it off with a rag and pour a little linseed oil on it (I believe kerosene oil is often used for this purpose); wash all the color out of your brushes, wiping~them with a rag, and then dip them in clean oil. Some prefer washing them in soap and water. Wipe the dirty oil off your palette and then rub it with a little clean oil. Put brushes and palette safely away from the dust.
If possible, paint from nature; take simple objects at first which will await your time, as flowers and landscapes will not. A bit of drapery is excellent practice. If you are at fault in drawing get a good copy of a flower, and by it learn how to draw the real flower, but copy the color from the natural object. I have found this method very helpful. Don't destroy first attempts; they may serve to keep up your courage in times of apparent failure; date these attempts, that you may note the progress made.
Painting, now-a-days, is used for decorating almost everything. It is so much more effective, for the time spent on it, than embroidery that, in this go-ahead age, it is not strange it should be popular. On silk and satin, decorative painting can be quickly executed by one who has a good eye for color, and command of the brush. The method is much the same as above described, only that some means often have to be taken to prevent the oil from spreading. Some use a mixture for this which can be obtained at the stores where artists' supplies are sold. Others paint over the design with oxgall, and others again find that by taking out their paints on blotting paper and using turpentine as a medium, all danger of this kind is averted. Satin, for painting, should be of a firm, even texture. The gloss on its surface is very trying to the eyes, and for this reason many have had to give up using it. Plush and velvet are also used to paint on. The aim must be to produce effective rather than delicate work. The plush must be firmly fastened on the drawing-board, the pile running downwards. The paint should be taken out on blotting paper, and about ten times as much will be needed as for ordinary painting. Use siccatif de Oourtray as a vehicle instead of megilp or turpentine. Sketch your design in Chinese white, and then press the colors down with a stiff bristle, poonah, or pounce brush, until they fairly take hold. Dog-wood, coreopsis, cactus and other large blossoms are most available for this kind of painting. Care should be taken that the shape of the plush left by the leaves or flowers laid on it is graceful.