PEACTICAL GUIDE TO SCENE PAINTING F. LLOYDS Tit*" 1 * LIBRARY hot- PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SCENE PAI NTI N G AND PAINTING IN DISTEMPER BY F. LLOYDS. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN BY THE AUTHOR. London : GEORGE ROWNEY & CO., 52, Rathbone Place; and 29, Oxford Street, W. LOAN STACK London: PRINTED BY RICHARD HACKETT RATHBONE PLACE, OXFORD STREET, W. CONTENTS U?)B Page PREFACE The Painting Room ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i Painting Frames, various kinds of ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 A Painting Bridge with Fixed Frame ... ... ... ... ... 5 How to Paint Scenes without a Regular Painting Room 7 REQUIREMENTS— 10 Materials and Colours most in use ... 14 Medium for Distemper Colour ... ... ... ... ... ... 17 How to Prepare the Canvas ... ... ... ... ... ... 19 How to Draw the Subject on the Canvas 23 How to Paint a Landscape ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 28 THE MIXING OF COLOURS and Laying In— 29 Second Painting ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 33 Third Painting, and Finishing ... ... ... ... ... ... 35 Mixing of Colours — (continued) ... ... ... ... ... ... 38 Coloured Diagrams, showing the difference between Colours wet and dry 43 Scumbling, Dragging, Thin Colouring, etc., etc. ... ,.. ... ... 45 Architectural Painting ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 48 Method of getting the Vanishing Lines without a Vanishing Point ... 49 Stage Perspective ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 53 How to Draw Borders ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 55 Interior Painting ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62 How to Draw and Arrange the Set Pieces for a Set Scene ... ... 66 The Painting of Fairy Scenes ... ... ... ... ... ... 71 The Use of Foils and Dutch Metals, etc., etc 72 Hints on Effects ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 74 The Use of Cut Cloths ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 Distemper Painting as applied to Decoration ... ... ... ... 89 Pouncing and Pounces ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• ••• 9 1 Method of Painting a large quantity of Flowers in a rapid and ef- fective MANNER ... ... ... ... ... ••■ ••• ••• 95 Conclusion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 97 675 PREFACE. THE following Work is intended to afford practical information and instruction in the art of Scene Painting and Distemper Painting in general, as applied to decorating, ornamenting, and other purposes of a similar nature. When I come to consider the growing taste for private theatricals, and the very numerous inquiries that have been made for a Work of this kind, I feel confident that the present treatise, which I have been invited to undertake, will help to supply a want that has long existed ; for I have not entered upon my task without that practical knowledge which is necessary for the due performance of it, having had an extensive experience in the practice of Scene Painting in some of the best theatres in the kingdom. There are many instances in which a knowledge of Scene Painting and Distemper would prove both useful and amusing. Officers of the Army and Navy, and other gentlemen who are sent on their profes- sional career to various parts of the world, generally find theatricals to be their principal amusement, and the scenery their chief difficulty. But I hope the following instructions and information may help them to overcome that difficulty, and make the task of painting the scenery a pleasant one. To ladies, also, I hope this book may prove useful ; for I remember once looking over the country mansion of a noble lord, and being shown a room that had been decorated solely by the lady of the house. The festoons of flowers, which formed the chief ornament of the room, she had executed in water colours upon drawing paper, in the ordinary VI way, a process which must have involved a considerable amount of time and patience, nine-tenths of which she might have saved, had her work been done in Distemper. But this is nothing more than what might be expected in many another country mansion, situate, it may be, far away from any town whence the services of decorators could be obtained. Suppose some festive occasion to arise, when the ladies of the house may desire to exercise their skill in decorating a room, marquee, school, or church. They probably possess the requisite artistic taste and ability, but, from their want of a knowledge of Distemper, in which most decorations are painted, they are unable to accomplish what would otherwise have been a most agreeable task. I trust, however, that, by adhering to the instructions contained in the following pages, they will no longer experience any difficulty in carrying out their plans, but that their labours will be attended with advantage and pleasure both to them- selves and others. And let them not fear any injury to their health or their dress, for the materials employed in Distemper painting are perfectly harmless and of the most simple kind. I now commit my book to the reader, leaving him to judge of its merits by the amount of benefit he may derive from a careful and persevering study of its contents. SCENE PAINTING & DISTEMPER PAINTING. THE PAINTING ROOM. The first thing necessary in the study of the art of scene painting is to have a suitable painting-room. I shall, therefore, commence by giving a description of the sort of room a professional scene painter generally works in. The length of a room of this kind is usually about fifty feet and the breadth from twelve to forty feet, with walls about twenty-five feet in height and a roof of still greater elevation. On the long sides of the room are two movable frames, facing each other, on which the scenes are painted. The dimensions of the frames vary with the require- ments of the stage for which the scenes are designed ; but forty feet in width and twenty-five feet in height is a very convenient size for them. They are made as light as possible, but strong enough to bear the great strain of the canvas as well as the weight of the framed pieces of scenery that have to be painted on them. In order that the scene painter may be able to reach every portion of his scene at will, the painting frames are hung upon lines and slide up and down a " cut " or opening in the floor of the room, the lowering and raising being effected by means of a windlass. (See diagrams Nos. I and 2.) I, purchase wheel ; 2, shaft ; 3, counter- weight line ; 4, counterweight, to balance the weight of the frame ; 5, lines for raising and lowering frame, winding on and off shaft ; 6, B SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. purchase line, led over small wheel to windlass, 7 ; 8, painting frame For a medium-sized scene and light set pieces, a very simple kind of painting frame may be fitted up which would not necessitate the use of a windlass (see diagram No. 3), the counterweights enabling one to raise the frame and the canvas on it, with the hand, in the same way as in a window sash, while a rope attached to the top could be used for the purpose of lowering it. This kind of frame, which would also require a cut in the floor, will likewise serve to hold framed or heavy set pieces, the balance being maintained, when necessary, by adding to the counterweights. THE PAINTING BRIDGE. When the theatre or build- ing in which the painting of the scenery is to be executed does not admit of a cut being made in the floor for the frame to be lowered through, another contrivance, called a painting bridge, must be resorted to, and the frame rendered immov- able by fixing it to the wall. I i CUT % v- Diagram I. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 3 The form and structure of a painting bridge will be sufficiently b 2 4 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. understood by referring to the illustration at page 5, where it will be perceived that the platform or bridge (No. 1), on which the artist places himself, is made to slide up and down between two pieces of Diagram 3: framework standing upright at each end of it, the frames being fixed firmly to the floor, and, at the top, to the joists of the roof. The sides of the framework have a rectangular form, and their angles serve as grooves along which the four corners of the bridge are moved. These grooves should be kept well coated with black lead, in order that there may be as little friction as possible between the bridge and the framework. The raising and lowering of the bridge, so that the painter may have access to any part of his canvas at will, is effected by means of a windlass, in nearly the same way as that referred to when speaking of movable painting frames. The axle of the pur- chase wheel (2) works between an iron plate let into the wall and SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 5 either one of the joists of the ceiling, or a wooden beam attached to it. Lines (3) support the bridge at each end and pass to the axle over small wheels placed at the top of the pieces of framework. Diagram 4. The purchase line (4) is led over a small wheel to the windlass, O SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. and a line (5) with counter-weight attached counterbalances the weight of the bridge and renders its motion an easy one. There is also a shelf (6) for palettes, pots, and other painting materials. No. 7 is the sheet of canvas on which the scene is to be painted, and should stand back about fifteen inches from the bridge. I must now inform the reader how the two ends of a painting room are fitted up. At one of them there is usually a frame similar to and as high as those before mentioned, and as broad as the room will allow. The other end of the room is furnished with a stove or kitchen range, for melting size, drying the colours when testing them, and for several other purposes. Here also a space is reserved for grinding the colours in, as well as for shelves on which to set the stock colours, both wet and dry, and other necessary materials when not in actual use. Whilst the artist is at work, he deposits his pots, palettes, and any other things he may require, on tables ranged in rows in the middle of the room. The last thing I shall mention in my description of a professional scene painter's painting room is the method adopted for admitting the light. In the daytime this comes from skylights which have movable blinds of stout brown holland, for the purpose of intercept- ing the direct rays of the sun, whenever it would otherwise shine on the canvas and hinder the work of the painting. A row of gaslights, suspended along the middle of the room, allows the painting to be carried on during the dark hours. But I fear some of my readers, who may not have the necessary accommodation in their houses, will begin to think they have no chance of being able to avail themselves of the advantages such a room as I have just described would confer. 1 ask them, however, not to be discouraged, for I am now about to explain how they may contrive to have a room on their own premises, in which, with a little management, they can paint their scenery with tolerable ease and comfort, and, at the same time, dispense with the use of a painting bridge. After having selected an apartment of convenient size for your SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. private theatre, mark off the dimensions of the stage, leaving a space of ten or twelve feet at the back of it. Let this space be your paint- ing room, and fit it up, in all respecls, in the same way as the one before described, except that, in this case, only one frame will suffice. And, as the stage of a theatre is generally higher than the floor of the room in which it is erected, you will be able to lower the frame through a cut you can make in the floor at the back of your paint- ing room. But if the floor of the stage is too low to allow so much of the frame to pass through the cut as will enable you to reach the upper parts of the scene when standing up, you must make use of a pair of trestles, or "flying horses," as they are often called. These can be hired from any builder, plasterer, or house painter ; but, should that not be convenient, your carpenter could easily make you a pair at a small expense, either to fold up or not. Then, a two- inch plank, stretched from one trestle to the other, will form a suitable scaffold for the painter to stand on, while another, placed higher up Diagram 5. Diagram 6. and behind him, will serve to hold the palette and such pots and brushes as he may require. (See diagram No. 5.) 8 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. Another and very convenient kind of scaffold is also often made use of, which, being furnished with wheels, can readily be moved from one part of the scene to the other, without the necessity of taking down your painting materials whenever you have occasion to shift your position. (See diagram No. 6.) But if a cut in the floor is altogether impracticable, on account of the low elevation of the stage, your frame can still be fixed against some part of the wall where the best light will fall upon it. And remember my former advice — namely, to make your frame strong enough to resist the great tension the canvas will exert after it has been sized and primed. You must, likewise, take care that the trestles or end frame pieces are sufficiently lofty to enable you to reach the highest parts of the scene. A common ironing stove, to be procured at any ironmongers, would answer the same purpose as a kitchen range, which it might not be convenient to put up, and its flat top would serve admirably to set the pots on to warm and to melt the size, &c. There is still another method of proceeding, which the French, Italian, and, indeed, some of our own English painters adopt ; and that is, to paint the scenery altogether on the floor. If you prefer this plan, and have, for instance, a cloth to paint, it must be stretched and tacked down to the floor, and there prepared and painted. Framed set pieces will, of course, simply have to be laid level with the floor, and boards to walk on must be placed across them to prevent the canvas from being dented or torn. The brushes should now have their handles lengthened, in order that you may use them without stooping too much ; and three or four large pots should be placed in one or twoboxes with tall handles, for the purpose of carrying the mixed colours about with greater facility and safety. The straightedges, too, should be provided with long f~ — handles fixed in their centres, as in the accompanying diagram (J). SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. g But it may, perhaps, be impossible to adapt your stage at all to the purposes of a painting room. In that case, your only resource would be to have a shed erected, or, if in the country, even a barn prepared for the occasion. And the same appliances and arrangements as I have already mentioned would then, likewise, be found equally suitable. I will now suppose that the student or amateur has succeeded in securing a suitable room, and that he is thoroughly prepared to make his first essay in scene painting. But, as the instructions contained in this book are intended to be of a practical description, I shall also presume that he has a fair knowledge of drawing, perspective, light and shade, composition and colouring. Those, too, who wish to learn from this work how to apply the art of distemper to decorative purposes, would find it very advantageous to have previously acquired a tolerable proficiency in fruit and flower painting, as well as in illu- minating. Messrs. Rowney & Co. have published some useful little treatises which I can confidently recommend to those of my readers who are desirous of studying the above subjects, or else of improving whatever knowledge they may have already gained of them. 10 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. IMPLEMENTS, MATERIALS, AND COLOURS USED IN SCENE PAINTING. When you purchase any canvas to paint your scenery on, I would strongly advise you to confine your selection to specimens of the real article, which should be all flax, not too thick, of a close texture, and light. Much of that which is now being sold as canvas has certainly the appearance of it, but possesses none of the properties of genuine flax. In the place of canvas, stout unbleached calico is frequently em- ployed, but it does not, by any means, answer so well. Union is only used for transparencies. With respect to the width of the canvas, that which is manufactured two yards wide is the most preferable, as your scene will not then require so many seams, which is a great desideratum. For ordinary scenery, these seams should always run horizontally ; but for a moving panorama, they must assume a perpendicular direction, since the canvas on which it is represented has to be unrolled from a cylinder placed vertically on the stage at the time of exhibition. On a subsequent page I shall show you how to prepare the canvas, it being my present object to give you a list of the articles you will require, to be followed by a few particulars concerning the necessary colours. These, then, are what you will find most needful : — A common iron or tin kettle, in shape resembling a fish kettle, to melt the size in ; and a ladle to pour it out with when required for use. An earthenware pan, about fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, to contain the whiting that has been moistened and made fit for use. About four dozen earthenware paint pots, from the smallest to the largest. A grindstone and muller, or what would do still better, a patent colour mill. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. II A large palette knife. A good sized sponge. A plumb line. Some chalk and a couple of chalk lines. Some common charcoal, of which only the softest and finest pieces are to be selected. Some drawing charcoal. The large French is the best. A couple of pounce bags. These can be made in the following manner : Take a piece, about eight inches square, of very open canvas, of an old stocking, or of any other material that will just allow the pounce powder to pass freely through the surface of the bag. Pulverize some charcoal, chalk, or whatever other substance you may consider best adapted to the purpose, to as fine a powder as possible. Place a sufficient quantity of it on the middle part of the canvas. Then draw up the four corners and tie them together with a piece of string so as to form a round pad which is to be rubbed over the pounce you wish to transfer to the canvas. Foils. — These are used chiefly in fairy scenes, for the purpose of imitating gold, silver, and jewels of every shade and colour. They can be purchased at any theatrical wardrobe and ornament maker's, as well as at a few oil and colour shops. White, gold, and copper-coloured Dutch metal. This is also sold by the above-mentioned dealers. Mcdong. — This substance is used in a hot and liquid state, to fasten Dutch metals with. You will, there- fore, require a madong pot, in which you can dissolve the madong and keep it hot while in use ; but as you will, most likely, be obliged to have one made, I shall endeavour, with the aid of the accompanying woodcut, to explain the construction of it. A madong pot con- sists of a tin pan (C) to contain the madong, and a tin vessel, about nine inches high, with an open top d through which the pan is dropped till it rests on the rim. This vessel, which is of a conical form, resembling a beer can or a sugar loat 12 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. with the top cut off, has an opening at the side for the purpose of introducing a small glass spirit lamp (E), of which the flame serves to dissolve the madong and keep it hot. The tin vessel has also two vent holes near the top (F F), the one opposite to the other, to promote the draught. The madong is taken up from the pot and applied to the scene by means of long camel hair pencils, of which the annexed engraving represents the real size. They should be Diagram 9. fixed firmly on wooden holders, and must have been steeped in lin- seed oil before being dipped into the madong. Receipt for Making Madong. — Take equal parts of pitch, Venice turpentine, resin, beeswax, and Russian tallow; put them into the madong pot and melt them together, but should the mixture work too thick and stiff, add more wax and tallow. The more tallow that is added to the mixture, the more pleasantly it will work, but if too much is added it will never harden, so care must be taken not to overdo it. The resin and pitch form the hardening part of the mixture. In hot weather it can be used much harder than in cold as the heat keeps it tacky, which is required to make the Dutch metal adhere to it. A couple of wooden palettes, one three feet by one and a half, the other four feet by two, which any carpenter can make. They should have a ledge three inches high at each end, and one at the back to prevent the colours from flowing off. They may be made with a separate division for each colour, if preferred. Before making use of the palettes they must have three or four coats of white lead laid over them, and afterwards be rubbed down with sand paper to get them as smooth as possible. A Jlogger. — This implement is employed for clearing away the charcoal after the sketching in is completed. To make one, cut off a piece, about two feet long, from a broomstick, and round one end of it nail about a dozen strips of canvas or calico, each strip being two feet in length. Straightedges. — Of these, three or four will be required, one being SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 13 exactly two yards long and four inches wide, and marked off in feet, to serve as a measure. They should be made of thin deal and have a flange at each edge. One of them should be thin and pliable enough to bear being bent whenever you wish to draw curves or arches. I advise the student to have handles fixed to two of his straightedges, thus : — Diagram 10. The mode of proceeding will then be as follows : Grasp the handle with the left hand and press the lower edge of the straightedge against the canvas, keeping the upper edge away from it. Now, resting your brush on the upper edge, draw it along the canvas and a line is ruled. It would be advisable to practise ruling lines in this way, as it will be found to present a little difficulty at first. Brushes. — Of these you will require : — Two each flat hog tools, Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24. One each sash tools, Nos. 1 and 12. Two do. do. Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. One 4-in. flat camel hair brush. Two each quilled tools, Nos. 2, 4 and 6. Six do. do. No. 1. Two g-oz. ground distemper brushes. Two No. 8-0 oval ground brushes. One No. 4-0 do. do. One No. 1 do. do. One No. 3 do. do. 14 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. COLOURS. These I will name in the order in which I find it convenient to place them on the palette, commencing from the extreme left : — White. — Procure the best gilders' whiting, as it is well washed and has more body than common whiting, and less lime. It is sold in large lumps, and only requires to be broken up and plunged into as much water as will serve to soften it without bringing it into a liquid state. [This last remark applies to all the colours when they are put into the stock pots ready for use.] Whiting is used to mix with almost all the colours, to reduce them, in the same way as Flake White is used in oil painting, or as water is used in water colour drawing. Flake White. — A fine white, very solid, but turns a little brown in distemper, after a short time. It is only used where extra bright- ness is required, and for the highest lights. It is sold in lumps, and can be crushed in water with a palette knife, to be ready for use. Zinc White. — Very white, but has less body than flake white, though more permanent. In all other respects it is the same, and is prepared in the same way for use. Lemon Chrome. — A brilliant light yellow, sold in lumps, and only requires to be crushed as above. Orange Chrome. — A fine rich bright colour, in all respects of the same nature as the other chrome. Dutch Pink. — A most useful yellow for distemper painting, and mixes well with any other colour. It is sold in lumps, but must be ground in water to be ready for use. Light Yellow Ochre. — This is a very useful and cheap colour. It is sold in a powdered state, and only requires to be plunged into water to be ready for use. Dark Brown Ochre. — Of the same nature as the above, and pre- pared for use in the same way ; unfortunately, it is very sandy. Raw Sienna. — A fine rich golden yellow, for glazing, chiefly ; sold in broken lumps, very hard, and requires most careful grinding in SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 15 water to be ready for use. As I shall often have to speak of grinding, let it be understood that it is always in water. Orange Lead. — A very bright and powerful red, sold in powder ; requires only to be plunged in water to be ready for use. Vermilion. — A fine red, sold in powder, and only requires to be plunged in water. Indian Red. — A good colour, also soid in powder, and prepared in the same way for use. Venetian Red. — A very cheap and useful colour, also in powder, and prepared in the same way as the last. Damp Lake. — A useful colour in distemper. It is sold in a damp, pulpy state, and only requires to be kept damp for use. It is a fine glazing colour. Carmine Paste. — A magnificent colour, has great power, and is a fine glazing colour. This, also, only requires to be kept damp, as it is sold ready for use. It need not be put on the palette till required. Rose Pink. — A useful colour, sold in soft lumps, but requires grinding for use. Brown Lake. — A good colour ; requires grinding. Burnt Sienna. — A fine colour ; requires most careful grinding. This is a good glazing colour. Vandyke Brown. — A fine useful colour ; is a good glazing one ; requires most careful grinding. Raw Umber. — A useful colour; requires grinding. Burnt Umber. — A good colour ; requires grinding, and is a good glazing colour. Drop Black. — A very useful colour ; requires grinding. Blue Black. — Is also useful ; requires grinding. Indigo. — A very useful colour, very hard, requires to be broken up and steeped in boiling water for some time, then ground up in the usual way. A good glazing colour. German Ultramarine. — A good blue, sold in powder, and only requires to be plunged in water. l6 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. Prussian Blue. — A powerful blue, hitherto scarcely used in dis- temper, but likely to be of much use. Requires good grinding. Azure Blue. — A fine, useful blue, better than German ultramarine for most purposes. A powder colour, and has only to be plunged in water. Blue Verditer. — A fine night colour, but of a sandy nature, and very difficult to work with. A powder colour, and requires only water put to it for use. Dark Green Lake. — A most powerful green, and very useful. Requires grinding for use. Light Green Lake. — The same as the above, only much lighter. Emerald Green. — A very bright green, and should be sparingly used. Requires no grinding, as it is in powder. Note. — All the colours that require to be ground can be procured in that state from the colourman. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 17 MEDIUM FOR BINDING DISTEMPER COLOURS. I am now about to offer you some directions for the preparation of the size you will have to use in sizing the canvas. Size is sold in firkins or by weight. That called best double is to be preferred, and when melted, must be mixed with water in the proportion of one pint of size to four pints of water, to make what is called working size. Another called strong size, for sizing and priming a cloth or any piece covered with canvas, may be made by dropping the size, exactly as it comes from the shop, into a size kettle in which there is just sufficient water to prevent the size adhering to the bottom of the kettle. The size is ready for using as soon as it is completely melted, without having been allowed to boil. Use is fre- quently made of what is called half-and-half size, a mixture of working size and strong size in equal quantities. Should you be so situated as to be unable to procure manufactured size, you will find the best carpenters' glue a good substitute for it. This can be obtained almost anywhere, and, in an unmelted state, will keep good in all climates. It can be melted in a carpenter's glue pot in the usual way, and then weakened with water till it is of the consistence required. The quantity of water will depend on the strength of the glue, which varies considerably ; but, in any case, you must keep on adding as much water as will allow the glue size to set in the form of a firm jelly when cold ; you will then have strong size. And if to one part of this you add four of water, the result will be working size. Half-and-half can be made as before. In moderately cool weather, working size should assume the con- dition of a weak jelly when perfectly cold. You may test the strength c l8 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. of it without waiting for it to cool by the following means : — Thin the strong size with water till you think it is of about the right consistency. Then, after dipping your fingers into it, put them together a little while ; if, on endeavouring to separate them, they adhere ever so little, your size is properly made ; but if they stick together quickly and rather firmly, it is too strong and wants weakening. If, on the other hand, your fingers separate quite freely, the size requires to be made stronger. This method of testing the strength of the working size is worth attending to as well as practising ; for if you make use of size that is too strong your work will have a shiny appearance and the effect will be spoiled, while your colours would soon wear off if the size has been made too weak. But should even carpenters' glue be unprocurable or not at hand when required, you might still avail yourself of leather or parchment cuttings, pieces of skin of any kind, or, in short, of any gelatinous substance that has no grease in it. Put them with water into any metal vessel and let them simmer till they are converted into a strong jelly, from which you can produce the same descriptions of size as those I have already alluded to. As size does not keep well during the hot weather, when it gives off a very offensive odour, do not make more then than you think will suffice for the day's work. A little carbolic acid however, mixed with the size will prevent its decomposition. The mixed colours, likewise, will probably deteriorate before your scene is finished, should the weather be hot. In that case, if you allow the colour to sink to the bottom of the mixture, the size will float on the top. Pour this out and replace it with fresh size. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. ig HOW TO PREPARE THE CANVAS. If the dimensions of your canvas do not exceed that of your frame, you can at once strain it and nail it on with one-and-a-half or two-inch clout nails, about four inches apart from each other, taking care that the threads of the canvas have perpendicular and horizontal directions. The nails should only be driven home about halfway, as, when the painting is finished, they will all have to be taken out again in order to remove the canvas from the frame. Having thus strained and fastened your canvas so as to get it to lie tolerably smooth on the frame, apply the size to it as afterwards directed, and the whole will be stretched as tight as a drum-head. But suppose your canvas is too large to allow the frame to take in the whole height of the scene (which frequently happens even in regular painting rooms), you must then resort to what is called a bight in the canvas and proceed thus : — Nail the top of the canvas along a straight line drawn on the top of the frame, and let the remainder lie evenly down the front, dropping the portion of the canvas that extends beyond the bottom of the frame through the cut, if there be one, or gathering it up carefully below. Now drive a nail through the end of a seam that is about halfway between the top and bottom of the frame, after having pulled it slightly downwards, keep- ing the side edge of the canvas even with the side of the frame. Then measure how far the nail you last drove in is from the top or bottom of the frame, and nail the other end of the seam to the other side of the frame at the same relative distance. Next stretch a chalk line from one nail to the other and make it fast. This will furnish you with a horizontal line, parallel, of course, to the top and bottom C 2 20 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. of the frame. Now give a downward pull to the middle part of the canvas at the bottom of the frame, till the seam before spoken of is level with the chalk line at the centre, and fasten it to the frame with a clout nail. In the same way, you must pull and fasten the canvas at each side of the above point, at intervals of four inches, till you come to the corners, when the line in which the seam is ought to coincide with that shown by the chalk line. In doing this, be careful not to pull the canvas sideways, but quite perpendicularly and so that no wrinkles should form. You have now only to strain out and nail down the sides, pulling them in a horizontal direction, and not harder than is necessary to make the canvas lie tolerably flat. The work being thus far satisfactorily accomplished, remove the chalk line and commence sizing as follows : — Heat some of the strong size before described, and with a two-knot brush apply it to the canvas, com- mencing at the top of the frame and working crosswise from one side to the other to the depth of about two feet. Keep the canvas toler- ably well soaked with the size, and let no part remain uncovered, except about six inches above where the bottom row of nails are driven, so that the marks caused by the latter may be afterwards got rid of. Continue thus till the whole surface of the canvas is covered up to about six inches from the bottom nails. When all the size that has been applied to the canvas is perfectly dry, you must proceed with the priming. The priming is made in the following manner : — Take as much of the whiting that has been soaked in water as you think will suffice to cover the whole surface of your canvas, taking care that it is thoroughly dissolved and free from lumps. Drain the water well from it and mix it with strong size only. The priming should now be of such a consistency that when a brush full of it is drawn against the side of the pot or pail which contains it, it will run down and as much remain on the side as will leave no part uncovered. The priming should also flow freely from the brush, but yet have enough body in it to impart, when dry, a nice even white surface to the canvas. In laying in the priming, the flat of the brush, not the edge, SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 21 should first be moved up and down the canvas with as long a stretch as possible, then horizontally, and afterwards perpendicularly again. Repeat these actions till the canvas is well covered, finishing off horizontally. Begin at the top, and the splashes will become smoothened as you proceed downwards with your priming. Be very careful to well cover your canvas, for it is most vexatious to have to touch up those places that have been left bare or not sufficiently covered ; and the surface never looks so clear, or is so fit to work on, as when all the priming is done whilst wet. The same precaution, also, must be taken in the priming as in the sizing — namely, not to prime nearer than six inches from the bottom row of nails. As soon as the priming is quite dry, you must proceed to take in the bight before spoken of, which you should do in the following manner: — We will suppose, for example, that your canvas is eight feet deeper than your frame. At the distance of three inches from the top, which you must allow for the row of nails, measure eight feet downwards on each side of the frame, and there strike a line across with charcoal. Then, with a pair of carpenters' pincers, draw out all the nails except those in the top row. Now let an assistant take hold of the canvas at one end of the line just struck, while you have hold of the other end, and one or two other assistants, according to the width of the canvas, are holding the parts that are between. Let all then pinch the canvas along the struck line into a straight fold, and afterwards lift that part simultaneously till it is just under the top row of nails, being careful that the canvas which is folding itself at the back is made to lie evenly, and with as few creases as possible. If the lifting has been properly performed, the canvas will not have shifted, either to the right or to the left, and will hang tolerably even. Next drive a clout nail a little below and in the middle of the fold, and then other ones on each side, at intervals of four inches, as before, some one else helping you to keep the fold even and parallel to the top line of clouts while the tacking is being carried on. You have now taken in the bight, and all that remains to be done is to tack down the two sides, straining out from the centre towards 22 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. each side. If there be a seam in the part of the canvas you have just lifted up, get it horizontal by means of the chalk line and nails, as before explained, which would also serve to regulate the tacking at the bottom. Now size and prime the new surface in the same manner as before, using the size and priming hot, and the whole of the canvas will present a uniform appearance. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 23 HOW TO DRAW THE SUBJECT ON THE CANVAS. The student having succeeded, as I hope, in imparting a clear, even and white surface to his canvas, must now proceed to draw his subject on it. The first thing to be done is to strike a horizontal line ; and, whenever I have occasion, as I frequently shall have in the course of this work, to speak of " striking a line," the following method is always to be adopted : At the end of your chalk line, which must be coiled on a flat piece of wood, have a loop made, and either slip it over a nail fixed on your frame or anywhere else, or let an assistant hold it. Then, having in your right hand as soft a piece of the common charcoal as you can find, lift up the line with your left ; walk backwards with it from the loop, letting it glide through your fingers while you rub it with the charcoal. Continue this till you reach the other end, and take care that the charcoal is rubbed evenly over the whole length of the line. Now drive in a nail on each side of the frame, just above the bottom row of nails. After passing the loop over one of these nails, fasten the chalk line to the other one, making it very tight. Then pull the centre of the line straight out from the canvas, and sharply let go of it again, when a clearly-defined base line will be imprinted on the canvas. Next, strike a horizontal line exactly six feet above the base line just struck. On this line mark the centre of your cloth, after having found it in the following way : — Loop the chalk line to the nail at one side of the frame, and with your finger and thumb hold the remaining end rather tightly against the nail at the other side. Then, placing the two ends together and holding the line thus doubled along the struck line, the centre of your cloth will be at the extremity of the doubled line. 24 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. You will now require a perpendicular line. This can be obtained by fastening the line to the top of a pole and holding it close to the frame (supposed to hang vertically), so that the line passes exaclly over the centre mark you have already made, the plummet being just above the bottom row of nails. When the plumb line is at rest, your assistant must, with his left hand, press the line — which, of course, should have been previously rubbed over with charcoal — against the cloth, and with his right snap it as before directed. A perpendicular line will now appear on the canvas. The way to obtain a perpendicular line whenever the frame does not hang vertically is this : — Bend a strong pin into the form of a hook, and, after fixing it into a knot in the chalk line, four feet from the loop, stick it into the centre mark B already made in the hori- zontal line A A (see diagram n). Now place a black lead pencil in Diagram II. the loop, draw the line tightly and press the point against the canvas, SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 25 working round with your hand till you return to the spot you first started from. Thus, a circle C will have been described. Next, after fixing the pin into another knot in the chalk line, eight feet from the loop, stick it into the point D of the horizontal line in which the circle C cuts it. Then, with the pencil in the loop, as before, describe the curve E both above and below the horizontal line. Now, removing the pin from D, and inserting it at F, the other point in which the circle cuts the horizontal line, describe the curve G, which will cross the former one at H and I. A line struck between these two points will be the perpendicular you require. You have now on your canvas two important lines — a horizontal and a perpendicular one. From these two all other lines will have to be measured. You might next commence painting your subject on the canvas. Before doing so, however, I should recommend you always to make a separate sketch of it in colour on a small scale, which may be one of half an inch or an inch to the foot. But, in case any of my readers should not understand scale drawing, I will now explain how it is done : Suppose your scene to be twenty-four feet wide and twenty feet high, and the subject of it a landscape. With a foot rule mark off twelve inches at the bottom of the piece of drawing- paper on which the sketch is to be. Each of these inches represents two feet on the canvas. Rule a perpendicular at each end of the line of twelve inches, and you will have the width of your sketch. Then, reckoning from the bottom or base line, mark off ten inches on each of the perpendiculars you have just drawn. Rule a line from the tenth inch mark on one side to the corresponding one on the other, and the boundary lines of your subject will be completed. You can now make your sketch, and afterwards, with a fine-pointed lead pencil, rule other lines between the inch-marks on 26 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. the base and side and the corresponding ones on the opposite sides. Your paper is now divided into 120 equal squares. Number the dividing lines as in the annexed diagrams, the smaller of which is intended to represent the sketch and the larger the scene. Then, with drawing charcoal, divide and number the cloth in pre- cisely the same manner as you did the drawing paper, except that the borders are to be marked off in feet instead of inches, thereby making the scene measure twenty-four feet in width and twenty feet in height. Now examine your sketch carefully, and observe which lines and squares the outlines of it pass through. Cast your eye, for instance, along the horizontal line No. 6 in the smaller diagram, till you arrive at the point in which the perpendicular line No. 7 cuts it. Observe that the front edge of the mill passes through the intersection of the above lines. When you commence copying your sketch, this would be an excellent point to start from. Referring again to the sketch, the uppermost sail is very near the intersection of No. 8 horizontal and No. 8 perpendicular lines. The bottom corner of the front edge of the wooden portion of the mill lies near the intersection of No. 4 horizontal and No. 7 perpendicular lines. The ridge of the roof passes through No. 8 perpendicular line, exactly midway between Nos. 6 and 7 horizontal lines. The lower sail just touches No. 6 perpendicular line a little above No. 4 horizontal line. The front of the stonework of the mill is a little to the left of No. 7 perpendicular line, and the base of it lies just a little below No. 3 horizontal line. The back edge of the pool of water, at the right hand, commences just above No. 2 horizontal line, and proceeds towards the centre of the picture till it terminates a little nearer the same line, near to No. 6 perpendicular line. The front corner of the church tower in the dis- tance is nearly half way between No. 1 and No. 2 perpendicular lines, and the apex of the roof is just on No. 4 horizontal line near to No. 2 perpendicular line. The left hand curved line of the road passes through the intersection of No. 2 perpendicular and No. 2 horizontal lines. Proceeding in this manner with all the remaining parts of the sketch, you will find that your copy is a perfect fac-simile ^ ^~ c^ ^ SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 27 of the picture on the drawing paper, but on a larger scale. The same method of drawing by scale can be employed, however large the scene may have to be ; but the student must observe to make the divisions on the borders all exactly equal, so that the sections into which the sketch or cloth is divided may be perfect squares. For the sake of practice, let the reader make a copy of the larger of the two diagrams here given two or three times the size of the original, strictly following the instructions I have just laid down. If you are not proficient enough in drawing and painting to depend upon yourself for subjects for your scenes, you could not do better than to avail yourself of some of those admirable chromo-lithographs that are continually being published by most artists' colourmen. They are fac-similes of paintings by the best masters, and very suit- able for distemper. Select one as nearly as possible resembling the kind of scene you^wish to paint and make a careful copy of it. Qr, in case of your not succeeding in finding one to suit you exactly, I have no doubt you could attain your object by taking matter from some other chromos, and so incorporating it with the one you have selected as to obtain a scene like the one you are in search of. There is another way in which a good chromo might be made very service- able and instructive, and that is, to use it as a guide in the right management of the light, shade, colour, and general effect you desire to introduce into your own design for a scene. Much, indeed, might be learnt in this way by beginners. 28 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. HOW TO PAINT A LANDSCAPE. I will now suppose that your landscape has been satisfactorily sketched in with drawing charcoal, as before directed. The next step will be to colour it. To begin with, take some Vandyke brown, burnt sienna, or a purple colour composed of ultramarine and damp lake combined, and mix any one of them with half-and-half size. Thin the colour a little so that it will flow freely from the brush, and care- fully go over the outline with it, using a small quill tool and correcting where necessary. You will have to warm the colour occasionally, as the size it contains would soon subside into a jelly if allowed to get too cold. When the outline is finished and the colour quite dry, which will be in about ten minutes, take the flogger and flog off the charcoal that has been used in tracing the outline and squares. Now put some raw sienna in a pot and mix it up with working size, a little strong being added, so that a thin glaze or stain is made with it. Using as large a brush as you can find, cover smoothly as much of the subject as you will see covered in Ex. 14 given at page 30. As soon as that is dry, take some stronger raw sienna, and throw in as much shading as is shown in the same example, adding, in parts, a little vandyke brown. You have now got a ground colour, which you will find very pleasant to work on, and which will also present a better appearance than a white one, should you have missed a few places here and there during the process of laying in the solid colour. Pro- vided, moreover, that you do not lay in your solid colour too thickly, which you must endeavour to avoid, such a ground as this will show a little through all the laying-in colour and impart a pleasing tone to the whole subject of your scene. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 29 DIRECTIONS FOR MIXING THE COLOURS, AND LAYING IN. You can now mix such pot colours as are required. First, the darkest sky colour, which may be of either azure blue and whiting, Prussian blue, or common ultramarine and a little blue verditer and whiting. The sample here given (No. f\ will shew you what the right tint is. ---^-^ ■ — No. i. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5; Take two pots ; mix some whiting only in one of them and pour it into the other, in which has been placed some of the blue already mixed, and you will have the lighter blue (No. 2)j. The grey tint is to be composed of ultramarine, white, Indian or Venetian red, a little indigo and a small quantity of light ochre. No. $ tint will be the result. This colour is to be used in the darkest portions of the clouds, and for mixing with all those tints which require grey in them. For the general half-shade of the cloud colour the above grey must be lightened, by mixing with it, in another pot, some of the light cloud colour. The light cloud colour is mixed in the following way : Take some damp lake, and, as it is of a pulpy nature, work it up with the palette knife on the palette board, adding a little size, so as to get it into a thick liquid state. Another way of preparing it is to put some of the lake into the bottom of a pot, and then to twirl a large sash tool rapidly round in it, adding a little size, in order to dissolve it. Take care that there are no lumps in the mixture, as they would float about, stick to the brush, and make red streaks in 30 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. the sky while you are laying it in. Now mix, in a large pot, rather thick, some whiting and size, adding first just enough orange chrome to give a tinge to the mixture, and then some of the mixed lake. Stir all three together, so that they mingle thoroughly, and neither lake nor yellow predominates. The result is a light warm tint, suit- able for the light edges of the clouds, and for mixing with any light colour that may be called into service during the whole course of the painting. (See No. 5 tint.) These tints will, I think, be sufficient for the purpose of laying in such a simple subject as that chosen for an example. Before using the colours, however, see that they are of such a consistency as to flow freely from the brush and cover well. In dipping a large brush into a pot of colour, let only the hair of it be covered as far as about an inch and a half from the part where it is joined to the handle, otherwise you would incur the risk of taking up so much colour that it would drip on to your hand, as well as over the scene. Still, the brush should be charged with sufficient colour to keep the surface well wetted with it, without running ; for, should the colour run at all, you will have a series of perpendicular streaks that will be hard to get rid of, while, on the other hand, you will never get your colours to blend and soften if you work with too dry a brush. All laying in colours should be mixed with size that is a little stronger than working size, for you may have to go over the same spot several times before your scene is finished, and the surface would become spongy and very inconvenient to work on if you did not observe the above precaution. And it would also be advisable to size all over those parts which have not already been covered with the raw sienna, using working size with just enough whiting in it to give it the resemblance of milk and water. This will greatly facilitate the laying in, and cause the colours to blend and soften far more readily than would otherwise be the case — an objedt much to be desired, especially in laying in the sky. You will now place near you a palette set with the colours in the order in which I have described them, and, by the side of that, a pot SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 31 of size made a little stronger than working size, a pot of water to wash your brushes in, and a clean pot or two in which to compound intermediate and other tints from those already made up. You can now commence colouring the scene. Laying the sky in will be the first thing to do, and this, when once begun, must be carried on as rapidly as possible. Take, then, your lightest sky blue, pour a little of it into a large pot and to it add some white just tinged with lake. This colour is for the lower and lightest portion of your sky. Beginning at the bottom, fill in with it the streaks of light under the clouds, making use of a sash tool. Now, with your lightest sky colour, and using a two-knot brush, or, if you find that too large, a flat pound one (the larger the brush, the flatter will the colour lie), lay in the portion of the sky that is just above the lowest clouds. Work horizontally, and afterwards cross the streaks you have made with upward and slanting ones, working to and fro with a free and random stroke till there is no longer any trace of the horizontal marks. Proceed in this manner till the whole of the sky is laid in, except the large masses of clouds, which you can leave to be done another time ; but you must not pick in too nicely round the outline of the clouds, as that would take too long and your sky would be drying faster than you could get it laid in, causing the blue of it to dry in patches. It is not advisable always to follow strictly and with a small sized brush the outline of the clouds that was previously sketched in, but, on the contrary, it is often better to give free play to the large brush before alluded to, so that the form which the out- line of the clouds will ultimately assume may depend, to a certain extent, on chance. As you proceed upwards with your sky colour, you must now and then pour a little of your light blue into the pot you are using, stirring the colour occasionally with a sash tool to keep it well mixed. Continue adding light blue until the colour itself has become all light blue. Now add some of the dark blue to the same and again proceed upwards, continually adding more and more dark blue to what is now in the pot, using one and the same brush throughout without washing it. Do not stop to pick in your sky 32 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. colour round the mill-sails, but proceed right on, regardless of covering them, as the size in your outline colour will cause them to remain still visible after the colour has been laid over them. But should they, from any cause, become obliterated, it would be preferable to have to sketch them in again than to delay the work of laying the sky in. Some of the light fleecy clouds had better be put in while the sky colour is wet ; and, for that purpose, you may use some of the lightest grey, with a little of the light tint for the edges of the clouds, and some of the sky-blue colour. You can now lay the clouds in. Have a pot for the dark grey ground colour of the clouds, one for the light grey, and another for colour suited for the light edges of the clouds, with a separate brush in each of the pots. Such slight alterations of the tints as may be found necessary in the course of the work, can be effected on the palette. Begin at the lower part of the clouds with light grey, putting in the light and the shadow at the same time, so that they may be all wet together. At the upper part of the cloud at the right hand, a little Indian red is introduced, and lower down, a little ultra- marine is added to the dark grey. As the success of your scene depends so much on the way the sky is laid in, I would recommend you to practise painting skies without having any subject at all ; executing the work rapidly and in the flat or gradation part of the sky, not rubbing up the colour too much, but, when once any portion is covered, leaving it to dry, which it will be almost sure to do satisfactorily, provided it is not so wet as to cause the colour to run. In distemper, indeed, if the sky can be laid in and finished at one and the same time, an atmospheric effect is produced which is rarely attained by any amount of after painting. Having laid the sky in as well as you are able, you should now proceed to lay in the distant hill, using, for that purpose, the middle sky blue colour, which you must make a little lighter towards the bottom part. Now lay in the church, houses, and trees in the dis- tance. That being completed, your scene should present the appear- ance shown in Ex. 14. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 33 SECOND PAINTING— GENERAL LAYING IN. It is now time to lay in the mill, for which purpose you must use the dark grey cloud colour, altering it from the palette, as occasion may require, with Indian red, lake, and burnt sienna, and making the tints sufficiently thin to enable you to see some of the first ground colour through them. For the shadow side of the mill use ultra- marine, which you must make greyer towards the back edge. The base of the mill can be laid in next ; the thatch of it with raw sienna and Dutch pink, with a touch or two of burnt sienna ; the stonework, with the lightest sky colour, the darkest grey, and a little brown lake with ultramarine for the darkest part of it. Then lay in the bank at the base of the mill, using, in the lightest part, light chrome with a little white in it, Dutch pink, and, in the darker parts, raw sienna and indigo. The mill-sails, and the cottage to the right of the mill, may next be laid in. Then the flat distance under the blue hill, using the lightest cloud colour, with the addition to it of a little light ochre, and, as you near the foreground, the further addition of a little Dutch pink. The road may be laid in next, with the lightest grey of the cloud colour, to which some Venetian red has been added, for the back part, the shadow requiring the darkest grey, Indian red and a little indigo. On leaving the shadow and approaching the foreground, the same dark grey colour will be wanted, with the addition to it of some Venetian red and a little white and ochre. Rub in, also, some Indian red and burnt sienna, when you have nearly reached the foreground. You will now take the foreground in hand. The part of it in front of the mill you must lay in with Dutch pink, a little drop black, and raw sienna (without white) for the warmest part, and the same colours D 34 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. mixed with a little green lake and a little indigo. The foliage to the right will require Dutch pink, raw sienna, a little Vandyke brown and a very little indigo. The field at the left of the road will be the next thing to lay in ; the back part of it with the dark grey added to a little lake and ultra- marine, the extreme light part with light chrome and light ochre colour, and the foreground with Dutch pink, leaving the raw sienna ground colour for the rest. Now lay in the hedge and grass at the left side of the road with the foliage colours already mentioned, altering them according to the example, and increasing the strength of colour as the foreground is gained. The opposite side of the road can be next undertaken, of which the grassy parts will require light ochre, with a little white for the bright parts of it. The water will now have to be attended to. Glaze over the dark part of it with thin Vandyke brown, and, while it is wet, take some of the darkest sky blue and soften the Vandyke colour into it. Then take a clean brush and lay in the lighter blue, adding white with a little light ochre as the foreground is approached. Lay the blue colour in thin and the raw sienna ground will impart a tone to it. Next, lay in the stone under the foliage with the grey and a little Venetian red mixed with it ; then the shadow with the dark road colour, which will also suit the dark stone to the left in the fore- ground, the light stone requiring to be lighter and warmer, as shown in the example. You have now brought this, the second stage of the painting, to a termination ; and, provided you have stridtly followed the instructions just given, your scene ought to resemble Ex 15. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 35 THIRD PAINTING— THE FINISHING. We now come to the last stage of the painting, and must proceed to work up the scene in the same way as Ex. 16 was worked up, beginning at the middle distance by marking up the church, houses, windows, &c, with a purple grey, made up of the darkest sky blue, a little lake, rather more ultramarine, and a touch of light ochre. For the roofs, take a little lake and grey, and, for the distant trees, the purple grey with a little Dutch pink added to it. Now, with some dark warm grey, strengthen up the flat distance under the church, and dot in the small trees on the horizontal line. The field to the left of the scene must have some warmish grey laid in behind the foliage in the foreground, and worked into the light yellow colour previously placed there. Next strengthen up the mill by means of glazing or solid colour, as the case may require, after which the boards and woodwork of it may be marked up with brown lake in the cool parts, and ultramarine, brown lake and a little white in the warm ones. In like manner strengthen up the sails, glazing with lake or burnt sienna, taking care not to make the colour look too fiery. Then, with a sharp touch or two, work up the thatch and other parts a little more, strengthen- ing them and deepening the shadow. Now, with a purple grey, mark up, first, the cottage, and afterwards, but a little warmer, the shadow part of the bank, which you can strengthen with raw sienna, a little indigo, and, here and there, a little burnt sienna as a glaze. After that, cut up the foliage with a glazing colour of raw sienna, indigo and Vandyke brown, using, for the light on the right hand trees, Dutch pink, a little orange chrome and raw sienna. d 2 36 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. The shadow part of the grass, with the foliage and grass at the right hand side of the road, may now be strengthened by glazings of raw sienna and indigo. The road itself can then be marked up with some grey lines, and have thrown into it a little more colour, which you might increase in strength in proportion as the foreground is reached. A few loose stones can next be put in with good solid colour, after which some greyish shadows can be added to them, This part of the work may be followed by deepening the dark part of the water with another glaze of Vandyke brown and a little raw sienna, a little indigo being added as the colour of the water inclines towards sky blue, into which, after being thinned with water, it must be washed by means of a large brush. As soon as the glazing is dry make a few bluish streaks of light in the dark part of the water, and some sharp white ones in the front light part. Then strengthen the stones under the trees, and to the right of the scene, with colour and sharp markings. Now put in the white dots, intended to represent sheep, at the left hand side of the field, adding grey shadows to them ; then the flag leaves, with glazing colour, raw sienna and indigo ; and afterwards the stumps and twigs, with brown lake and a little ultramarine. Strengthen the grass and flag leaves by using strong size with the indigo and raw sienna above-mentioned, and by a sharp marking of brown lake and Vandyke brown mixed with strong size, which last will also serve for strengthening the stumps and twigs, being a good colour wherever strong dark marking is required, since it is dark and rich, and will not have a black appearance about it. You have now only to put in the rude palings at the left side of the road, and when that is done you may consider your scene as finished. Having brought the painting of the scene to a conclusion, I must beg my readers to understand that the simple example I have just placed before them was chosen, not so much as being a work of art, as for the purpose of illustrating the method I consider it best for them to adopt throughout the whole course of painting a subject for their scene. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 37 The next thing that is to be done to the scene is to fit a roller to it, after having taken out all the nails except those at the top. Place a solid wooden roller, a little longer than the width of the cloth, at the bottom of the scene, and roll the lowest part of the cloth round the roller until it is covered, the circumference of the roller being supposed not to be more than six inches, so as to take up the unpainted part of the cloth. Tack the cloth to the roller, driving the tacks home ; and, having ranged as many assistants as you can procure along the length of the roller, at equal intervals, let them, all working together, roll the cloth up on the roller, keeping it moderately tight. When you come to a seam, see that it is parallel to the roller, and if it is not, loosen or tighten the rolled up part of the cloth at either side, as the case may require, otherwise you may find the cloth two or three feet out by the time it has been rolled up as far as the top. Take great care that no wrinkles or creases arise in the cloth while it is being rolled up, for it would be impossible to get rid of them when once they have been allowed to form. They generally originate from the cloth having been lifted during the rolling, instead of being left to bear the weight of the roller evenly throughout its length. If there is a bight in the cloth, roll up till you come to the fold in the bight, and then, after taking the nails out of the fold, strain the part of the canvas that has been folded. Next, unroll the canvas till you come to the bottom of the cloth, and let the roller rest on the sill of the frame. Now tighten the canvas as much as you can, keeping it square, and fasten the roller to the sill with some long nails. When you have tacked up the sides, straining out the while from the centre, fill up in the bight the part of the sky that is wanting ; and, all being dry, roll up again, as before, till you come to the top nails, which you can now take out, thus removing the piclure entirely from the frame. 38 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. MIXING OF COLOURS— (Continued). I have already given the necessary directions for mixing such colours as would be required in executing the landscape you have just painted, and I also described what other general tints could be obtained by their combination. I shall now offer a few remarks on the best manner of compounding several tints that may prove useful in the painting of foliage. A good, quiet, general tint may be obtained by mixing Dutch pink with black, indigo, or blue verditer. Light ochre with green lake gives a rich green, and this may be changed into a cool one by the addition of indigo. Cool greens should be supported by a rich ground colour of raw and burnt sienna and Vandyke brown. For light greens use lemon chrome, a little Dutch pink and emerald green. Orange chrome, Dutch pink and lemon chrome are suitable for light warm foliage ; and flake white, with lemon chrome or orange chrome, when an extra light green is required. I may as well here mention that it is almost impossible to lay down rules for the painting of foliage, inasmuch as nearly every scene painter has a method of his own. Some at once lay in large masses of the different greens, both light and dark, and afterwards, with dark marking colours, which may be green, purple, or dark rich brown (that is, brown lake with a little indigo), mark out the whole mass into the required form, only having to put in a little extra light here and there. Others lay in the dark greens and transparent browns, and then, after putting in the stems and branches, paint the leaves, making them stand out from the dark ground colours in various degrees of light green, both cool and warm, and finishing by strength- SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 3Q ening both the light and the dark parts. Others, again, combine these methods, or use one of them only, according to the description of foliage they wish to represent. Should there be any flowers con- nected with the foliage, it is sometimes advisable to lay in the foliage first of all, and then paint the flowers in, although the colours of the latter will, in a slight degree, become tinged with those of the foliage. Some of the flowers may be designed to tell out as brilliantly as pos- sible, in which case paint them first in their proper forms, with whiting and strong size, and then, when that is dry and hard, give them their appropriate colours and glaze them in. Resuming my remarks on the colours, black and Venetian red make a good standard grey, which can be altered, by the addition of other colours, up to any tone you may desire. Rose pink, ultramarine and whiting, form a good purple, suitable for using alone or for mixing with other colours. A good, useful brown, may be made by mixing brown ochre, Venetian red and black, with a little whiting. Gold colours are made up in a variety of ways. Pure light ochre is a good, quiet gold colour, and so are brown ochre mixed with a little Dutch pink, Dutch pink with Vandyke brown, and the same with burnt sienna. These are laying in golden colours. For the lights, use either flake white added to lemon or orange chrome, pure lemon chrome alone, or orange chrome mixed with lemon chrome or Dutch pink. For the dark parts use Vandyke brown added to a little dark brown ochre, burnt sienna, and a purple made of ultramarine, lake and the least bit of whiting. Trie reflected light in the shadow parts will require orange red with Dutch pink and burnt sienna. Wherever there is any strong colour near the gold, the reflection will, of course, be of that colour. Purple, lavender and mauve are colours which will need peculiar management, as, however well they may look by daylight, they are apt to assume a too red or else muddy appearance when viewed at night. To counteract this tendency, the plan I have found it best to adopt is as follows : Suppose the subject to be a bunch of grapes, lay them in with ultramarine and white, but shadow them with pure 40 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. lake, and then put a light on them with ultramarine and whiting, adding a dot or two of pure flake white for the highest light and a blue reflection on the shadow side. Or, reversing this plan, lay in with lake and whiting — or, still better, carmine paste — shade with blue, use lake, white and a little vermilion for the reflection ; put the lights in with blue and whiting, and the high ones as before. Should the subject, be a piece of drapery, lay in with ultramarine and whiting with the least touch of damp lake, hatch in the shadows with lake and a little whiting, which you can also use for the lights, and then glaze in the deepest shadows with carmine paste and a little strong size. If the laying in should look too blue by night, hatch in some horizontal lines on some of the flat parts. Lilac blos- soms might be treated in the same way. To lay in crimson drapery, use damp lake, a little orange red, whiting and vermilion. Glaze in the shadows with damp lake, strengthening them with brown lake, damp lake and a little strong size. When this is dry, cover the whole of the canvas with a very thin glaze of carmine paste, and on this being also dry, put in the high lights with carmine paste and whiting, taking care not to make it too white. Should the light look too chalky, go over it again with a very thin glaze of carmine paste. For the reflections on the shadows use vermilion with a little orange red added to it. Should this look raw, glaze it with carmine paste. To enrich the shadow colour, glaze again with carmine paste and strong size, to which a little treacle has been added. Having already explained how to mix the colours that would be wanted in painting an ordinary daylight sky, I shall now give directions for mixing those that are suitable for a sunset or evening sky. For the lightest part near the horizon have some lemon chrome and white in a middling sized pot, orange chrome and white in a large one, the same in another pot with damp lake added to it, care being taken that neither the lake nor the orange chrome predominates, together with other pots for damp lake and white only, and for ultramarine and white. To make the next colour pour half of the lake colour and half of the ultramarine just spoken of into a pot and mix them together. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 41 Next, have a pot for darker blue, ultramarine with a little azure blue and white ; another of still darker blue, mixed in the same way but with more azure blue. Each of these colours, from the lemon chrome to the darkest blue, must be a shade darker than the one preceding it. Always try the colours after mixing them, on some part of your can- vas, blending them into each other in the same way as you intend to do when you come to paint the sky. By so doing you can discover whether they are correct or not, and which one must be made weaker and which stronger, so as to enable you to place them in regular gra- dation, advancing from the lightest to the darkest. You are now prepared to paint your sunset or evening sky, which you must com- mence a little above the horizon. For this purpose pour some of the lemon colour into another and larger pot, and lay in a strip of it, about a foot broad with the two-knot brush. Then dip a pound brush first into the orange colour and then into the lake ; mix the two on the palette and lay in another strip immediately below the lemon colour, and with the same two-knot brush. Now pour into the large pot that contains the lemon colour a little of the orange chrome, and with the same brush lay in a similar strip just above the lemon colour, all across the sky, taking care always to blend the edges of the two colours well together. Pour some more orange chrome into the pot and lay in again about a foot all across as before. Continue adding the orange colour till you have all orange, laying in the while with it fresh strips next to those you have previously laid in, and as rapidly as possible. Now add some of the lake and orange chrome colour to the present contents of the pot and continue adding and laying in till the colour is all orange chrome and lake. Then pour in a little of the lake colour only, adding more as you continue laying in, till the colour is all lake ; and so on again, first with the lake and ultramarine and then with the lightest blue. The colour in the pot is now all blue. Take another two-knot brush, and after dipping it into the pot that contains the light blue and laying in a strip of that just above the last one, return to the lake and blue pot and work up some of the colour in it with the blue you have just laid in, carefully blending the two colours together. 42 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. After this, lay in out of the blue pot only, and with the second brush ; then add darker and darker blue till you come to the top of the canvas when you should have covered the whole of the sky, such light fleecy clouds as maybe required being left to be put in afterwards. Most likely, however, you will not need the darkest blue pot till the bight is let down and all but that is finished ; but when the bight has been undone and strained out, be sure to commence again with the same pot you left off with. This method of painting the sky, which can be applied to all gra- dation skies of whatever colour, is somewhat difficult of execution and therefore requires considerable practice ; but when it has been well accomplished, it should present the appearance of an unbroken gra- dation of light and colour, all being so evenly laid in and blended as to render it impossible to be perceived where one colour leaves off and another begins. In the study of the art of distemper painting, a source of consider- able embarrassment to the inexperienced eye is that the colours, when wet, present such a different appearance to what they do when dry. To aid the student in overcoming this difficulty, I have prepared a coloured diagram, which is well worth his diligent attention, as it may be fully relied on. The left hand squares are intended to represent the appearance the right hand colours would present when wet. It may readily be observed what a vast difference there is in some of them. All the colours in the diagram have white in their compo- sition, not excepting even the darkest of them. I have not thought it necessary to give any samples of other colours. Those used for glazing purposes, of which raw sienna and Vandyke brown are the chief, dry the same as they do in water colours, being mixed with size only. The next processes I shall have to explain will be those of scum- bling, dragging, thin colouring and glazing. Scumbling is performed in the following manner : — Take a sash-tool and squeeze it dry ; then take any colour you may require and mix it on the palette rather thickly. Rub some of this into your sash-tool, SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 43 LEMON CHROME. LT. CHROME. DUTCH PINK. ORANGE CHROME. BROWN OCHRE. ORANGE RED. VERMILION. DAMP LAKE. 44 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. ROSE PINK. VENETIAN RED. ULTRAMARINE. BLUE VERDITER. INDIGO. DROP BLACK. EMERALD GREEN. GREEN LAKE. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 45 which you must then move lightly over the surface, laying it sideways against the canvas. The effect of the scumbling will not be apparent until it is dry, when the work over which you have scumbled should be visible through it. This process answers admirably in those cases in which it is required to represent any atmospheric effect, or mist, smoke, spray, and such-like. Scumbling one colour over another has a good effect also in cases like the following: Suppose the colouring of a piece of rock, for instance, has too warm a tone ; then, by scumbling over it with some cool colour, you would obtain a tone which you might try in vain to produce by other means. Or, to take another instance, by scumbling over what is intended to represent a rough stone, and by blotching here and there with more colour than is exhibited in the rest, a texture is produced which could not possibly be arrived at in any other way. Scumbling can be applied to dark colours as well as to light ones, and even after glazing. In the process termed dragging, which very much resembles scum- bling, the brush — which should be a large, flat pound one, or else a two-knot one — must be very dry, and the flat of it laid evenly and drawn lightly over the canvas. Dragging serves many purposes : it is a very good method, for instance, of representing the effect of the angular rays of the sun or of the moon streaming in at a side window. These rays may be dragged all across the painting already done, and which can be seen through the dragging. By this means, also, may be represented the pretty effect of the rays of the sun or moon diverg- ing through and over the clouds, extreme care being taken that the rays are made perfectly straight. Thin colouring is a process that may be advantageously employed whenever it is required to impart a hazy kind of appearance to any portion of a painted scene. Suppose, for instance, a part of the dis- tance or middle distance should look too near, and you wish to render it dimmer, thin colouring will, in that case, enable you to produce the desired effect. The way to apply this process is to tinge some whiting with the particular colour you may happen to require, and then to thin that to a considerable extent with working size and a little 46 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. water. Dip as large a brush as you can procure into this thinned colour, so that it may be as full as it can hold without running, and pass it lightly and quickly over the painting, but so as not to rub it up or smear it. When dry, the result will be such as I have before men- tioned, presenting a more even surface than dragging would produce. As thin colouring requires some amount of dexterity in applying it, I should advise the student to practise it well before venturing to use it on the scene, for, in case of failure, you would be running the risk of spoil- ing your painting altogether. It is surprising how very thin the colour can be used ; but, as it will be semi-opaque, great care must be taken not to go twice over the same place, for, were that to be done, the colour would dry lighter than if the brush had passed over it once only. Glazing is very much resorted to in scene painting, and has a very good effect. Its great utility consists in the rich tone it imparts to the colours, as, for instance, in the case of vermilion, which, being first laid in and then glazed over, when firm and dry, with damp lake or carmine paste, would become crimson. The same glazing colours would also cause orange red to become very much richer. And should it be required to introduce, say a deep, dark recess, in a scene that is intended to represent a chamber or cavern, a glaze of Vandyke brown and a little burnt sienna, followed by successive glazings of thin Van- dyke brown, would produce a depth and richness not obtainable by any other means. For glazing purposes, a little strong size must be added to the working size, and the darker and stronger you want the glaze to be, the stronger must you make your size, but not so strong as to give the paint a shining appearance when dry, for that would spoil the effect entirely. A little practice would enable the student to determine how strong the size ought to be. But the best of all size for glazing is glue size, and this can be greatly improved by the addi- tion of a little treacle, which renders it better adapted for a dark, vStrong glaze, and, to a certain extent, prevents it shining afterwards, as well as cracking, the latter being a very serious drawback to glazing in distemper, and to be studiously guarded against, especially if the colour underneath it should be thick and laid in with weak size. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 47 When a rich luminous effect is desired, as, for instance, in a scene representing a sunset, the sky and clouds having been first painted, prime the sun with flake white and strong size, and when the priming is quite hard, glaze it over with orange red, vermilion and lake, as the case may require. A rich transparent effect will result. This plan may also be advantageously followed whenever stained glass windows or other transparencies are prominent objects in a scene. 48 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. ARCHITECTURAL PAINTING. Before entering upon this branch of scene painting, the student should endeavour to gain such a knowledge of the science of architec- ture as will render him familiar with the distinguishing peculiarities of the different orders and styles into which it is divided, together with the rules that prevail in that science and to which he will have to pay the most scrupulous regard. The limits of this work will preclude me from entering into the necessary details belonging to the study of architecture ; I must, therefore, refer my readers to the numerous treatises on that science, and advise them to select subjects for their scenes from the many prints, lithographs and photographs that have been issued of the most approved examples of the building art to be found in the world. When you have selected your subject, make a sketch of it (drawing it to scale) of the size you would like it to be on your scene. But you will now have to pay more attention to the perspective in your drawing, and must therefore leave plenty of margin round your sketch, so as to have room for the vanishing points. Having already, then, explained the manner of proceeding in scale drawing, I must now add a few directions for drawing pictures in perspective. I will suppose that your sketch, and canvas as well, is divided into squares similar in number to those in Diagram ig, here given, in which, however, I have merely marked off and numbered the spaces, leaving the squaring lines out, for fear of confusing the per- spective ones. First determine the position of the horizontal line by measuring its place in the sketch, which, in the example before us, is about one-third SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 49 of a square above squaring line 2, and then to strike it all across the scene. Mark on it the vanishing point to the left, which is just on the edge of the sketch, and, of course, on that of the scene also. Next get the perpen- dicular line for the corner of the castle, which is between the squaring lines 4 and 5, but nearer to 5. Now mark off the point a little to the right of squaring line 7, where the line A, drawn from the vanishing point just found, meets the top edge of the sketch. Between this and the vanishing point stretch a chalk line, sticking one end of it, which has a pin in it bent in the shape of a hook, into the vanishing point. Pull the chalk line tight, and strike the oblique line A. Now determine where the oblique line B cuts the edge of the sketch, which will be a little above 8, on the left and between the 5th and 6th lines, but nearer to the 6th, on the right, and strike the line B. These two lines, A and B, are the most E 50 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. important ones in the sketch, and should, therefore, be very carefully and accurately fixed. The point C, at the intersection of these two lines, will mark the spot at which the top of the castle is, and you may commence drawing your subject from that point, making use of the squares for your guidance, as you did when sketching the mill scene. There will, however, not be space enough to the right of the scene itself to enable you to determine, in the above way, where the vanishing point on that side is. Hence the following method of finding it must be resorted to : Divide into seven equal parts that portion of the perpendicular line which lies between D and C, that is, between the horizontal line and the top corner of the castle. Then divide the space on the edge of the scene that lies between E and F into the same number of parts, all equal, and strike lines between the dividing points on the edge of the scene and those on the perpendicular. You have now seven true perspective lines which would, if continued, all meet at one point, that is, the vanishing point. The line for the battlements and those for the windows, in short, all the lines on the face of the castle, must be struck to the corner perpendicular line C D. Next, to find the true perspective line for the front battlements between the two towers, take your straight edge and hold it along the corner perpendicular line C D. Mark on it the points in which it is cut by the 5th and 6th perspective lines and by the line of the battle- ments. Then move the straight edge, with the three marks on it, near to the end of the perspective lines at the right hand. If you now hold the straight edge perpendicularly, as before, you will find that there is not space enough between the 5th and 6th lines to fit the marks in, in consequence of the perspective diminution. You must, therefore, angle the straight edge as at G, till the two marks of the 5th and 6th lines fit in as they did when the straight edge was on the perpendicular corner line. Mark the canvas at the point to which the battlement line you found by measurement reaches, and strike a line between that mark and the corresponding one on the perpendicular corner. This will be the true perspective line for the front battle- s* CO -1 ^ -| <3* -J— CO ^~ <5* - • «o - N. - \ \ ^0 - \ s \ \ \ l °- ^- ^ f J mm V ' y^iy^ y I 4 ^tf ** S - SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 51 ments. To make this plainer, the student had better, perhaps, make use of a piece of paper in lieu of a straight edge, and hold it to the corner line on Ex. 20, marking it as described, and then angling it at G. The line for the tops of the windows between the 4th and 5th lines e 2 52 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. may be obtained in exactly the same way. The above, indeed, is a standard rule for rinding the perspective diminution in all cases, always observing to measure between two correct perspective lines, as before explained. Should there be any objects in perspective below the horizontal line D F, you can still draw the perspective lines for them by, dividing the perpendicular corner and the edge of the scene, below the line D F, into the same spaces, and proceeding as before. I shall now furnish the student with another example of the way of obtaining perspective lines by means of divisional spaces above and below the horizontal line. But this Diagram No. 21 will represent an interior, and the corner perpendicular line will be the farthest off instead of the nearest to the eye. The same rule, however, will apply in this case as in the preceding one, and the results will be similar. I will suppose your scene has been sketched out with charcoal, by means of the squares as before, and that in your scale drawing you have made use of both vanishing points as in Diagram ig, and that the four angular lines forming the walls of the building in Diagram 21 are in their proper places. Now divide, as before, the spaces A B between the horizontal line and the top of the building into equal parts. Set off two similar spaces below the horizontal line, and divide the cor- ner perpendicular line C D into the same number of spaces, setting off two of them below the horizontal line. Then strike lines between the points of division, as before, and through the parts in which the lines cut the perpendicular lines C D and E F, strike lines from the vanishing point A to the left edge of your scene from G to H, through the perpendicular line where the perspective lines cut it. Both walls are now covered with true perspective lines, and such other lines as do not fall on any of them must be obtained by measuring between two of the perspective lines, and angling the straight edge at the nar- row end, as before directed. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 53 STAGE PERSPECTIVE. It is frequently necessary to modify perspective rules in scene painting, and sometimes even to reject them altogether, and adopt what is called stage perspective. In the side scenes or wings, for instance, wo^/z Diagram 22. Diagram 23. the lines on the perspective side of the wing incline downwards to a 54 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. point on the horizontal line, and of course, in a drawing or picture, the lines below the horizontal line would incline upwards towards the same point. But scene painters generally keep all lines below the horizontal line parallel to the stage floor, as in Diagram 22, or to the horizontal line, as in Diagram 23. The reason of this is that the base line on the perspective side of the wing is supposed to rest on the stage itself, like the base line of the flat face of the wing does ; but, in consequence of the rules requiring that the base line of the perspective side should incline upwards towards the vanishing point, there would remain an awkward triangular piece of space which we could not utilize so as to make it match the stage, nor paint so as to make it appear a part of the base of the wing. The only way out of the difficulty, therefore, is to have all lines below the horizontal one drawn parallel, as before explained. Not that all wings are to be treated in this manner, but most, if not all, chamber wings must form exceptions to the strict rule of perspective. Diagrams 22 and 23 will illustrate what I have been say- ing ; the right hand diagram showing, by its base line, how the standard rule has been deviated from. When drawing a tower, or turret, a very simple but effectual plan for finding the centre of it is to draw a perpendicular line exactly midway between the outside lines of the three that form the corners of the structure, as in the simple Diagram here placed before the reader. It matters not how much or how little of the perspective side of the tower is seen in the sketch, the same plan will always suffice ; and the per- D' a s ram 2 4 . pendicular line so obtained would serve, on occasion, for a flagstaff or, when lengthened and joined at any height to the corners of the tower, for a spire. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 55 HOW TO DRAW BORDERS. I shall now give some directions for setting out and drawing borders. Suppose we wish to represent a ceiling, as in Diagram 25, that is, as ^6 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. it would appear to the audience. It will be observed that the ceiling is composed of three borders, the bottom of each being the line A A and the continuation of it the back edge of the bracket at each end of the beam. Stage perspective would here come into operation, so that the borders must be drawn, not as in Diagram 25, but as in Diagram SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 57 26, because, when they are suspended in their places, and from three to six feet apart, according to the size of the theatre, they will, to a certain extent, make their own perspective and appear as in Diagram 25. The manner of executing borders is as follows : After they have been sized and primed in the usual way, which can be done either whilst they are on the painting-frame or tacked down to the stage, strike a line at the bottom of each. Above this, at a distance equal to the depth of the brackets (which would be about 14 inches), strike another line. This line will form the bottom of the beam of each border. Lay down the third border first, and then the second over it. Now, supposing the borders to be each 20 feet long, place the second border so that its struck line A A comes within 9 inches of the straight line A A of the third border, and parallel to it. Then place the first border parallelly over the second, with its straight line A A one foot apart from that of the second. The bottom lines of the second and third borders are, therefore, nearer together by three inches than those of the first and second, which will give about the right perspective diminution. Now find the centre of the borders and strike a line perpendicular to the horizontal lines in each. If the borders are intended to be hung at a height of 18 feet, measure off 14 feet from the line A A of the first border and there drive a nail into the stage on which your bor- ders are lying. This will be the vanishing point to which you must fasten a long chalk line ready for use. The borders will now lie above one another as in Diagram 26, and had better have a few clout nails driven through them to keep them in their places. In Diagram 26, it will be observed that the lines A A of the first and second borders have been brought down to the lines B B in Diagram 25. Now get the length of the first border by means of your scale, and complete the drawing of it, determining the distances between the lines A A and C C, and also between C C and D D, as well as how far your brackets project from the ends of the border. Making use of the chalk line, draw such of the lines in the brackets as proceed towards the vanishing point, striking through as much of each border 58 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. as is exposed to view. Be very careful while doing this, as it will be your only guide after you have removed the top border. To find the length of each border, you must adopt the scale of half an inch to a foot. As I shall frequently have to speak of this scale, I will at once explain the meaning of it. Take a strip of cardboard, say a foot long, and divide it into 24 equal parts, each of which will, of course, measure half an inch, and number the divisions from 1 to 24. Each of these parts is supposed to represent a foot, if your drawing is made to a scale of half an inch to a foot. Divide some of the spaces into two equal parts, each of which will, of course, represent six inches. Again divide one of the spaces into 12 equal parts, which will represent 12 inches. In a former part of this work I have, for the sake of simpli- city, spoken of a scale of an inch to a foot; but for all practical purposes, half an inch to a foot is a scale which will make your drawing quite large enough and be easily understood. Having, then, obtained by the scale the exact length of the second and third borders, rule down perpendicular lines for the back edges of your brackets, which, as I before stated, would be 14 inches, and strike a line to the point of sight. Measure, with the scale, how far it is from the centre of line C C to the intersection of the crossbeam lines with the long beams, and also the width of each cross-beam. These being found, rule the perpendicular line between C and D at E, and where that intersects the line D D, strike a line on each side of the centre to meet the vanishing point, and that will give the perspec- tive side of the cross-beam. If it be desired to have a number of perspedtive lines like those I have introduced at the top of the first border in Diagram 24, they can easily be drawn ; but I have purposely omitted to extend them as far as the vanishing point, for fear of confusing the other lines. They must, of course, be clearly struck across the second and third borders, each border having been previously drawn in Vandyke brown and strong size, to preserve the outline. The top border can now be removed, all that was wanted from it having been obtained. That done, continue all the vanishing lines through the space which the SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 59 first border covered, and then draw the second in the same manner as the one removed. When this is finished, take it up and proceed with the third border. Whilst on the subject of borders, I will describe a very simple method of drawing an elliptical arch. The accompanying illustration is supposed to represent an arch sky border, 24 feet long, eight feet deep, three feet deep from the corner of the arch to the top of the border, and three feet from the ends of the border to the springing of the arch, the whole being drawn to a scale of a quarter of an inch to a foot. First set out the four outside lines of the border. Then de- termine the height and width of the arch and strike the horizontal and perpendicular lines A A, B B. Now divide the side perpendicular Diagram 27. lines into ten equal parts, as in the illustration, and the horizontal line also into the same number of parts, proceeding from the side line to the centre of the border. Next, draw a straight line from the springing of the arch at the bottom of the border to No. I on the horizontal line ; then from No. I on the side line to No. 2 on the hori- zontal line, and so on in succession, till No. 9 in the side line is struck to No. 10 on the horizontal line. Diagram 27 will show the resulting curvature ; on a large scale, however, a series of obtuse angles will be shown. All now that remains to be done is for an assistant to bend a thin straightedge to the indicated form whilst the line is ruled. The determination of the height of the horizontal line is a matter which requires a great deal of taste and judgment. A high hori- zontal line is very objec- tionable, particularly on lUhe stage, for interiors, Q street scenes, or avenues. For in an interior, the painted floor in perspective, like a road in perspective in an avenue or street, is supposed to be a continu- ation of the stage itself; and if a high point of sight, or, in other words, a high horizontal line, is used, the floor in the one case, and the road in the other, seem sud- denly to spring up at an angle of extreme elevation, so as to be very far from appearing to form a part of the stage. And the effect is rendered still more rediculous, espe- cially in the case of interiors, is the moment the characters s begin to make their appear- 3 ance in front of the scene. On comparing the two Dia- grams here given of an avenue, one may see at a glance which looks the bet- ter of the two. And it may be further observed that the Diagram with the high hori- SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 6l zontal line has the disadvantage of being very nearly divided into two equal parts, a repetition of form being the result, a thing in itself very injurious to pictorial effe6t. In Diagram 29, I have purposely placed the point of sight out of the centre, in order to obtain a greater variety of form. 62 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. PAINTING OF INTERIORS. When the scene is intended to represent a chamber of modern con- struction and appearance, any paper-hanger could paper and decorate it for you, yourself selecting the pattern and colour of the paper, and settling the arrangement of it in panels, styles, and mouldings. If the chamber be an enclosed one, with back and sides, without wings, as chambers mostly are now-a-days, and with a flat ceiling of framing and canvas, you should construct a cardboard model of the scene, to a scale of half an inch to a foot, with the necessary doors, windows, and fireplaces, all in their proper positions, so that a car- penter, with the help of the model, might easily frame the pieces and cover them afterwards with canvas. When these are ready, prime them, first at the back, and while that is wet, do the same to the front. Indeed, all newly framed pieces should be primed in this way, to pre- vent them warping or casting, which they would be very liable to do if not provided against. Set off about eight or nine inches all round the doors and windows for the architraves, and from about a foot to 18 inches for a cornice. If the chamber is to be merely papered all over, it will be the business of the paper-hanger to cover the scene, leaving out the parts set off as above, with, of course, the doors and skirtings all round the bottom of the scene. The doors might be covered with some of that kind of paper which is made to imitate wood of various kinds. Select a pattern that will best harmonize with the paper chosen for the walls, and, the doors being covered, rule them in panels and mouldings. The architraves of the doors and windows can be treated in the same manner, or else coloured so as to be in keeping with the paper. The cornice, which SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 63 the paper-hanger can also supply you with, must have some of the same colours as there are in the wall paper, in order to make it match the rest of the room. For the purpose of embellishing the chamber and getting rid of the flatness, hang some paintings about. These, as well as their frames, can be painted on millboards (which may be had of every size) so as to come in useful in decorating any other chamber. Prime the millboards on both sides with good strong priming, and they will last very well. If the scene is intended to represent a handsomely papered room, the paper must be set out in styles and panels to correspond with the character of the doors and windows, of which the architraves are to be painted as before. But I should recommend you to leave all this to the paper-hanger, who will send experienced men, perfectly accustomed to this kind of work, and who would also supply you with sketches of rooms of every kind from which you could select what best suits your own taste and convenience. For a palace interior, the reader had better select his design from some print, lithograph, or photograph, of which he could copy just as much as would suit his purpose, drawing it to scale, and then placing it on the canvas, as before directed. Let the size in the outline colour be very strong, and lay in with rather thin colours so as not to obliterate the outline. By all means make a coloured sketch of your palace in- terior, as it will save you a great deal of trouble in the end, and show you where the largest masses of tint or colour lie. Lay these in first, over nearly all the scene, on which they should appear in a sort of gradation, from the greyer distant part of the scene to the richer fore- ground colour. The colour will thus lie flatter, and your outline be better preserved, while all other tints and colours can be painted in over this first laying in. All ornaments, gold mouldings, and such like, will, of course, form part of the finishing of the scene. To give a very rich appearance to the palace, Dutch metal and foil must be used, but only in the high lights ; the Dutch metal for the ornamental gold work, and the foil for the straight gold mouldings. To fix the metal in its place, you will now require to make use of 64 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. the madong. This you must do in the following way : — The madong being hot, hold the madong pot in the left hand as close to the scene as possible ; then take your madong pencil out of the pot and immedi- ately cover the high lights with the madong. Should the weather be cold, you must only cover a small part of the work with the madong before you put the metal on, as it will then get too hard for the metal to stick to it, if you leave it long. Such is not the case in warm weather when the madong might remain a whole day even, with- out becoming unfit to stick the metal on with. Whenever the madong does get hard on the scene, let a red hot poker or any other piece of iron, heated to redness, be placed close to it, without, however, touch- ing it, and then moved to and fro till the madong becomes tacky again, when it will be fit to receive the metal. There are two kinds of gold foil used, burnished and matt. The latter has a very chaste effect and the former a very bright one. The way to cut foil and to put it on is as follows : — Fold a sheet of it in two and cut off a strip from a quarter to half an inch wide, using a very sharp knife and a straight edge to guide it with. As soon as several strips are cut off, lay them face downwards, and brush the backs with some strong paste in which a little glue has been mixed. Let the glue-paste remain on the strips a short time, and then brush them over again once or twice. That done, take up a strip and, holding it with both hands, place it on the line that is intended for the high light, and after seeing that it is quite straight, rub it down with a piece of calico or cloth of any kind. As a rule, chambers are lighted from below, the shadows striking upwards, as from lights supposed to be placed about five feet from the bottom of the scene, and all below that height would, of course, be lighted from above. For a dark richly carved oak chamber, it is an excellent plan, after the scene has been carefully drawn in, to glaze it all over with thin Vandyke brown, adding here and there a little raw sienna and brown ochre. This glazing must be done as rapidly as possible, and with a two-knot brush. But to get rid of the smeary appearance the scene SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 65 now presents, other successive glazings will be necessary ; and, even then, you must not expect all to look well. The solid colour, the lights and shades, and the general marking up will set everything right. On this glazed ground some semi-opaque purple tints and greys will produce a good effect. The lights should be grey ; but in the shady parts some rich warm reflected light would have a good effect. Rule and cut up with Vandyke brown and brown lake, to which a little indigo has been added, to reduce the redness ; and, for the extreme darks, use Vandyke brown and indigo, mixed together with half and half size. To paint an oaken library, you should proceed in precisely the same manner, as regards the glazing, &c, the coloured books being put in afterwards. The glazing forms an excellent ground to work upon and gives a tone to the whole scene. If a prison, hovel, vault, or ruined chamber has to be painted, scene painters frequently have the scene laid in all over with some half dozen tints of various kinds, broken one into the other, for which purpose they use up the smudge colours that are sure to accumulate in a painting-room, that is, the tints and colours that remain after a scene has been painted, or that have been mixed and then rejected, the scrapings of the palette, and any waste colours and tints that would otherwise be thrown away. It is surprising what admirable tints are accidently produced by such means as these. I take this opportunity of stating that whenever any pots have to be cleaned out, two or three of the purple tints might do fresh service, by being mixed up together, and so with the brown, the grey, the green and blue tints. This laying in of the broken colours makes also an excellent ground for rocks. In every instance, the laying in must be executed before the drawing is commenced, some strong size having been put with all the broken colours so as to obtain a good firm ground on which to draw and paint ; this ground being retained over almost all the scene, just as a discreet artist would do when he selects tinted paper for his crayon or water colour drawings. 66 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. HOW TO DRAW AND ARRANGE THE SET PIECES FOR A SET SCENE. After your design is completed, consider how, and where, to divide your set pieces from the cloth and from one another. In the Diagram here shown it need hardly be suggested that the line running nearly across the picture, just above the small bridge, would be the best to form the edge of a set row ; and it would improve the picture, to be able to have a strong light behind that line, which should proceed from a row of gas lights placed as near to the top edge as possible, without being in sight. The ground row in front of that is for the purpose of masking a row of lights used for lighting up the scene ; and the raking piece to the right, and in front, serves to break up the stage a little more, and to mask a raking platform for some of the characters to make their entrance upon, if required. The two screens, one of foliage, the other of architecture, serve the double purpose of adding materially to the picturesque arrangement of the scene, the distance being viewed between, and partly through them and forming admirable masking pieces for upright lengths of gas, from which a brilliant light can be thrown on to the cloth. One of these upright lengths of gas can be hung behind the double columns, another behind the single column, on the left hand screen, and a third on the solid portion of the same. Two upright gas lengths should be hung on the solid part of the right hand screen, as near to the front edge as pos- sible. To each of the wings, if no gas ladders are used, that is, strong frames of wood with permanent upright gas fittings on them, there should be hung an upright length of gas. These, with the float (or be a w o CO H W CO o a. D O F 2 fl$°*/£ fc. >\ o P-. CD •-S p- I — ' • a, 3 en 5 ,fV*^ t'« WTO/ «1P '|^ 2f.,V^y .v>r * w c/2 O o i ^;^; I, ... %£ .v ? *> ~ -"/ . if , c-f o ^ , o bd 3 ^ ^ o a* ? o ^ £- 5 CD o o n M^ £ o l/J H i? CD o r-+- CD CD -4-> O r ^ li% u +J . '4 >V^ ? .' 1 cs 51 \ CD ^ c^ ^ fc s r^^ 5 ^ ^^^Tj^; SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 69 foot lights) and the border lights, will, I should think, light up the scene sufficiently well. In arranging a set scene, always let those objects or parts which you want to tell out boldly and strongly be in a set piece, as, in addition to the strength painting can impart to a picture, a strong light behind will immensely increase the force, and cause the view behind to recede still further back. The number of set pieces the Diagram chosen could be divided into might, of course, be increased to any amount. Thus, the group of ruins and the tree in the middle distance, with the broken ground, &c, belonging to it, forming another line of compo- sition running across the picture, would make a very good set piece or row, provided the stage is sufficiently deep to afford room for it. In arranging your set pieces, always see that they help the composition of the picture as a whole, and that the outlines of the pieces flow pleasantly into one another, or else form bold contrasts. The borders in a set scene generally present some difficulty. In my Diagram I have made them represent overhanging vines, supported on rude woodwork. These form a pleasing frame to the view beyond, and are preferable to arch sky borders, which have no meaning in them. As borders, however, cannot be dispensed with, the best thing to do is to turn them to good account whenever possible. As a general rule, sylvan borders are to be preferred to sky ones, unless the nature of the landscape renders their adoption impossible or un- suitable. In the accompanying drawings I have shown the appearance of the back of each wing and set piece when framed, and also where the canvas and profile should be. I must now explain how profile is made. Procure a few boards of good deal, with as few knots in them as pos- sible, each a quarter of an inch thick, n inches wide, and 12 feet long, rough planed on each side, and carefully at the edges where they have to be joined. Three of them should be laid flat on a sufficiently large bench, and the edges joined together with some good glue. This being dry, some cork canvas, or scrim canvas, as it is sometimes called, which can be had wherever the canvas was bought, must be 70 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. glued on to the boards. The way to do this is to lay the boards flat, as before, and then to cover a portion of their surface with glue, but not too thickly. Place the cork canvas on the glued part so that it may stick firmly to the boards. Some of the glue will find its way through the canvas. Wash this off with a piece of canvas steeped in hot water and proceed in the same way with other pieces of cork canvas, till one side of the boards is covered. Then, after cutting off the spare canvas, turn the boards over and cover the other side in the same way. When this is finished, nail the boards up against any upright beams, so as to allow the air to get at both sides of them, if possible, and let them remain there till dry. When dry, prime them on both sides with good stout priming, and you will then have what is called a sheet of profile ready for use. For small work, single boards can be used and prepared in exaclly the same way. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. Jl THE PAINTING OF FAIRY SCENES. I can say but little concerning this particular branch of scene-painting that has not already been said when speaking of other kinds of scenery. The great thing in painting fairy scenes is, in my opinion, to use as pure colours and tints as possible, because, when you come to put brilliant coloured foils on the scene, in front of which there are already the brightest and most brilliant coloured dresses, it will be sure to look dirty, if the colours employed are not of the purest. Pure grey, and plenty of it, would serve well, for instance, to set off your rich colours. Fairy scenes, too, should be painted in the lightest possible manner, so as to have, especially in the middle and extreme distances, that airy, dreamy, indefinite look about them, so well exemplified in the beautiful pictures of Turner. Study closely those wonderful creations of his, trying to catch the spirit of them, and you can scarcely go wrong. I have already explained the method of fixing metal on a scene ; and, of course, in most fairy scenes, especially transformation ones, there will be a plentiful display of this species of ornament, whether yellow, white, or copper coloured ; the last having a lovely effecl. In putting on foils, they should, when possible, be made to stand out from the canvas so as to catch the light. This can be done by first sticking some cotton wadding on, and then pasting the foil over that with glue- paste. In place of the wadding, you might make use of the metal books, after the metal has been taken out of them. Avoid painting with dark colours where foil is used, for, when the foil catches the light, a very light colour lying close to it, will by con- trast, appear dark ; while on the other hand, the foil itself will appear 72 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. dark when it does not catch the light, producing heaviness, should your colour also happen to be dark. Choose the lighter coloured foils, as a rule, for the darker coloured ones will look heavy and coarse and some of them even black. In sticking on the strips of foil in fairy scenes, do not rub them flat down, but let parts of them stand up in this manner, Diagram 36. those marked x x x being the only parts that are pressed down to the canvas. You will thus obtain a rich as well as a sparkling effect. Matt gold and silver have a charming soft effect, and large quantities of it may be used without vulgarity. An agreeable effect is produced by staining on these with lake, blue or green ; and when they are used for the insides of shells, a delicate staining in of the prismatic colours will have a charming effect. The above can best be done with oil colour in tubes, mixed with a little varnish and turpentine. Ossidue is useful in fairy and transformation scenes. It can be had where the foils were bought, and is stuck on with tolerably strong glue, used very hot. Zinc ornaments — or logi ornaments, as they are generally called — have a very good effect when judiciously used. They are fixed on with a material composed of whiting, Venice tur- pentine and glue, used very hot. Some of the composition is put on the back of the ornament with a flat piece of wood, the ornament being then pressed against the scene and held down for a moment or two. When coral is required for a fairy scene, it is a good plan to paint carefully a branch of coral on a sheet of zinc with orange red and strong size, used hot, and then to send it to the zinc-worker's with in- structions to cut away all but the painted part. From this single one he can also cut out any number of coral patterns that may be required. Be careful that the branches cross each other in such a way as to keep SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 73 the whole well connected. The corals can be painted any colour in what is called "flatting," that is, dry white lead and colours mixed with Japan gold size and turpentine. The colours that have the most charming effect are crimson, pink, orange, violet and white. Take afterwards some strips of foil and glue-paste them in the centre of all the stems, leaving a little of the colour on each side. Where zinc is not procurable, cardboard or pasteboard will answer very well, and can be cut out with a penknife. Corals made of this will, however, require strengthening at the back with stout wire which can be placed upright as it will not be visible. An admirable imitation of coral can be made with branches from thorn bushes, of which the thinner ends are to be cut off from the stumpy and knotty parts. The latter must then be dried and painted as above, very thin stripes of foil being afterwards wound round some so as nearly to cover them. 74 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. HINTS ON EFFECTS. In the lighting up of fairy scenes a good effect is produced by alternate changes of colour. These are brought about by changing the mediums and the glasses of the limelights, say from blue to red, next to yellow and then off to the clear light. Mediums are made from a material ?*»£* Diagram 37. called Tammy, strips of which, about two feet wide each, are sewed thus — the yellow to the red and the red to the blue. They should be varnished, the varnish on the blue having a little Prussian blue in it to improve the colour. In a small theatre the mediums might be of silk which would require no further preparation after being sewed together. The above is a sketch of a gas batten and medium: — SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 75 A, wooden frame-work of batten ; B, sheet-iron whitened to reflect light ; C, lines to work medium on and off, led through blocks in the roof; D, ropes and chains to carry batten; E, iron guard with wires in it stretched from end to end of batten, to keep medium from the gas flame. A good subject for a fairy scene is the representation of the effects produced by moonlight on the surface of a lake. With a sharp knife, so as to get a clean edge, cut a perfectly round hole in the cloth. Then take a piece of clear tracing cloth, which needs no preparation, and with thin glue (not paste), glue it over the round hole you made, keeping it quite smooth and free from wrinkles. Whilst you are about this an assistant must hold a clean board on the face of the cloth at the back of the part on which you are gluing, care being taken not to allow any wet or glue to get on to the tracing cloth that is in sight in the round opening. To imitate the stars, use spangles of various sizes. The largest are the most effective ; but they must be bent a little in order not to show too flat a surface. They must be fixed to the cloth in the following manner : — Take some dark blue cotton and pass it through the hole in the spangle. Tie the spangle round and leave about i£ inch at both ends of the cotton ; glue over about half of each end and then press them against the cloth with a flat piece of wood till they stick on firmly. The spangle will, of course, hang loose, and being in consequence always on the twitter, it will keep on sparkling. For the lake, tarlatan water rows may be advantageously used in the place of solid ones. They produce a more transparent effect and the reflection of the moon will be seen through all the rows. The best way to make tarlatan water rows will be as follows : — For the back or highest row take a piece of tarlatan, 3 feet 6 inches in depth, and as long as the full width of your stage. Then take another piece 3-feet deep and of the same length, and tack it on with needle and thread to the former piece, and 6 inches below the top of it. Next, tack a third piece of tarlatan, 2 feet 6 inches deep, to the second, and 6 inches below the top of it as before. To the bottom of all three 76 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. pieces sew a piece of glazed calico of nearly the same colour as the tarlatan, and I foot 6 inches deep, so that the total depth of the row will be 5 feet. Stretch a piece of wire line or of strong whipcord from a hook in the wall at one side of the stage to an upright roller, which is contained in a box having a handle to it that turns the roller. This box must be screwed by means of foot irons to the stage, and have an angle brace also. Then, by means of the handle to the roller, a strain can be put to the wire or cord that will keep it as near to a straight line as possible. Whenever the rows are done with, they can be rolled up in the boxes and there kept clean and safe. If there are any other rows, they can be made in the same way as those I have spoken of, but each one must be three inches lower in the extreme height than the one behind it, so that, if there are six of them, the front one will be 15 inches lower than the back one. These three inches on each row are to be taken off from the bottom of the calico. A few white streaks should be painted on the water rows with flake white and a little strong size. The appearance of the ripple on the water, when illumined by the moon, can be imitated in this way : — With a very sharp knife, make some cuts in the cloth similar to the following : Diagram 38. which are of the actual size intended. But some of them may be longer, though no broader, and some even less in breadth. Make the cuts down to about 18 inches from the bottom of the cloth, but before doing so, you must have painted on the cloth the reflection of the light of the moon on the water. Behind the cloth, and about three or four feet back, if there is room, hang up, by means of a batten at the top, a piece of white calico much wider and higher than the cuts in the cloth, and thickly covered with spangles. At the back of the cloth with the cuts in it and as close to it as is consistent with safety, have a row of gas lights close down to the floor of the stage to shine on the SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 77 spangle cloth. Now let some one shake the spangle cloth, not violently but with a gentle motion, and a very pleasing and natural effect will be produced. The water rows, the cuts in the cloth, and the spangle cloth used in moonlight scenes may also be employed when the effects caused by a sunset have to be shown. But in this case the spangle cloth must be lighted either with the aid of red glasses on the gas row, or with a limelight shining through an amber or red glass. For the sun, use fine Persian amber silk, and let both sun and moon be lighted by a limelight, or if that is not convenient, by a ring of gas and a reflector. Various pretty effects may be contrived with the help of spangles. To represent a fountain, for instance, string a number of spangles on some fine Dutch twine ; knot each of them at a distance of an inch or two or three inches from one another, and use them to represent the water. Fix the strings at each end to keep them in their places, and take care that they hang perpendicularly. Used in the same way, spangles would be very effective in representing a dropping well or a grotto under the sea, where they could be hung from all the borders and spread all about the scene. Night scenes are usually very effective, especially when the lamps and the windows of the houses are lighted up. The latter effect is produced in the following way : — After your scene is all painted, cut out with a sharp penknife, as many of the lamps and windows as you think will be sufficient to produce a satisfactory effect. If the windows and lamps are small do not attempt to cut round the bars, but clear them away, as you can paint them in afterwards with opaque colour and strong size. When the cutting out has been done, strain some linen or union on a frame so as to be able to size both sides of it, which you must do with strong size, used quite hot. When dry, cut off as many pieces as will suffice to cover the windows and lamps that you have cut out, and rub some thin glue round the edges of the per- forated parts. Then press the linen or union against the back of the scene, while a board is held against the front of it. Those parts which you wish to tell out the brightest you had better cover with 78 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. tracing cloth instead of linen. When all is dry, paint up the trans- parent parts, of course with transparent colours, according to their situation in the scene. I here take the opportunity of suggesting that, for a private theatre, the cuttings of silk that usually accumulate in the dressmaking department would do admirably instead of the linen or union I have before recommended ; and, in selecting the silk, those colours of them might be chosen which would obviate the necessity of any after painting. When silk is used it will only require to be glued to the back of the scene and afterwards sized. An admirable effect is produced by the use of gelatine for stained glass windows, whether for a hall or a church. Excellent coloured prints of stained glass windows can be purchased ; and when you have obtained one of these, or made your own design, cut out those parts which are supposed to be glass. Then from the gelatine cut out some pieces to fit the above, and fix them to the bars with some rather strong glue. You will thus have a window quite as clear and bright, and as rich in colour as glass itself. You must, of course, have a bright light behind it, or what would be still better, a limelight stream- ing through it and casting coloured reflections across the floor, as in nature. Transparent cloths have a fine effect when well managed. They are painted on union or linen, if the scene is not too large, being executed as follows : — All round the edge of the painting-frame, a pro- je£ting batten of wood must be fixed, standing out about four or five inches, so that the linen or union cannot touch the frame whilst being painted on. When straining the cloth to these battens, have a strip of canvas laid along the face of those parts of the cloth that have to be tacked to the battens, and drive the nails home to prevent the tearing of the cloth, which is not strong enough to stand the strain or the working of the brushes while being painted on. This done, size all over the face only of the cloth with hot strong size, and it will then be ready for painting on, either in oil or size colour. Transparent cloths must, of course, be painted entirely in trans- parent colours, and by means of successive glazings either in oil or SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 79 size colour. Oil colour is to be preferred when the transparent cloths are not more than about 20 feet square ; but when beyond that size, they had best be painted in size colour, which is rather a difficult pro- cess to manage, as the colour sets faster than the cloth can be painted, and, in the case of a sky, it is not easy to make it look smooth. The best plan, I find, is to mix the size a little stronger than half-and-half, letting it cool into a jelly ; and then, when required for use, to put an equal quantity of cold water to it, mixing the two with a large sash tool thoroughly together by twirling it rapidly round and round. The size will thus become a thin jelly, and, when mixed with your colour, will work almost like oil paint. But observe to keep your colour con- stantly stirred to prevent its setting into a complete jelly, in which condition you could not use it freely. Wherever you may want the light to be entirely blocked out, use thick body colour with size, on either the oil or size colour cloth. When painting in oil mix with the colour about equal parts of coachmakers' varnish and turpentine, adding a little boiled oil. The brushes used will have to be shorter in oil than in size colour painting, but those that have been worn down till they are too short for distemper painting will be found to answer the purpose admirably. The best colours to use will be scarlet lake, crimson lake, raw sienna, Indian yellow, yellow lake and Prussian blue, all of which, except the last one, must have sugar of lead mixed with them, or they will never dry hard. The above colours are for the sky ; and for the landscape portion of the cloth the glazing colours will all be useful. The same colours will also do for the cloth painted in size colour, but they will not then want sugar of lead mixed with them. Use your colours moderately thin, and constantly bear in mind that you can always make your painting darker, but never lighter, when once it is dry. This remark applies as well to transparencies painted in size colour. I shall now explain how you must proceed when you wish to pro- duce the erTecl of moonlight, daybreak, sunrise, and bright daylight following each other in succession : — Paint the face of your cloth with very thin size colour, as before, and very lightly as it will be lighted 80 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. from the front only with all the blue mediums over the gas battens, the wing or side lights down, green glass on the footlights, and gas lengths at the sides with green glasses on them. With this amount of light the slightest stain of colour on the sky will be sufficient. Commence with a slight tinge of yellow lake and scarlet lake at the bottom of your sky ; then work up to crimson lake, and afterwards add a little blue, continuing to add blue till it is all blue from about one-third up the sky to the top. The warm tints must be so faintly laid in that the blue colour from the mediums may be able entirely to overpower them, producing all the effects of moonlight on the sky. Now paint the landscape portion of the cloth, from distance to foreground, in a manner suitable for a night view, and so light that the subdued and coloured light in front may not cause your scene to look black. When the front of your cloth looks as satisfactory as you can make it, have it taken off the frame and tacked at the top, with a double row of tacks, to a good stout batten, F (see Diagram 39). Then, by means of lines attached to the batten, passing through blocks, and either led on to a small windlass, or worked by hand, hoist up the cloth E to a joist or beam A, stretching from one side of the stage to the other, till there are about three inches of it resting upon the floor of the stage. After tacking the bottom of the cloth to a roller, in such a manner that the whole of it will hang square, take two lines, called working-lines, to distinguish them from the dead lines B, which sup- port the cloth, and pass one of them through the single block H, and and both through the double block G. Wind them round the roller at I I, in a direction contrary to that in which the cloth is to be rolled, allowing a little more line than is required, so as to make sure of all the canvas being drawn up. There must be sufficient room at each end of the roller to keep the working lines clear of the edges of the cloth, for, should the one overlap the other, the cloth would not roll up or down, and might become injured. You can now raise the cloth by pull- ing up the working lines, which will turn the roller and cause the cloth to wind itself on to it. Conversely, by letting go the working lines, the roller will be lowered, its own weight causing the cloth to become SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 8l unwound, and to continue strained till the whole of it is unfolded so far as just to touch the floor of the stage without resting upon it, the working lines, meanwhile, winding themselves round the roller as it descends. The working lines can have their ends made fast to a cleet placed anywhere that is convenient, and should be kept taut. The cloth Diagram 3g. should be hung up where a strong daylight may fall upon the front of it, or if that is not practicable, a bright row of gaslight must be placed in such a position as to shine well through the cloth. The work of painting must then be carried on at the back of the cloth, and as you proceed, you can observe the effect of the transparent oil or size colour that you are using. Roll up on the roller all the cloth, except that part you are about to paint on ; then fix the roller by means of the working lines so that it will not turn, and tighten up the top batten. Now paint the sky, — on the back of the cloth, be it remembered — beginning at the top with Prussian blue, and then working down the sky with crimson lake, continually added to the above till the colour is all lake ; then with the scarlet lake with a little yellow lake in it, finishing at the bottom with Indian yellow and a little scarlet lake with the yellow lake. Next throw in such clouds as you think will be effective, taking care that the edges of them are lighted up with a warm colour, lighter than the sky. Let the distant hills and part of the landscape be lighted in the same way, and paint the shades and shadows with a cool purple tint. Strengthen up the whole subject, and, in parts, block Note. — For the purposes of painting the back of the cloths, the dead lines B B B may be converted into working lines long enough to pass through blocks down to within reach, so as to raise the cloth at will. G 82 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. out the transparencies altogether, so that the lights may tell out more strongly and warmly. Now you can lay in freely, and where you want the lights to tell out well, you can wipe them out with a piece of calico or cloth of any kind, before the colour hardens. Let the cloth hang till it is thoroughly dry before rolling it up, or it will stick together and be spoiled. The next thing to do will be to prime a piece of canvas, about three-fourths the depth of the cloth, so as to exclude the light ; and to the bottom of that have a piece of crimson silk, about four or five feet deep, sewed on softening the edge of the silk into the primed cloth with priming. Then have a piece of yellow silk, about four feet deep, sewed to the crimson silk, into which you must soften the edges of it with some crimson lake colour. These silks should have been varnished before being joined to the canvas. To work the effect-, have the above cloth and silks hung close behind the transparent cloth, a part of the crimson silk only appear- ing above the horizon. Behind this, again, let there be two or three rows of gas, which must be turned quite down at first. When the day is supposed to break, gradually turn up the gas in the lowest row, and there will appear a faint glow of crimson light, which will, of course, grow stronger as the gas in the bottom row is turned on to full. The gas last alluded to being full on, let the cloth with the silks be slowly raised. While the yellow begins to appear, and the crimson is rising higher and higher in the sky, the gas behind must all be gradually turned up to the full, the mediums in front being worked round from blue to red, and then to yellow, in unison with the change at the back, and the green lights at the wings being gradually turned down and the white lights partly up. The cloth with the silks will by this time have worked up out of sight, and the whole of the painting at the back of the cloth will be seen, in consequence of the strong light at the back of it, to help which the white lights in front have been kept subdued. If lime-lights are used, the glasses will then change from blue to crimson, and next to yellow, in unison with the other changes of colour. By reversing the movement, the same painting and arrange- ments will serve to represent the change from sunset to moonlight. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 83 For a stormy sky a transparent cloth produces a fine scenic effect, when well managed. Huge dark masses of clouds can be painted in, and, as these are in reality lighted up from the back of the cloth, light- ning may be shown to flash from behind them, at one moment all being dark and black, at another all in a blaze. For a fire scene a transparent cloth is most valuable. On the front of the cloth, the building which is to figure in the scene is to be painted in sound condition with transparent colours, while, on the back, it must be represented in a state of conflagration, and partly in ruins. Where parts of the building are required to tell out strongly against the flames and light, block them out with strong opaque colour. At the back of the transparent cloth have three opaque cloths hung on separate lines, one in the centre, and one of the other two on each side. Let them overlap each other, so as to cover the whole of the front cloth, the edges being cut very deeply with a very rough and broken line. When the fire is supposed to break out, raise the middle one ; the gas rows at the back will then cause a light and the flames painted on the back to begin to appear. Now have a small quantity of red fire lighted at intervals, behind the transparent cloth, and commence raising one of the other cloths at the back. Then light more red fire, but at shorter intervals, and move the cloths entirely away, keeping the red fire flashing all over the back of the cloth till the end of the scene. To disclose a vision, a portion of the back of the scene, large enough to show the vision in, must be cut out and filled in with netting, a material which can be bought at any large linendraper's in pieces 15 feet wide and of any length. Behind this opening let what is called a sink and fly be suspended on lines, with a profile edge at the bottom of the upper and the top of the lower one. Let them overlap each other and hang close to the net, after having covered them all over with the general ground colour of the back part of the scene. Now paint the back part of the scene on the net, so that it may seem to form a part of the scene when the sink and fly is closed up behind it. When the vision has to be shown, all lights in front must be gradually turned down, and the sink and fly opened by sinking the one and g 2 84 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. raising the other. Then gradually turn on the lights behind the net, and the lime lights as well (if you have any), till they light up the vision thoroughly. To cause the vision to fade away, reverse the action ; and, when it is a ghost that is to be made to vanish, it is a good plan to have, in a conspicuous place, a projecting piece of stone wall. Cut out in it a space about seven feet wide and eight feet high, and, instead of a wooden stile at the outer edge, have an iron rod. From this iron rod to the back part of the set piece, filling aip the opening, have a piece of the net strained. Now have another piece of net, five feet wide, reckoning from the back edge, sewed to the first, then a second one about four feet wide, a third about two feet, and, lastly, a fourth one about a foot wide. There will now be, at the back part, five thicknesses of net, and at the front only one. Complete the painting of the stone wall on the net, painting it rather solidly at the back part, so as to soften it into the solid canvas. A blue lime light might be thrown on the ghost, and, as he recedes from the back of the net, the light should be gradually turned down, and at last extinguished before he arrives at the back edge. Mention may here be made of the value to be attached to stage cloths — that is, cloths to lay over the stage, and painted into the subject of the scene, so as to represent a heath, stubble-field, garden, &c, &c. A cloth of this kind would be especially valuable in a garden scene, where it might be used for the purpose of displaying gravel walks, grass-plots, &c. ; and the effect would be vastly improved were some artificial flowers to be placed here and there on the stage. I now proceed to explain how lightning, thunder, and some other stage effects are best managed. Very effective lightning may be produced by means of licopodium, which can be purchased of any chemist or firework manufacturer. The way to use it is to put a small quantity of it on a piece of sheet iron, or anything that will not easily take fire, and then to light it either with a slow or a quick match. Another plan is to have an electric battery, and to produce the flashes by bringing the two points of carbon together and quickly separating them again, repeating the action so long as necessary. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 85 Thunder is produced in various ways. The most simple one is to shake a sheet of iron. Another plan is to have a number of cannon balls in a long flat-bottomed trough, across the bottom of which ridges of wood are nailed for the balls to run over. The trough rests on a raised bar of wood in the centre, and, after the balls have been made to roll down to one end of it, that end is tilted up, so as to cause the balls to roll back again. A third plan, and that an excellent one, is to have a large skin, about four feet square, stretched in the same man- ner as a drumhead, and a number of wooden balls, about the size of cricket balls, placed on it. A man, having a pair of stout leather gloves on, and holding two wooden balls in his hands, keeps on beat- ing the skin with them, loudly or softly, quickly or slowly, according to the effect he is required to produce ; and the resulting vibration causes the balls on the skin to rise and fall with a rumbling sound, bearing a striking resemblance to that of real thunder. To prevent the balls from bouncing off on to the floor, a piece of net-work is raised all round the skin to a height of about two feet, and over the top of it. The sound of rain is thus produced : — Have an eight-sided oblong box, about four or five feet in length and eight inches wide, and let a number of small wooden skewers be stuck into every side of the box in the inside, so as to reach nearly across. A quantity of peas are then put into the box, after which it is closed up. The peas will, of course, fall down to whichever end of the box is lowest and strike the skewers as they pass, producing a sound like that of falling rain. The box can be held in the hand, either end of it being lifted up alternately while the peas run down to the other. A little practice with this box will enable you to produce a surprising effecl:. To produce the sound of wind, have a wheel made similar to a water wheel, except that the paddles project one inch only beyond the rim of the wheel. It should be about four feet in diameter and 18 inches wide, set in a frame and worked with a handle like a grindstone. A piece of stout silk is made fast to the frame on one side of the wheel, stretched very tightly and secured to the frame on the other side. The wheel is then turned and the sound of wind produced. 86 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. A wood-crash is represented by the accompanying engraving. It is about five feet high, and the straight bars that the wheel acts upon are made of ash and so pliant as to bend with the turning of the wheel. A glass-crash consists of a hamper with a quantity of broken glass in it, canvas being sewed all over it to prevent the glass from falling out. A crash for earthenware is a simi- lar contrivance, but filled with broken crockery. In snow scenes the use of white cotton wad- ding produces a beautiful effect. We will suppose the scene to represent some country » * x ' Diagram 40. churchyard. Place the wadding on the top edges of the gravestones, the low walls, the railings, posts, and bushes, and some also on a moderate sized tree, which might as well be a real one, as trees can easily be procured. This arrangement would be facilitated by having a painted cloth laid down on the stage, and this should always be done in snow scenes. Lighting up the scene, too, with blue limelights and blue mediums cannot fail to make the whole exceedingly effective. Where practicable, moreover, a warm light in the church windows would add greatly to the general effect. And here I have a suggestion to make that where it is not possible to obtain the use of a limelight and it is required to cast a powerful blue light on any particular part of a scene, a chemist's bottle, with a strong light behind it, will answer the purpose for either sun, moon or firelight. These bottles can easily be procured and of any colour. The effect of falling snow is produced by means of white paper cut up into small pieces. Three or four persons, stationed in the flies or on ladders at the side of the stage, have baskets filled with the cut paper which they throw out as far as they are able, the pieces floating gradually down in quite a natural manner. There is a material called frost, to be had at theatrical wardrobe shops, which has a very pretty effect in a small theatre, though of no SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 87 use in a large one where the snow is painted. Rub over the parts that are to be operated upon with clean flour paste. Then, taking some of the frost in the hand, throw it on while the paste is wet and it will adhere. Hold a piece of board underneath the place to catch falling pieces of frost and prevent waste. This frost must be very carefully handled as it is really thin glass, and if some of it were to get into your eyes, serious consequences might ensue. To protect the hands also the use of gloves is recommended. 88 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. CUT CLOTHS. When it is required to form a grove, cut wood, grotto, ravine, rocky glen, or any subject consisting of a series of broken arches, cut cloths have several advantages over wings and borders. Wings, with much profile are very expensive, and it is difficult to join them to the borders, since they must be painted separately. In place of them, then, have a pair of wings and aborder painted on a full-sized cloth, and when finished cut out all the middle part, which you can easily do (the material being canvas), and in the most elaborate manner, perforating between the leaves, &c, which it would be impossible to do with profile wood. What has been cut out can be used for covering set pieces. The cloth being all cut out, lay it on the stage face downwards, and cover it with some very open network which you must fix to the cloth with thin glue, all round the outline and perforated parts. Use rather a small brush and see that all the points are glued to the cloth, which is easily done by passing some glue over the back of the net, when it will sink through the meshes and cause the net to stick firmly to the cloth. All being quite dry, let the cloth be taken up, and it will hang and roll up as well as if it were all canvas. The nets can be had in all colours and ready for use. Bluish grey is the best kind to have, and when the opening in the cloth is wider than 15 feet, it will be necessary to join a piece to both sides so as not to have any seam in the centre. The net work will never be seen by the audience ; indeed, I have had four cloths, one behind the other with net in each, and it has not been observed, but rather helped the effect by giving a sort of atmosphere to the scene. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 8g DISTEMPER PAINTING AS APPLIED TO DECORATING. The manifest superiority of this style of painting over all others for decorative work is sufficiently obvious. The speed with which it can be executed, the ease with which the colours can be laid in, a single coat sufficing, its perfect freedom from any injurious or disagreeable smell when finished, the rapidity with which it dries, are some of the points in which its excellence consists. It can be used, too, on almost any material, whether silk, calico, both glazed and unbleached, canvas, wood or paper. Suppose some silk banners were wanted inscribed with mottos or words of welcome. No preparation would be necessary and the work could be at once proceeded with. Half-and-half size should now be used with the colour, which latter ought not to be too thin ; and flat hog's-hair tools will be the best brushes to employ. Glazed calico can be also painted on without any preparation. Can- vas and unbleached calico, however, must be prepared as explained in a former portion of this work. But whatever be the material that is to be painted on, it must be strained out either on a flat wall or on a frame which can be made by any carpenter. The kind of paper mostly used for distemper painting is that called lining paper, which is sold in rolls at the paperhangers, and is very inexpensive. As there are various qualities of it, you should select a tolerably good one for ordinary purposes and the best for special ones. Strain your paper as just now directed, gluing down the edges. The top one should be glued down first, and when that has adhered, strain downwards and proceed with the bottom edge and then with the side ones. Should the paper not be wide enough for your purpose, join two pieces together, laying them down on a table so that they may be 90 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. joined smoothly and without wrinkles. When dry, strain as before ; and when the glued edges are also dry after the straining, take some hot half-and-half size, and size all over your paper so as to have a pleasant ground to work upon. Now rule a line all round the paper a little way from the edge, but within the glued part, so that when the picture is finished you may be able with a penknife to cut it clean away. I will next suppose a panel is required to be adorned with some design such as a wheatsheaf, a pair of doves, a beehive, a bunch or basket of flowers, a wreath of roses, or any other suitable subject of the above kind. First draw out the panel and a style too, if wanted. Then draw diagonals from one corner to the other, and the point in which these cross each other is the true centre of the panel, no matter whether it be square or oblong. Now sketch in your design with drawing charcoal, and when finished, draw it in with indelible brown ink which can be obtained at the artists' colourman's. Now mix the ground colour, which should be some tint that will set off the design, and let the style colour also set oft the panel one and harmonize with the whole. Lay in the ground first of all, and then paint the design from the palette. Next lay in the style, and after that the moulding or border which divides the style from the panel, and lastly the outer moulding. SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 91 POUNCING. The panel I have just been speaking of would look all the better if corner ornaments were added, and these can be pounced on by a method which I am now going to explain. Making use of the corner ornament for the purpose of illustrating this mode of executing decora- tive work, mark the size of it on a square piece of lining paper, (see EXAMPLE 1 Diagram 41. Example I in Diagram 41). Rule a line from corner to corner, and draw half your ornament as in the example with a clear firm outline. Then fold the paper along the diagonal line, with the drawing out- wards. Lay the folded paper down on some two or three thicknesses of soft cloth, calico or canvas, and, with a pin, prick holes pretty close 92 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. to each other through the folded paper all along the outline. On un- folding the paper it will be found that both halves of the ornament have been pricked. Follow this plan for any other ornament ; but for centre ones, let the folding be made through the centre perpendicularly. The piece of paper thus prepared is what is called a pounce, and when an ornament or design of any kind has to be repeated several times, this is the best and quickest plan to follow. In the case of ornamental borders, the pounce might be repeated many times all round a room. It must be borne in mind that the paper should in every case be larger than the pricked outline of the pounce, otherwise, in rubbing the pounce bag over it, the ground colour on which the pounce is, as it were, to be printed, would be liable to become smeared by the bag. The pouncing is managed as follows : — If the ornament be a centre one or form part of the frame of any design, rule a perpendicular line for the centre much longer than would seem to be required, and then a horizontal line to which the ornament is to be joined, as in the ex- ample. On the pounce also a perpendicular centre line must be ruled all across the paper, from edge to edge, and then a horizontal one in the same manner. Now lay the pounce on the centre of the panel or frame, so that the perpendicular line A A and the horizontal line B B shall fit the corresponding lines of the pounce at the edges of the paper at A A and B B. Having got the pounce into its right position take the pounce bag and rub it all over the holes in the pounce, dabbing them a little occasionally. Now take off the pounce and it will be found that the outline of the ornamental design has been transferred to the panel or frame. When a corner ornament is required, continue the horizontal line till it crosses the perpendicular one for the side of the frame or panel ; then make corresponding lines on the pounce and proceed as before. If a running ornament is to be made either for a border or cornice, have a line struck either for the bottom or top of the pounce, and then pounce one length of the ornament. That being finished, shift the pounce on to the right and fold the paper at the left end of the pounce till you come to that part of the ornament which should join the right SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. 93 end of what has already been pounced. After seeing that it fits, lay down the folded part and pounce as before. Here is now another instance of the many uses to which pouncing can be applied. Suppose an entire panel has to be filled in with an ornamental design and a series of panels are required which are pre- cisely the same. One quarter of the design need only be drawn, and in the following way : — Find the centre of the panel as before, and then divide it by a perpendicular and a horizontal line. Draw one quarter of the ornament only on the panel itself, and when it is correct, lightly flog off the false lines, going over the corrected lines afterwards with a piece of soft drawing charcoal. Now take a piece of lining paper, slightly larger than half the panel, and damp it all over with a little water, using a pound brush for the purpose. Then, with the help of an assistant, lay it evenly over one half of the panel, al- lowing for a margin all round the paper. Now press it on to the drawing with a wet pound brush, and on taking it off again, the draw- ing will be found printed on the paper. When this is dry, fold the paper at the perpendicular divisional line, and prick it along the outline as before. Unfold the paper and you will have one half of the orna- ment. Pounce this on the bottom half of the panel and then, turning your pounce upwards and taking care that it joins the half already pounced, pounce the other half and your panel is complete. Pouncing can be applied to scene painting quite as extensively as to decoration, if not more so. Should a number of equal sized capitals and bases to pilasters, for instance, be wanted for a scene, one pounce of the base and one of the capital would serve for them all. If a running ornament in gold, a scroll for example, is desired on a coloured ground, the latter should be laid in first, and then the orna- ment pounced on it and afterwards painted. Pouncing can be applied to banners made either of silk or of glazed calico. When the ground on which the pounce is to be transferred is dark, the pounce bag should be filled with powdered chalk. The use of paper in decorative work offers great facilities to the artist, as it enables him to paint at a convenient height, either when 94 SCENE PAINTING AND DISTEMPER PAINTING. sitting or standing ; and his painting or drawing can be cut off when finished and pasted up wherever it may be required. Trophies, de- vices, quotations from Holy Scripture, Shakespeare, &c, can all be painted on this simple material and cut out afterwards close along the outline or near to it only. Whenever these are pasted on the surface of any wall or otherwise, the pot from which the ground colour of the wall was taken must be put by to be used when the pasting is finished to colour in the ground, so as to connect the paper with what is already done on the wall. A very pretty effect might be produced in the following way : — Let each side of the room represent a frame of rustic trellis-work, over which trails a vine with its richly coloured leaves and fruit and its graceful tendrils, all painted in their natural colours. Through this framework the spectator is supposed to look out upon a landscape, lake, sea, or mountain view. A summer-house or garden pavilion would also look well if painted in this style. An entire apartment could be papered with lining paper by a paper-hanger, and, when dry, sized with half-and-half size. It now only remains for me to mention the use distemper painting might be put to in illuminating large scrolls, ornaments and lettering which could not conveniently be executed in the ordinary way, on account of their size. The gilding also which generally forms a part of such ornamental work might be easily executed by means of the madong and metal before described. 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