Part 6
At a convenient time take the plate holder into the dark room, illuminate it with ruby light, take the sensitive plates out of the holders, being careful not to touch their surfaces. Hold them by the edge. Place one of the sensitive plates, film side up, in a tray partly filled with water. While it remains there, mix this solution: Neutral oxalate of potash, 5 ounces; bromide of potassium, 20 grains; water, 20 ounces. If the solution does not turn blue litmus paper red, add a few drops of oxalic acid, enough to make it do so. A graduated glass is used to measure out the liquids. After rinsing the glass out, mix a second solution made as follows: Protosulphate of iron, 5 ounces; water, 20 ounces; and acidulate it with 20 drops of sulphuric acid. Both of these solutions keep well. Now combine a quarter of an ounce of the latter solution with two ounces of the former and mix them well. Pour off the water in the tray containing the gelatine plates. Be certain not to touch the sensitive side of the plate. Flow the combined developing solution over the plate and displace, by a touch of your finger, any air bubbles that may form. After a short time traces of the image on the sensitive film will appear. If they do not, pour the developing solution back into the tray and add a quarter of an ounce more of the iron solution. Pour the strengthened solution over the plate and look at it intently. In a short time the details of the picture may be dimly seen. Wait patiently till the milky white appearance is changed to a grey color, and then pour off the developer into a developing bottle, if you have one. Wash the plate in two changes of water. In the unused tray mix a solution composed of 4 ounces of hyposulphite of soda and 20 ounces of water. (Label this tray “Hypo.,” and do not use it for any other purpose.) A plate lifter is a convenient device for taking plates out of the solutions or baths. Change the plate to the hypo. tray, and let it remain there until every vestige of the milky white appearance has vanished, even from the under surface of the plate. The plate can now be examined by white light, which has no effect upon it at this stage. Wash it thoroughly. A negative washing box will be found to be of great assistance. If this washing of the plate is not done thoroughly, the hyposulphite of soda crystals will adhere to the plate and mar the picture. Meanwhile rinse out the tray first in use and partially fill it with a solution consisting of 20 ounces of water and all the alum it will hold in solution. Allow the plate to remain in the alum bath five minutes. Cleanse your hands from any adhering soda solution. Again wash the plate, and set it on edge to dry in a negative rack.
All the preceding instructions can be briefly summarized.
1. Put some sensitive plates into dry plate holders.
2. Make the exposure.
3. After taking a plate out of the holder, place it in a tray filled with water.
4. Drain off the water and put the plate in the mixed developing solution.
5. Wash the plate and place it in the soda solution.
6. Wash the plate and give it an alum bath.
7. Wash the plate and set it in the rack to dry. When perfectly dry, coat the plate over with negative varnish, and have that coating dry and hard. Now it may be touched by the fingers.
=Making Prints from Negatives.= At this point the work ceases to be one of faith, as the results are now to appear. An outfit of printing requisites comprises a printing frame, a porcelain pan, a vulcanite tray, some ready sensitized paper, a bottle of French azotate, a bottle of chloride of gold, a glass graduate, some hyposulphite of soda, a glass form, a Robinson trimmer, some sheets of fine card-board, a jar of parlor paste, and a bristle brush.
=Sensitized Paper Prints.= In the morning prepare a toning bath sufficient for the prints to be toned that day. Put 7½ grains of chloride of gold into 7½ ounces of water. Label the bottle “Chloride of Gold Solution.” Take 1 ounce of French azotate, 1½ ounces of the chloride of gold solution, and add 6 ounces of water, and you have a toning bath which keeps well. Where the prints do not give the required tone, the bath must be strengthened by adding to it some new solution. Place the glossy side of a sheet of sensitized paper upon the film side of the negative in the printing frame. _Do this in a very dim light._
The printing has gone far enough when the print looks a little darker than you wish the finished picture to appear. Make as many prints from the negative as you desire. Wash the prints in several changes of water. Take seven ounces of the toning solution and change the prints to the pan containing it, where the prints should be turned over and over to make the toning even. The toning process should go on until the dark part of the pictures have a very faint purplish tint and the white portion is clear. Wash the picture, but preserve the toning solution. The pictures should now be left for twenty minutes in a solution composed of 4 ounces of hyposulphite of soda, 1 ounce of common salt, ½ ounce of washing soda, and 32 ounces of water. This solution should also be prepared a day or two in advance. Give the pictures a final and effectual washing. After they are dried, lay them out one by one and, using the Robinson trimmer, cut them to the desired size. Now spread over the back of each in turn some parlor paste, and lay them down with the center on the sheets of card-board. This operation is called “Mounting Pictures.” Press with a paper cutter upon the pictures and toward their edges until you are satisfied that they will lay flat.
DRAUGHTSMEN’S SENSITIVE PAPER, FOR COPYING DRAWINGS.
Procure a printing frame, such as photographers use; lay the tracing, face down, upon the glass, upon which place the sensitive paper, prepared side down, then several thicknesses of cotton flannel for a pad to equalize the pressure, and cause the sensitive paper and tracing to lay in close contact, and then close in the back. If, on turning the frame over, any wrinkles appear, that side of the hinged back may be opened and a piece of paper laid in just above the spot, when all will come smooth on closing the frame, (this should be done in a dimly lighted room), then expose to direct sunlight, care being taken that the whole frame comes under the light, without shadows; let the exposure be from five to ten minutes, according to the brightness of the day. Remove again to darkened room, examine by opening one of the hinged backs; if the lines have slightly turned in color, it has been highly exposed; it can be removed and washed in clear water, with two or three changes, then hang up to dry. You will have an exact copy of the original, with white lines on a blue ground, at a cost of about one tenth that of tracing, with absolutely no error. The paper must be kept in perfect darkness until used.
THE NEW WOOD PAINTING.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.
The term wood painting has, through the numerous designs invented for the purpose, found such a widespread use that it would be wasted pains to attempt to substitute a more fitting one. Not everything that is painted upon wood, falls under the knowledge of wood painting. No one would think of counting an oil painting, executed upon wood, under the category of wood painting. But if the colors were the distinguishing sign, then wood and water color painting would fall together, or wood painting could be only an aquarelle painting applied upon wood. Wood painting permits itself to be thus defined, inasmuch as the character of the material and the choice of its objects differ, so _wood water-color painting_ differs from the actual water color.
While it is possible for the water-color artist to produce upon paper the softest tones and most brilliant phenomena of nature, so that the painting inspires the observer through its life-like freshness; if the same picture, by the same artist’s hand, were reproduced in exactly the same manner upon wood, it would appear raw and unfinished,—yes, even wholly incorrect.
The prepared wood takes the softest tint, as well as paper, but the texture of the wood shimmers through the transparent tones, and though the fibres and pores of the same have taken another hue, they still act as wood, and thereby destroy the effect which the artist intended. For it is originally the task of the artist to thus deceive the human sense of vision in such a manner, and so faithfully imitate the appearance of things in nature that the observer must believe himself transported in the midst of reality and actual life, through the activity of fancy; in short, the artist must reproduce true to nature, and his pictures have the effect of nature.
If one was to try with exclusive body colors which do not allow the grain of the wood to penetrate, to attain this ideal of painting, and attempt to create upon wood an actual life-like picture, we would not conceive such an aquarelle, that never can compare with a picture upon paper in softness, just as little as an oil painting upon wood, as wood painting in the general sense.
Therefore, neither the material to be painted nor the colors applied are the criterion of distinguishing reasons for wood painting on one hand, and the oil or nearer related aquarelle painting on the other.
The difference in a measure lies herein, that the characteristic peculiarity of wood does not subdue, but is drawn upon for the effect of the painting, partly in the nature of that which painting upon wood represents or should represent.
Wood painting, as far as we have touched upon it, cannot and does not intend to create natural pictures; it only serves to ornament objects in wood, which through colored and tasteful designs are to produce an agreeable charm to the eye. It is not an object in itself, like a painting, the frame of which serves as a folio, but an external addition, like the ornaments of buildings, to make an otherwise monotonous surface interesting.
Wooden articles admit of being ornamented in various ways, through sculpture work, by inlaying of colored woods and metal, and by painting.
The choice of ornamenting is naturally dependent upon the purpose the object to be decorated is intended for; a table, which must naturally have a smooth surface, we would not think of making useless by carving the top.
Wood painting, as it is now _en vogue_, is of a recent date, and originally sprang out of the idea to imitate the mosaic work of art cabinet-makers.
It may, with consideration for the purpose of the objects to be ornamented, also imitate carving, but must not go beyond the wood tones and the production of the effects of light; it may even attempt to imitate enamel work by the application of strong, bright colors; but it ought at the same time be in keeping with the purpose the object in hand is intended for, and never involve itself in contradictions.
Its refined field should always remain the imitative, and should therefore confine itself as near as possible upon the application of ornaments with a surface where effect is flat, and consequently do not mar the surface. To apply figures, modest, decorative additions for the ornamentation of surfaces, is allowable, as long as they do not clash with the character of the surface; but here the limits that are drawn by the nature of the article are not to be overstepped. For every perspective representation of a figure painted with the application of light and shade intends to deceive the observer; it lifts itself off the surface and no longer works upon our fancy as a part of the surface, but as body. Cases, chests and other large pieces may be decorated in this manner; tables, portfolios and similar pieces which in themselves are required to have smooth surfaces; smaller objects to be handled, where the sense of touch can at every moment convince itself of the attempted deception intended for the eye, one will do well to take heed in not painting these with figures of a plastic effect. Such contradictions are not to be tolerated in principle and should be avoided in the selection of patterns and designs.
To create a real picture in the beginning lies outside the province of the art of wood painting, and therefore the practice of the same, as far as it does not reach into the professional art, must always be confined within the circle of amateurs. Good, correct drawings of the outlines, cleanliness in coloring and a proper combination of the colors, is the highest aim the art of painting upon wood may achieve; for the artist is greatly answerable for the composition of ornaments, where designs are used as patterns.
But even in the narrow limits in which the art of painting upon wood moves, it accomplishes much that is beautiful, that the acquirement of the same cannot be too strongly recommended.
This is especially intended for young ladies, who, in the occupation of painting upon wood, find just as agreeable and remunerative diversion as the tedious, sense-dulling work of embroidery.
=General Preliminaries.= The first essential requirement to paint upon wood is, without a doubt, practice in drawing.
One is easily inclined, inasmuch as there is no self-inventive gift employed in connection with it, to consider painting on wood as a purely mechanical work, because the design is traced and transferred upon wood, by means of tracing paper; yet there remains, up to this easy beginning, the further embellishment entirely to the free hand, and it is just here that difficulties meet the painter unskilled in the art of drawing.
The difficult point in wood painting lies in the conscientious, artistic execution; the more pains taken in that direction, the stronger the lines of beauty and harmony in coloring, the more certain it is to obtain something excellent in this work.
The simplest design, when correctly and cleanly painted, has a more agreeable effect upon the observer than the most beautiful pattern that has been faultily produced through a series of shortcomings.
=Requisites.= The possession of a good and complete set of instruments, in a measure, assists in the success of the work. The following utensils are used in wood painting: Lead Pencils, (Faber’s B, HB, HH), a pen knife, a lead pencil file, an eraser, a horn protractor upon which to rest the compass upon round articles, a ruler, a square, a porcelain palette with six cells, several good fine and coarse water-color brushes on handles with metal ferrules, several sheets of extra fine tracing paper or cloth; the latter is more expensive than the paper, but far more durable, in such cases where the drawing is gone over again. For the drawing of fine outlines, pens (Gillott’s crowquill pens are best); for heavier outlines or large designs goosequills are best. It is desirable to possess a complete outfit of drawing materials, of which the following are indispensable: A drawing pen, a compass with pen and pencil pieces.
=The Colors.= It is advisable to use only the genuine India ink, as the ordinary India ink nearly always discolors the soft tints that are painted over it, which sometimes spoils the entire work. The ordinary water-colors, not the covering or Gouache colors are to be used. The prepared wood just as readily takes the Gouache and covering colors, as a large number of designs of natural flowers show, yet this method should not be indulged in, for this reason, because it completely covers the texture of the wood, thereby giving the art critic an opportunity to censure.
Since wood painting is mostly an imitation of inlaid wood work—mosaic—as a rule the preference should be given to the application of the fitting colors to the stained wood tones. Who does not possess a complete outfit of colors, ought at least secure the following: sepia, dark sepia, burnt sienna, light ochre, dark vermilion, carmine, cobalt blue, Indian red, olive green, Roman brown, lampblack and white.
The best colors are the Dusseldorf (Schonfeld or Winsor & Newton’s) moist water-colors, in metal tubes or porcelain pans. Gold and silver is generally painted from shells, this is to be used sparingly, and is polished when the work is finished with a steel instrument, a knitting-needle, glove buttoner, or an agate burnisher. Red gold has a dark effect, retreating; green gold, on the other hand, stands out and has a light appearance. Black-lead is to be had in lumps, and is most effective for bright or red ornamentations. Bronze powder is prepared with a little gum water. The possession of a magnifying glass is of importance in going over the work when finished, and subjecting the same to a severe scrutiny. It also greatly assists in the correction of faults that may have crept in.
=Transferring the Drawing upon Wood.= A design should be chosen that corresponds with the size and shape of the wood article. A design is seldom spoiled by extending the outer lines, yet we should be cautioned against the reverse case, in trying to force a large design upon a small space by omitting the outer lines that serve as a frame.
=Enlarging and Reducing Designs.= If a design is to be brought within the compass of another, reduced or enlarged, take a proportional divider, or draw a net of equal squares, the original or a drawing of the same with a lead pencil, in proportion required for the wood surface, which are numbered. In each square exactly the same parts are drawn from the design which are contained in the corresponding square on the wood.
=The Divisions of the Wood Surface.= At the beginning of the work, the surface to be painted is divided by distinct pencil lines into halves, quarters, sixths, etc., just as the design admits of; these lines serve as a starting point for the traced design to be placed upon this, where halves, quarters, etc., must fit exactly into these. The measuring is done by means of a compass or a strip of paper the length of the object, which gives the center point by cutting the same in two. In painting round articles, such as lamp plates, table tops, etc., a sheet of paper of the exact size is cut out This is folded once, in halves and quarters, as the case may be. It is spread upon the surface of the article, then prick through the creases where they cross each other. To avoid injury to the center of a round wooden plate by the repeated application of a compass, a horn protractor is fastened to the center with thumb tacks, which leaves the center transparent, upon which the compass may be applied with considerable pressure. In the absence of a compass with an extension where large circles are required, a strip of pasteboard is substituted; this is fastened to the center by a needle. For every cross line a hole is made into the strip, the pencil is inserted and drawn around by moving the strip in a circular motion.
=The Tracing and Transferring of Designs.= The design is carefully drawn upon tracing paper or tracing cloth, by means of a medium soft pencil; the more perfect the drawing is made, the more it will lighten the work. If the drawing obtained is perfectly symmetrical, i. e., the right half of the same exactly like the left, it will save much time and labor by transferring it upon the surface by rubbing. If the symmetrical design is accompanied in the center by a monogram, motto, figures or flowers, these are for the present omitted and traced in a manner which will be explained further on.
The tracing of an entirely symmetrical design is reversed, with the drawing turned downward upon the wood and carefully observed that the center of the tracing lies completely in correspondence with the center line of the division line of the surface. The tracing paper is fastened with wax, and held as firmly with the left hand as possible, that it cannot be displaced, and rubbed with a paper folder or the thumb-nail of the right hand over all parts of the design, until the same is plainly transferred upon the wood. For figures, flowers, monograms and all not strictly symmetrical designs, the following manner is applied: The tracing paper is laid upon the surface, design upward, under which a piece of colored transfer paper is placed and the design is retraced with a hard lead pencil. For this somewhat slower and more tedious manner it is advisable to fasten the tracing and transfer paper with thumb-tacks. Those parts of the surface are selected for the thumb-tacks that are afterwards to be painted with black or other ground colors, so that there will be no visible traces left after design has been transferred.
=Fixing the Transferred Design.= After the design has been transferred, all the straight and intersecting lines are carefully measured and compared with the compass from the center or the dividing middle lines; then with the drawing pen and India ink the entire design is gone over in fine lines. In figures and light ornamental designs, that come upon a dark ground, the India ink line is not put over, but closely to the outside pencil mark, or such figures will become too faint in the beginning, and are lost in the dark ground, whilst it can always be remedied by the subsequent removal of parts that have been drawn too heavily. The entire article is now cleaned from all pencil marks left by tracing, and the coloring begins.
=The Coloring.= Spread upon the palette, before beginning to paint, all the different colors, in sufficient quantity, that are to be used. A good rule in coloring the design, is not to apply the colors in too dry a state, so that the separate brush strokes may not be visible. The coloring is just that part of the work which cannot be explicitly enough described and taught in written instructions, and can only be thoroughly comprehended through the practical knowledge gained by experience, and thereby perfected.
Upon the most delicate tinting of entire surfaces the middle tones follow, lastly the dark ground colors, black, and the metals. Allow each color to dry thoroughly before beginning with the next, or going over it. The colors must stand out boldly from each other and should not be too lightly applied; this must be particularly observed in the dark body tints, as the colors lose a little of their depth in the process of polishing.
When the work is completed, the entire drawing is gone over again with a fine brush or pen; all the outlines lost in painting are reproduced with India ink.
Clear white upon light wood is to be avoided as much as possible; on the other hand, a mixture of white serves to make the light colors stand out more effectively upon gray or black wood.
=Retouching.= If there are any weak points in the painting, the spots are to be carefully removed with a damp sponge, and the dampened parts scraped clean with a penknife. If visible holes are left by the thumb tacks used in the tracing of the design, a small drop of clear water is applied to them, when they will gradually draw together. Paint in good light, have a steady table, and keep the design constantly before the eyes during the work.
In painting boxes and other high objects, it is necessary to place on the right and left of the same some other objects, such as books, to reach the plane of the surface being painted, in order that the hand and arm may rest with ease.
=The Wood Articles.= Wooden articles ready for painting are procured from the cabinet makers, or at the art stores.
There are over 900 different articles in wood for decorating, in all shapes and sizes, beautifully and tastily finished, for the artist and amateur to paint upon. A few of them may be mentioned here—tables, panels, workboxes, paper weights, fancy boxes, fans, hat brushes, glove boxes, albums, dust pans and brushes, photo frames, easels, trays and newspaper holders. What canvas is to oil painting, and paper is to color painting, the above articles are to the art of painting upon wood.