Ladies' manual of art; or, profit and pastime. / A self teacher in all branches of decorative art, embracing every variety of painting and drawing on china, glass, velvet, canvas, paper and wood the secret of all glass transparencies, sketching from nature. pastel and crayon drawing, taxidermy, etc.

by Anonymous

FEATHER FLOWERS,

Whoever may be so fortunate as to have in their possession fine feathers can certainly make fine flowers. Have at hand gum in solution, French paper for winding stems, and wire of different sizes. Draw the under side of the feather gently over the edge of your penknife to bend it in the required direction; make a lump of bookbinder’s thick paste or wax on the end of a wire for a stalk, and begin your flower by sticking the smallest size feathers into it for a center; place other feathers of the same kind, but larger in size, around in order. Choose green feathers for leaves and calyx, and pure white ones for japonicas and white roses. Twist the ends of the same on a wire, and make fast with gum, glue, paste, or other similar adhesive substance. Be careful to select feathers of the same kind for the same flower. Arrange in a vase, and cover to keep free from dust. In this, as in all kinds of fancy work, let taste and neatness govern the process.

It will often be found necessary to color the feathers to give the desired variety of hues; this can easily be done by attending to the following directions: Put the feathers into hot water, then drain them; rinse two or three times in clear cold water; place them on a tray, over which a cloth has been spread, before a good fire; as they dry, draw them gently into shape between the thumb and finger.

To Dye Feathers Blue. Into about three cents’ worth of oil of vitriol mix as much of the best indigo in powder; let it stand one or two days. When wanted for use, shake it well, and into a quart of boiling water put one tablespoonful of the liquid. Stir well, put the feathers in, and let them simmer a few minutes.

Yellow. Put a tablespoonful of the best turmeric into a quart of boiling water, when well mixed, put in the feathers. More or less turmeric gives different shades.

For Orange, add a small quantity of soda to the preparation for yellow.

Pink. Three good pink saucers to a quart of boiling water, with a small quantity of cream tartar. If a deep color is required use four saucers. Let the feathers remain in this dye several hours.

Red. Dissolve a teaspoonful of cream tartar in a quart of boiling water; put in one teaspoonful of prepared cochineal, and then a few drops of muriate of tin. This dye is expensive, therefore use the plumage of the bird ibis.

Lilac. About two teaspoonfuls of cudbear in a quart of boiling water, let it simmer a few minutes before you put in the feathers. A small quantity of cream tartar turns the color from lilac to amethyst.

Bunches of orange blossoms can be made with good success of feathers; the buds are to be made of starch and gum mixed; the stamens of ground rice, colored with turmeric, into which the gummed ends of manilla grass have been dipped.

The inhabitants of the Pacific Islands make beautiful feather flowers, rivaling the natural ones in delicacy and beauty. Pinks, orange blossoms, and roses of exquisite workmanship are often brought from these islands. Old ostrich feathers can be made to look as well as new by holding over hot steam, then drawing each vane of the feather separately over a knife to curl it.

LUSTRAL
BRONZE PAINTING.

Prepare your board for bronzing by first coating it over with a strong solution of size, made by dissolving isinglass in hot water; strain it, and coat over with a flat camel’s hair brush while the size is warm. When dry, coat it over thinly and evenly with gold size; let it remain until sticky, then apply the powder bronze, with a soft dry brush. You may use a variety of shades of bronze if you wish; pale, blush and white. Blend them together to suit your subject, and allow two days for it to dry before commencing to paint. Make a drawing of your figure on thin white paper, rub some white on the back of it, fit it upon the picture and mark over with the sharp end of a stick, pressing on very lightly; after all is drawn in, remove the sketch, and mark over the outlines with a lead pencil, lightly. If you are copying from an engraving, notice on which part of the building the light rests, and select those parts for gold, coating them over with gold size, and putting on the leaf gold when sufficiently dry. If there are any parts of your figure which you want rich colors, do them with gold at the same time.

The painting must now be wiped with a silk handkerchief, to remove all the particles of gold and dust, and supposing the thimble palette ready, with all the colors, first mix a pale tint of purple, made with Prussian blue and a little crimson lake, and pencil over the mountains of the landscape evenly, then go over the water with a very pale shade of blue. After coating the mountains and water once, it is best not to touch them again until dry. Now paint in the foliage, making the tints with yellow lake and Prussian blue; if you want them bright for the different shades, add burnt sienna and Vandyke brown, or both, as your tints require.

Stems of trees are mostly done with Vandyke brown, and other tints added to suit; faces of figures do with white and a little sienna, mixed together; white drapery coat over with white, scarlet with scarlet, and yellow with chrome yellow; all other parts of the figures with white, except the parts you have already gilded. This will answer for the first painting.

The second shade upon the mountain is made with a neutral, composed of three primative colors, crimson lake, yellow lake, and Prussian blue. The tone you desire must predominate in making all your neutrals. If you want a greenish neutral, the yellow lake must predominate, if you wish a bluish neutral, the blue must predominate, and if reddish neutral, the crimson lake must predominate. Having selected your shade, be sure to have it about the right strength before beginning, as it is difficult to avoid a patched appearance on the mountains with varnish color, especially on the second and third coating, unless you are quick in your work. If the water requires more color, paint it in the darker places, then repeat the shades on the foliage, where it is required.

Your figures now claim some attention. Any part you wish to have crimson, paint over with crimson lake, repeat it when a little dry if you wish it darker, and for the shades add a little blue with your crimson lake. Blue dresses paint with a pale shade of Prussian blue on white or pale gold, for the shades, paint in with a little stronger Prussian blue, and when you wish to make any of these colors paler add varnish, and when you want to thin it use turpentine. Green dress, with yellow lake and Prussian blue on pale gold or white; purple dresses, with crimson lake and a little Prussian blue, on white or pale gold. Any part of the figure you do with scarlet, shade it with crimson lake; yellow, shade with burnt sienna, (pale shade). In faces, paint features in with Vandyke brown, and different tints with yellow lake, crimson lake, and sienna paled down, and repeat to suit the eye.

Parts of mountains may require a third and fourth wash, if so, do it with neutrals mentioned above. Sometimes we heighten the effects of the near foliage by touching the edges with a little opaque color, made of chrome yellow, white, and a little blue. It must be done very carefully, as opaque colors are powerful, compared with transparent ones. If what you do shows too abruptly, you have a remedy by putting on a little more of the transparent color. Parts of the figures may be heightened by touches of opaque color, and the faces also may require retouching. When the painting is completed, a full week should pass before varnishing, and great care should be taken not to touch the bronze, as it will leave a stain, bronze being so delicate.

Varnishing. In varnishing, care must be taken to have a clean brush, and the dust wiped from the painting with a silk handkerchief. Lay the painting flat, and with a one inch camel hair brush coat over with copal varnish, as evenly as possible, being careful to cover every part. Leave it flat down, as it is, for a couple of hours, or more, before removing, or the varnish is liable to run in streaks. Once varnishing is sufficient to preserve the painting, but if you wish to polish it, another coat of varnish must be given, allowing a week between; then after another week, it should be rubbed with pumice sand and water, in the following manner: Take a piece of woolen, put it over cotton, to make a rubber of it; wet the rubber pretty thoroughly with water, dip into some fine pumice sand, and rub it backwards and forwards on your varnished picture, carefully. After you have rubbed for a short time, wipe the sand from a part of it, to see the progress. If not sufficiently smooth, rub again, care being taken not to rub through the varnish. When smooth, wash all the sand off, wipe perfectly dry, and give another coat of varnish, allowing the same time for it to dry, then rub again with water and pumice sand. When smooth, wash off the sand and proceed to polish with very fine powdered rottenstone, and rubber made of satin or silk. Saturate this with water, and rub with the rottenstone for a short time, until it shines, then wash all off. You can make it shine by rubbing with your hand, using a little sweet oil and a little more rottenstone.

When wood is used for painting on, choose that which is close grained, and coat over several times with paint, rubbing down with pumice sand and water. After the third coat, give plenty of time between each coat to get dry and hard.