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

Backgrounds.—For backgrounds there is no established rule; a head may be relieved by a light, or dark background, either producing good effect. A dark background is not always suitable for female loveliness.

Backgrounds are not to be rubbed in mechanically, with the idea that any dark shade will relieve any light, or that any middle tint will suffice. As a general rule, the background around the head should be lower in tone than the half tints of the face, and lighter than the shades—to disengage the head.

Where the paper becomes greasy or glazed by the too frequent application of the pastel, or the finger, it may be necessary to rub it with pumice pounce, or with cuttle-fish, lightly.

If the paper stretches by constant pressure on it, you can remedy it by wetting the back with a light solution of alum water.

Landscape Painting
WITH
CRAYON COLORS.

The crayons used are much harder than the soft kind required in portraits; they are manufactured expressly for landscapes, and resemble firm chalk. The following is a list of the most useful crayons: White, Italian chalk; straw colors and light yellow, blue, grey, vermilion and Indian reds; blacks, conte crayons Nos. 1, 2 and 3. The white Italian chalk is used both for light touches and blending all the other crayons into which it may be worked.

The black conte chalks are also of the utmost importance; Nos. 1 and 2, the harder degrees, are used for outlining, and the softest degree, No. 3, may be blended with many colors to reduce their tones.

The Paper. The paper must be a good quality of drawing paper, such as will take the crayon, and it must supply a good middle tint, as the color of the paper appears through almost every passage of the finished work. A soft paper of a low-toned olive tint, which has been found by long experience to be better adapted than any other for landscape drawing, as affording an agreeable neutral, upon which warm or cold tones, lights or shadows, may be placed with the best effect.

Arranging the Paper. Attach the paper to a drawing-board with thumb tacks, in order that it may be kept smooth and level while the flat tints are rubbed in. It is well to select paper some larger than your design, so as to give the picture a margin.