Procure a fine quality of French glass, make perfectly clean with alcohol, then apply with a stiff brush a coat of damar varnish; after drying about an hour, apply another coat, evenly and smoothly; this allow to dry about ten minutes, or just long enough to make it sticky. Procure an uncolored steel engraving that you may desire to see painted, and trim off all the paper not connected with the picture. Dampen it with a sponge or wet cloth, and while yet damp place the engraving on the glass with the face to the varnish, rubbing with your dry hand or cloth until every part adheres to the surface, and all air has been removed, rubbing from the center.
Lay this away a few hours, until it is perfectly dry, then dampen the picture again, and commence rubbing therefrom the paper; continue this until you have removed every vestige of the same, nothing remaining upon the glass but the face of the engraving. Now apply a coat of boiled oil, let it dry fifteen or twenty minutes, and apply another, or a coat of varnish, evenly and smoothly; after laying an hour or two it is ready to receive the paint. As the paper has been all removed the colors will strike through readily. Arrange the glass to the light in such a manner that you may see through it, and apply the colors to the engraving on the back, as in the Grecian oil. The outlines and shades are already produced by the engraving, and all that is necessary now is to place the colors where they belong, which, with a little practice, can soon be acquired.
The paints used are, yellow lake, yellow ochre, chrome yellow, chrome green, Prussian blue, burnt sienna, Vandyke brown, ivory black, verdigris green, silver white, mixed with damar varnish. Use brushes as in Grecian oil.
THE
GRECIAN OIL PAINTING.
Grecian oil paintings are made from engravings and lithographs. There is but little of it done in this country; and, although there was quite an interest manifested in it here a few years ago, it did not live long, and this is the first time I have seen the instructions in print since or before.
We select the engraving most desired to hang upon our walls, (regardless of size), and place it upon a frame or stretcher with small tacks or glue; this prepares it for the work. When ready, commence by sponging it with clean water; when dry, saturate it well with turpentine, applied with a large size paint brush; when this is done, apply Grecian varnish in the same way, spreading it smoothly and evenly over the surface, until all the dry spots in the paper have entirely disappeared. The application may be made on either side of the picture. When done, let it lay level (with the face down), twenty-four hours, and it will then do to paint, if free from spots and perfectly transparent. When you commence upon the back to paint, follow the lines with those colors necessary to make it look natural; the shading being made by the engraving, nothing is necessary but to apply the colors required. Suit your taste in choosing those colors. Mix the paints with varnish made from balsam fir three parts, alcohol two parts, and spirits of turpentine one part; or use tube paints, which are already prepared.
In painting the figure of a person, if the eyes are blue, mix Prussian blue and white; for dark eyes or hair, Vandyke brown works with good effect; for flesh color, mix red, white and a little yellow, adding a little more red for lips or cheeks. You may suit your own taste in regard to the color for background, but I will suggest equal parts of blue, red, green, and Vandyke brown, covering all that part which is not connected with the object you have painted. Don’t apply a second color until the first is perfectly dry. When done, give the face a coat of varnish.
The colors suitable for this painting are chrome yellow, yellow lake, emerald green, carmine, Prussian blue, burnt sienna, raw sienna, Vandyke brown, ivory black and silver lake.