Very many thanks for your interesting and exhaustive investigations on the French lakes. I observe that in several cases you mention lakes having cracked. I presume, however, there is no reason to suppose they would do this when embodied with other colours, and that if otherwise safe they might therefore be used. The purple lake used by our friend Watts is furnished to him, I have always understood, by Messrs. Newton of Rathbone Place. I am glad to hear so good an account of the pale boiled linseed oil from May & Baker, Ltd., of Battersea. I do not, however, gather from what you say that there can be any reason for substituting it for Bell's medium, to which I am much attached, and which, as you know, is, with the admixture of one-third rectified essence of turpentine, the only vehicle I use. This note, of course, requires no acknowledgment—anything you may have to say on these various points will abundantly keep until I get a further account of your investigations on the purple lake.
Many thanks for your valuable caution. Amongst the lakes you tried, did you include the garance nuance brun and do. brun foncé? Both are superb colours, and it would be nice to think one might use them. It is very comfortable to feel that one has a conscience one can tune at Shelsley.
April 19, 1894.
I am about now to take up a large decorative painting for the Exchange, a work which cannot be done on the spot on account, inter alia, of the darkness of the place, and will, therefore, be carried out here at the studio on canvas, and then "marouflé" on the wall. Macbeth (A.R.A.), who is also doing one, is using Parris's "Marble medium," in which, a thousand years ago, I painted two figures for mosaic at South Kensington; great brilliancy is obtainable, but I rather fear a certain tendency to look waxy and almost shiny. I myself incline to use Gambier Parry's material, which I have used on the wall at South Kensington and greatly like. But now the question arises, ought the canvas to be prepared? and on this I shall be grateful for your opinion, as the matter is very important. G. Parry told me that canvas either could or should be prepared for his medium, I don't remember which. Roberson's man tells me that Madox Brown and Fredk. Shields (I think) both had canvases prepared for a similar purpose. I shall postpone ordering mine till I have your instructions; till when, and always, I am, in much haste.
April 23, 1894.
Many thanks for your letter. I shall, of course, obey your instructions punctually, and substitute paraffin wax for the ordinary Brecknell and Turner beeswax, as prescribed by Parry himself. I will see Roberson immediately, for I should not think it right, as he ground the colours and prepared the medium throughout for my two large frescoes at South Kensington, to abandon him in favour of Laurie, or anybody else.
You suggest that I should make a little experiment on a small canvas. Do you think that would be necessary? I presume that the material will work exactly as it did before, and that the surface will be—bar the granulation—very much the same as on a wall. I ask this question, because I ought to get to work immediately, and I gather from a reference to your work that it will take several weeks before the process of preparation is complete.