Cyclopedia of Painting/Scene Painting

by George D. Armstrong

SCENE PAINTING.

When purchasing any burlaps to paint the scenery on, confine the selection to a good article, which should not be too thick, and should be of a close texture, evenly woven and light. The stoutness should, however, be increased for very large scenes or drops. In place of burlaps, stout unbleached muslin is frequently employed, but it does not by any means answer so well.

With respect to the width of the canvas, that which is manufactured two yards wide is the most preferable, as the scene will not require so many seams. For ordinary scenery these seams should always run horizontally, but for a moving panorama they must assume a perpendicular direction, since the canvas on which it is represented has to be unrolled from a cylinder placed vertically on the stage at the time of exhibition.

These are the most needful articles to begin with: A common iron or tin kettle, in shape resembling a fish kettle, to melt the size in and a ladle to pour it out when required for use; an earthenware pan, about fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, to contain the whiting that has been moistened and made fit for use; about four dozen earthenware paint pots, from the smallest to the largest; a grindstone and muller, or what would do still better, a grinding color mill; a large palette knife; a good sized sponge; a plumb line; some chalk and a couple of chalk lines; some common charcoal, of which only the softest and finest pieces are to be selected; some drawing charcoal, the large French is the best; a couple of pounce bags. These can be made in the following manner: Take a piece, about eight inches square, of very open canvas, of an old stocking, or of any other material that will just allow the pounce powder to pass freely through the surface of the bag. Pulverize some charcoal, chalk, or whatever other substance may be considered best adapted to the purpose, to as fine a powder as possible. Place a sufficient quantity of it on the middle part of the canvas. Then draw up the four corners and tie them together with a piece of string so as to form a round pad which is to be rubbed over the pounce to be transferred to the canvas.

Foils. These are used chiefly in fairy scenes, for the purpose of imitating gold, silver and jewels of every shade and color. They can be purchased at any theatrical wardrobe and ornament maker's, as well as at oil and color shops.

White, Gold and Copper-Colored Dutch Metal. This is also sold by the above-mentioned dealers. It is, of course, cheaper, but tarnishes sooner.

A couple of wooden palettes, one three feet by one and a half, the other four feet by two, which any carpenter can make. They should have a ledge three inches high at each end, and one at the back to prevent the colors from flowing off. They may be made with a separate division for each color if preferred. Before making use of the palettes they must have three or four coats of white lead laid over them and afterwards be rubbed down with sandpaper to get them as smooth as possible.

A Flogger. This implement is employed for clearing away the charcoal after the sketching in is completed. To make one, cut off a piece, about two feet long, from a broomstick, and round one end of it nail about a dozen strips of canvas or calico, each strip being two feet in length.

Straight Edges. Of these, three or four will be required, one being exactly two yards long and four inches wide and marked off in feet, to serve as a measure. They should be made of thin deal and have a flange at each edge. One of them should be thin and pliable enough to bear being bent whenever drawing curves or arches.

The mode of proceeding will then be as follows: Grasp the handle with the left hand and press the lower edge of the straightedge against the canvas, keeping the upper edge away from it. Now, resting the brush on the upper edge, draw it along the canvas and a line is ruled. It would be advisable to practice ruling lines in this way as it will be found to present a little difficulty at first.

Brushes. Of these you will require:

• Two each flat hog tools, Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24.
• One each sash tools, Nos. 1 and 12.
• Two each sash tools, Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
• One 4-inch flat camel hair brush.
• Two each quilled tools, Nos. 2, 4 and 6.
• Six each quilled tools, No. 1.
• Two 9-oz. ground distemper brushes.
• Two No. 8-0 oval ground brushes.
• One No. 4-0 over ground brush.
• One No. 1 oval ground brush.
• One No. 3 oval ground brush.

COLORS.

White. Procure the best gilders' whiting, as it is well washed and has more body than common whiting, and less lime. It is sold in large lumps and only requires to be broken up and plunged into as much water as will serve to soften it without bringing it into a liquid state. This last remark applies to all the colors when they are put into the stock pots ready for use. Whiting is used to mix with almost all the colors, to reduce them, in the same way as Flake white is used in oil painting or as water is used in water color drawing.

Flake White. A fine white, very solid, but turns a little brown in distemper, after a short time. It is only used where extra brightness is required and for the highest lights. It is sokl in lumps and can be crushed in water with a palette knife to be ready for use.

Zinc White. Very white, but has less body than flake white, though more permanent. In all other respects it is the same and is prepared in the same way for use.

Lemon Chrome. A brilliant light yellow, sold in lumps, and only requires to be crushed as above.

Orange Chrome. A fine rich bright color, in all respects of the same nature as the other chrome.

Dutch Pink. A most useful yellow for distemper painting and mixes well with any other color. It is sold in lumps, but must be ground in water to be ready for use.

Light Yellow Ochre. This is a very useful and cheap color. It is sold in a powdered state and only requires to be plunged into water to be ready for use.

Dark Brown Ochre. Of the same nature as the above and prepared for use in the same way; unfortunately, it is very sandy.

Raw Sienna. A fine rich golden yellow, for glazing, chiefly; sold in broken lumps, very hard, and requires most careful grinding in water to be ready for use. As grinding shall be often spoken of let it be understood that it is always in water.

Orange Lead. A very bright and powerful red, sold in powder; requires only to be plunged in water to be ready for use.

Vermilion. A fine red, sold in powder, and only requires to be plunged in water.

Indian Red. A good color, also sold in powder, and prepared in the same way for use.

Venetian Red. A very cheap and useful color, also in powder, and prepared in the same way for use. Damp Lake. A useful color in distemper. It is sold in a damp, pulpy state and only requires to be kept damp for use. It is a fine glazing color.

Carmine Paste. A magnificent color, has great power, and is a fine glazing color. This, also, only requires to be kept damp, as it is sold ready for use. It need not be put on the palette till required.

Rose Pink. A useful color, sold in soft lumps, but requires grinding for use.

Brown Lake. A good color, requires grinding.

Burnt Sienna. A fine color, requires most careful grinding. This is a good glazing color.

Vandyke Brown. A fine useful color, is a good glazing one, requires most careful grinding.

Raw Umber. A useful color, requires grinding.

Burnt Umber. A good color, requires grinding, and is a good glazing color.

Drop Black. A very useful color, requires grinding.

Blue Black. Is also useful, requires grinding.

Indigo. A very useful color, very hard, requires to be broken up and steeped in boiling water for some time, then ground up in the usual way. A good glazing color.

German Ultramarine. A good blue, sold in powder, and only requires to be plunged in water.

Prussian Blue. A powerful blue, hitherto scarcely used in distemper, but likely to be of much use. Requires good grinding.

Azure Blue. A fine, useful blue, better than German ultramarine for most purposes. A powder color and has only to be plunged in water.

Blue Verditer. A fine night color, but of a sandy nature, and very difficult to work with. A powder color and requires only water put to it for use.

Dark Green Lake. A most powerful green and very useful. Requires grinding for use.

Light Green Lake. The same as the above, only much lighter.

Emerald Green. A very bright green and should be sparingly used. Requires no grinding, as it is in powder.

MIXING COLORS.

The most difficult feature of painting: in distemper is that the colors dry so much lighter than they are when first put on, and many of them have, by gaslight, an entirely different appearance than they have in the daytime. Most colors dry several shades lighter than they are when wet, and, worse still, they do not all dry lighter in the same proportion, so that any person new to the work cannot estimate the particular shade of his paint when first laid on. It is, therefore, advisable for the painter to try his colors on a small scale at first, and dry them in front of the fire.

To render the colors opaque, a certain proportion of whiting or flake white is always mixed with them, according to the shade desired. Transparent and glazing colors being an exception to this rule, no whiting is used with them. The strength of the size also makes a vast difference; very strong size darkens. As to the appearance of colors at night: French ultramarine, a bright blue by daylight, is a muddy purple by gaslight, and therefore unfit for distant tints or for brightness. Verditer blue, cobalt blue, celestial blue are best. Yellow is much lighter by gaslight, and rose pink loses its brightness. The colors being all mixed with water to a pulpy state are now put into the compartments on the palette, putting no more on the palette than is required for immediate use. In scene painting many of the different shades are only obtained by mixing one color with the other while on the palette. The way to do this is as follows: Suppose a purple is wanted, the painter would take up a clean brush and dip it in the size-can; he would then transfer it quickly to the compartment on the palette containing the rose pink, and having got a good brushful of his color, would spread it on the palette; he would then dip the brush in the ultramarine and mix this also with the rose pink, and to get it a shade or two lighter he would dip the brush in the whiting pan. Tints composed of three or four colors can be rapidly compounded in this way, adding more size as often as required to render them workable. Where a lot of color is required, as for skies, the colors are mixed in pots, and to get the various tints the painter dips his brush first in one pot and then in another, and in this way puts in a sky of perhaps a dozen different hues.

For foliage, a quiet general tint may be obtained by mixing Dutch pink with black, indigo with blue verditer. Light ochre with green lake gives a rich green, which may be changed to a cool one by the addition of indigo. For sunset skies mix in separate pots the following: verditer and indigo; verditer and damp lake; damp lake and orange chrome. For clouds, mix verditer and orange red, or Venetian red and azure blue; rose pink and azure blue. For cold gray clouds add a little black. For lights in clouds, mix yellow ochre and rose pink, or yellow ochre and orange red. For distant foliage mix verditer and rose pink, or use Dutch pink alone. For the sea, Dutch pink, verditer, indigo, raw sienna, azure blue and emerald green will be found most useful. For rocks some of the following tints will be useful: indigo, burnt sienna and rose pink—emerald green and black—Vandyke brown and ultramarine—indigo, rose pink and ochre. Black and Venetian red make a useful gray. For gold colors mix brown ochre and Dutch pink, or Dutch pink and sienna or Vandyke brown, these for laying in. For the lights use flake white and lemon chrome, orange and yellow chrome, chrome and Dutch pink. Purple and mauve look fresh by day, but are dirty and muddy by gaslight. For moonlight skies a good tint is verditer and indigo mixed. For clouds add black and more indigo. Water is generally the color of the sky and the objects that are reflected therein, such as trees, banks and rushes. For branches and trunks of trees, use indigo, lake and yellow ochre—burnt sienna and ultramarine—Dutch pink, burnt sienna and indigo. For grass, use pure greens, mixing more or less yellow chrome for high lights. In painting dead leaves use chrome and burnt sienna. For stone buildings, mix yellow ochre, umber and indigo, or ochre, celestial blue and red. For bricks, Venetian red, and for shadows add ultramarine. Where fire is reflected use orange lead.

Great care should be taken in mixing tints, for some colors like Prussian blue are so strong that a very little will suffice, so if used without due thought it becomes necessary to add more of the other colors.

Some painters mix molasses or golden syrup with their size, which makes the colors work more freely. In painting a scene on a new cloth the first thing to be done, after the canvas is strained, . is to size it all over. This is done with strong size, size melted in a kettle with just water enough to prevent burning.

MEDIUM FOR BINDING DISTEMPER COLORS.

Size is sold in firkins or by weight. That called best double is to be preferred and when melted must be mixed with water in the proportion of one pint of size to four pints of water to make what is called working size. Another called strong size, for sizing and priming a cloth or any piece covered with canvas, may be made by dropping the size, exactly as it comes from the shop, into a size kettle in which there is just sufficient water to prevent the size adhering to the bottom of the kettle. The size is ready for using as soon as it is completely melted, without having been allowed to boil. Use is frequently made of what is called half-and-half size, a mixture of working size and strong size in equal quantities.

Should the painter be unable to procure manufactured size, the best carpenters' glue is a good substitute for it. This can be obtained almost anywhere, and, in an unmelted state, will keep good in all climates. It can be melted in a carpenter's glue pot in the usual way and then weakened with water till it is of the consistence required. The quantity of water will depend on the strength of the glue, which varies considerably, but, in any ease, keep on adding as much water as will allow the glue size to set in the form of a firm jelly when cold, and if to one part of this there are added four of water, the result will be working size. Half-and-half can be made as before.

In moderately cool weather working size should assume the condition of a weak jelly when perfectly cold. Test the strength of it without waiting for it to cool, by the following means: Thin the strong size with water till about the right consistency. Then, after dipping your fingers into it, put them together a little while; if, on endeavoring to separate them they adhere ever so little, the size is properly made, but if they stick together quickly and rather firmly, it is too strong and wants weakening. If, on the other hand, the fingers separate quite freely, the size requires to be made stronger. This method of testing the strength of the working size is worth attending to as well as practicing; for if use is made of size that is too strong, your work will have a shiny appearance and the effect will be spoiled, while the colors would soon wear off if the size has been made too weak.

But should even carpenters' glue be unprocurable or not at hand when required, use leather or parchment cuttings, pieces of skin of any kind, or, in short, of any gelatinous substance that has no grease in it. Put them with water into any metal vessel and let them simmer till they are converted into a strong jelly, from which can be produced the same descriptions of size as those already alluded to.

As size does not keep well during the hot weather, when it gives off a very offensive odor, do not make more then than will suffice for the day's work. A little carbolic acid, however, mixed with the size will prevent its decomposition. The mixed colors, likewise, will probably deteriorate before the scene is finished, should the weather be hot. In that case, if the color sinks to the bottom of the mixture, the size will float on the top. Pour this out and replace it with fresh size.

TO PREPARE THE CANVAS.

If the dimensions of the canvas do not exceed that of the frame, strain it and nail it on with 1+¹⁄₂ or 2-inch clout nails, about four inches apart from each other, taking care that the threads of the canvas have perpendicular and horizontal directions. The nails should only be driven home about halfway, as, when the painting is finished, they will all have to be taken out again in order to remove the canvas from the frame. Having thus strained and fastened the canvas so as to get it to lie tolerably smooth on the frame, apply the size to it as afterwards directed and the whole will be stretched as tight as a drum-head.

But suppose the canvas is too large to allow the frame to take in the whole height of the scene, which frequently happens even in regular painting rooms, resort must be had to what is called a bight in the canvas and proceed thus: Nail the top of the canvas along a straight line drawn on the top of the frame, and let the remainder lie evenly down the front, dropping the portion of the canvas that extends beyond the bottom of the frame through the cut, if there be one, or gathering it up carefully below. Now drive a nail through the end of a seam that is about halfway between the top and bottom of the frame, after having pulled it slightly downwards, keeping the side edge of the canvas even with the side of the frame. Then measure how far the nail last drove in is from the top or bottom of the frame, and nail the other end of the scam to the other side of the frame at the same relative distance. Next stretch a chalk line from one nail to the other and make it fast. This will furnish a horizontal line, parallel, of course, to the top and bottom of the frame. Now give a downward pull to the middle part of the canvas at the bottom of the frame till the seam before spoken of is level with the chalk line at the center and fasten it to the frame with a clout nail. In the same way pull and fasten the canvas at each side of the above point, at intervals of four inches, till the corners are reached, when the line in which the seam is ought to coincide with that shown by the chalk line. In doing this be careful not to pull the canvas sideways, but quite perpendicularly and so that no wrinkles should form. Strain out and nail down the sides, pulling them in a horizontal direction and not harder than is necessary to make the canvas lie tolerably flat. The work being thus far satisfactorily accomplished, remove the chalk line and commence sizing as follows: Heat some of the strong size before described, and with a two-knot brush apply it to the canvas, commencing at the top of the frame and working crosswise from one side to the other to the depth of about two feet. Keep the canvas tolerably well soaked with the size, and let no part remain uncovered, except about six inches above where the bottom row of nails are driven, so that the marks caused by the latter may be afterwards got rid of. Continue thus till the whole surface of the canvas is covered up to about six inches from the bottom nails.

When all the size that has been applied to the canvas is perfectly dry, proceed with the priming. The priming is made in the following manner: Take as much of the whiting that has been soaked in water as will suffice to cover the whole surface of the canvas, taking care that it is thoroughly dissolved and free from lumps. Drain the water well from it and mix it with strong size only. The priming should now be of such a consistency that when a brush full of it is drawn against the side of the pot or pail which contains it, it will run down and as much remain on the side as will leave no part uncovered. The priming should also flow freely from the brush, but yet have enough body in it to impart, when dry, a nice even white surface to the canvas.

In laying in the priming, the flat of the brush, not the edge, should first be moved up and down the canvas with as long a stretch as possible, then horizontally, and afterwards perpendicularly again. Repeat these actions till the canvas is well covered, finishing off horizontally. Begin at the top, and the splashes will become smoothened as you proceed downwards with the priming. Be very careful to well cover the canvas, for it is most vexatious to have to touch up those places that have been left bare or not sufficiently covered, and the surface never looks so clear, or is so fit to work on as when all the priming is done whilst wet. The same precaution, also, must be taken in the priming as in the sizing, namely, not to prime nearer than six inches from the bottom row of nails.

As soon as the priming is quite dry, proceed to take in the bight before spoken of which is done in the following manner: Suppose, for example, that the canvas is eight feet deeper than the frame. At the distance of three inches from the top, which must be allowed for the row of nails, measure eight feet downwards on each side of the frame, and there strike a line across with charcoal. Then, with a pair of carpenter's pincers, draw out all the nails except those in the top row. Now let an assistant take hold of the canvas at one end of line just struck, and one or two other assistants, according to the width of the canvas, are holding the parts that are between. Let all then pinch the canvas along the struck line into a straight fold, and afterwards lift that part simultaneously till it is just under the top row of nails, being careful that the canvas which is folding itself at the back is made to lie evenly, and with as few creases as possible. If the lifting has been properly performed, the canvas will not have shifted, either to the right or to the left, and will hang tolerably even. Next drive a clout nail a little below and in the middle of the fold, and then other ones on each side, at intervals of four inches, as before, some one else helping you to keep the fold even and parallel to the top line of clouts while the tacking is being carried on. All that remains to be done is to tack down the two sides, straining out from the center towards each side. If there be a seam in the part of the canvas just lifted up, get it horizontal by means of the chalk line and nails, as before explained, which would also serve to regulate the tacking at the bottom. Now size and prime the new surface in the same manner as before, using the size and priming hot, and the whole of the canvas will present a uniform appearance.