PAINTING IN WATER COLOURS. 



u t'.nu which pervades all within the immediate space that 

 Hiirn.unili th. -m, l.-t tli.-ir ooloura bo whatever they may, 

 brightur ami iimro poMtivu OH thoj approach, and gradually 



I .nniitf mom HiiliiliRvl mill nimtralised an they recede, until in 



Hi- < vtiriiin distance gruy tint* prevail over the whole. If, 

 whun about to uommoix-0 .1 putm In, MI N . uru, we fiwt make an 

 rv.uniM.it i.. 11 of tho subject, and notice the several gradation* of 

 .-..],. ur itn.l tone aa they fall back in tho landscape, we shall not 

 secure much upon which tho character of the scene 

 .|.-[..'inl-i. Tins practioe of observation we have before recom- 

 Mi"irl,"l ; it is 11 study that can be j.urauod at any time, whether 

 u . luivo our materials for painting' with us or nut, for the book 

 tire in always open, and every one may road it when ho 

 chooses. Aa we wish these lessons to be especially useful to 

 those who wmil<l pn-tVr painting from Nature, wo will direct 

 our instruction* in that .'ml, although at tho same time wo hope 

 to afford some useful hints to copyists. Aa a copy must bo 

 subject to tho stylo, colour, and tone of tho original, special 

 >un about it cannot bo given, as tho various modea of 

 treatment practised by artists differ so widely, and each seeks tho 

 same result by a distinct process, best understood by himself. 



Our first consideration will bo the implements and materials 

 required, which wo arrange in this order: Colours, brushes, 

 P:I;T, three or four small saucers to contain an extra quantity 

 nf colour for broad washings, a sponge, a drawing board, drawing 

 pins, a pieco of wash-leather or old linen rag for wiping out the 

 lights, mill a few sheets of blotting paper, or a blotting-pad. 



Colours. Those need not bo numerous ; too many afford a 

 strong temptation to use them when not necessary, and thus en- 

 danger the unity of tone so desirable throughout the picture. 

 Tho most useful box is tho japanned tin folding box, fitted 

 with moist colours in pans ; these are of various sizes, each 

 having a folding loaf to be used as a palette, and the lid when 

 open presents two or throo divisions of a concave form for 

 mixing washing tints ; it is small enough to be conveniently 

 carried in tho pocket ; to this must bo added a japanned tin 

 oup to hold the water ; this can bo fixed to the box when used. 

 Tho arrangement of the colours may be as follows : Gamboge, 

 yellow ocb.ro, raw sienna, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna, light 

 red, Indian red, vermilion, crimson lake, burnt umber, madder 

 brown, terre verte, Prussian blue, brown pink, indigo, cobalt and 

 sepia. Those in italics may be half cakes, the others which 

 come more frequently into use should bo whole cakes. It will 

 be better to be provided also with flexible tubes of the respec- 

 tive colours having screw capsules, from which the pans, when 

 exhausted, can be replenished by squeezing a portion into 

 them. Great improvements have lately been made in tho 

 manufacture of colours of various descriptions for water- 

 colour painting. 



Brushes. Tho most useful kind of brushes are those of red 

 sable in tin ferules with varnished wooden handles; they are 

 either flat or round, and are usually used for oil-painting : as 

 they are of various sizes, we recommend Nos. 1, 4, 6, and 8 for 

 small drawings up to the size of a quarter of a sheet of imperial 

 paper, fifteen inches by ten. There is a more expensive kind in 

 German silver ferules and ebony handles, but we have found 

 those we have mentioned to be quite sufficient and serviceable. 



Paper. This is a very important consideration for the pupil, 

 as ho will bo left very much to his own choice in the selection. 

 " Whatman's " is most in use, having a firm surface. Upon 

 paper that is too absorbent, like the cartridge papers, the 

 colours sink in and remain dull and flat. Harding's drawing 

 papers may be recommended ; they have a slightly warm tone, 

 and are recognised by the initials " J. D. H." stamped in the 

 corner. The paper for painting upon should be a little rough, 

 it receives the colour bettor than smooth hot-pressed paper : 

 smooth papers are better for pencil drawing. An imperial sheet 

 out into four or eight portions furnishes very convenient sizes 

 for drawing from Nature. These papers aro to be had bound in 

 blocks of all sizes, always ready for use, for when a drawing is 

 completed, we have only to slip a knife under tho edge, pass it 

 round, and remove tho drawing, and another surface presents 

 itself. For large drawings it would be better to fix tho paper 

 on a drawing board in the following manner : With a soft 

 sponge wet both sides freely, without rubbing, lest the surface 

 be disturbed, allow it to remain a few minutes to expand, and then 

 turn up the edges all round about half an inch wide, and cover 

 tho edges thus turned over with stiff paste, put them down 



again, and place a piece of blotting paper, folded two or three 

 tun.--, mosj t.'i- !,<, pnsj MM * . Iowa u : : ' m to 



dry ; if, in the course of a few minutes it is found upon eraiutna- 

 tion that the body of the paper is likely to become dry before the 

 edges, wet the sponge again, and dab it over the paper, SVCM* 

 the pasted edfes , the object tn keeping the paper damp ia the 

 middle is to secure the drying of the edges before the rest of 

 the paper, otherwise aa it contract* it will fly up. la re-damp- 

 ing the paper great care must be taken not to rub it: the injury 

 this would cause would soon be discovered after the colours are 

 laid upon it, for, the surface having been destroyed, the colours 

 would blotch, and dark irregular patches would appear, for 

 which there is no remedy. If the paper is merely fixed on with 

 drawing pins there will be no necessity to wet it, but it should 

 be rubbed all over gently with india-rubber before eommanniaf 

 the outline, as the colours will then spread more evenly. Upon 

 very hard papers when the colour is first applied, H runs 

 together as though the paper were greasy, owing to the quan- 

 tity of sizing and the pressure it receives in the manufacture 

 the use of india-rubber will prevent this : some artiste vat a 

 medium, or preparation of ox-gall for this purpose, but we hare 

 found, if the india-rubber is carefully used, no disappointment 

 ensues in the flow of the colours. If we sit too close, or bead 

 over tho drawing, we breathe upon it, and that interferes with 

 tho free spreading of tho colour ; here again, india-rubber will 

 help us out of the difficulty. There U nothing particular to say 

 respecting the saucers, drawing board, and other materials, 

 excepting the use of the blotting pad ; this is for the purpose of 

 drawing the brush backwards along the surface in order to 

 obtain a fine point, or to exhaust an unnecessary quantity of 

 water it may hold before taking off any edge of colour which 

 requires to be softened down ; a much better and cleaner prac- 

 tice than putting the brush into the month, as many do. 



Flat Tinting. The first exercise will be to make an even 

 tint ; this may be either uniform or graduated. Pin down or 

 strain a piece of paper about the size of a quarter of a sheet of 

 imperial ; rub it all over gently with a piece of india-rubber, and 

 place it on a table having the upper edge raised so as to form 

 an angle of about 25 or 30. Mix in a saucer a middle tint of 

 sepia, indigo, lake, or any other transparent colour ; about a 

 table-spoonful will be sufficient to cover a piece of paper of the 

 above size : the pupil must bear in mind that in all oases of fiat 

 tinting, a sufficient quantity oi colour must be prepared to last 

 through tho process, for if he has to replenish the saucer before 

 the paper is covered, he will find it difficult to match the exact 

 tint again, and unless he does so the surface will be irregular. 

 For a uniform tint, he must commence at the top of the paper, 

 avoiding the pasted edges, and with a full brush pass from left 

 to right in a horizontal direction, fill the brush again, and pass 

 from right to left, taking up the edge of the first layers repeat 

 this successively, backward and forward, constantly 



the brush, and taking especial care that st*ry part w covered at 

 he proceeds, so that there may bo no necessity to retouch it, as 

 this would produce cut shades (stains and patches), which spoil 

 the tint. When the whole is covered to the bottom of the paper, 

 if there is a quantity of colour remaining at the edge, exhaust 

 the brush on the blotting paper, and pass it very carefully. 

 without rubbing, along the overcharged parts ; it will take up 

 all that is not wanted, and then the paper may be left (stall 

 inclined) to dry. After a trial or two, a tint may be carried 

 from the top to the bottom of a sheet of paper of any sue 

 without leaving the least mark or stain ; and the more trans- 

 parent tho colour, the more even will be the tint. The great secret 

 in making an even tint lies in using plenty of colour, so that it 

 may flow down after the brush aa it descends ; great care must be 

 taken that the brush passes horizontally across the paper, and 

 in no other direction. A paper tinted with a light tone of sepia 

 is very useful for effective sepia drawings upon which the high 

 lights may bo picked out ; this will engage our attention again. 

 A graduated tint is one that becomes darker or lighter as H 

 extends. This is especially required for skies and backgrounds. 

 T-i make a graduated tint increasing in tone, have two or three 

 saucers prepared with different degrees of depth of colour, the 

 first being very light. Commence all along the top of the paper 

 with a brush full of water only, then dip it into the first tint 

 and pass it across once, perhaps twice, or even oftener if the 

 extent to be covered is considerable ; then continue with the 

 second. Let us remind our pupils that in every case the brush 



