CHINA PAINTING 



1354 . 



CHINA PAINTING 



smoothly worked. This medium is usually 

 spirits of turpentine, although many painters 

 prefer clove-oil, oil of lavender, tar-oil, balsam 

 of copaiba, or aniseed-oil. 



Brushes and Pads. Brushes called square 

 shadcrs are considered best for general use 

 and should figure in the collection in small, 

 medium and large sizes. There are also 

 blender, pointed and tinting brushes, sable 

 liners for putting in the delicate touches, and 

 various other kinds. A pad, or pounce, made 

 of cotton covered with soft China silk or an 

 old silk handkerchief, is used for tinting large 

 surfaces and to some extent in blending. 

 Brushes are quickly cleaned for use with a 

 different color by dipping them into turpentine 

 or alcohol, but the special ones kept for gold, 

 enamels and India ink should never be used 

 for the colors. 



Choosing the Design. The first essential of 

 the design is appropriateness. It must harmon- 

 ize both with the shape of the article and with 

 its purpose. The design must also be adapted 

 to the space it is to adorn. A small vase or jar 

 decorated with an elaborate landscape looks 

 overloaded and uninteresting, whereas a deli- 

 cate spray of blossoms or leaves or an at- 

 tractive conventional design would have made 

 it a thing of beauty, artistic and harmonious. 



Drawing the Outline. After the design has 

 been selected, the next thing is to decide how 

 often it is to be repeated on the piece of 

 china awaiting decoration. If one is painting 

 a plate whose border calls for five applications 

 or "repeats" of the design, the rim of the plate 

 on the under side is accurately marked off 

 into fifths by means of a cardboard measuring 

 device called a plate-divider. Next the plate 

 is washed perfectly clean and then rubbed over 

 with a cloth moistened with spirits of turpen- 

 tine, which gives the pencil lines a surface to 

 adhere to. 



If the design is a simple one it is frequently 

 drawn freehand; if complicated, or if the 

 worker is not skilful at drawing, a tracing from 

 copy is generally made on transparent tracing 

 paper and transferred to the china by going 

 over the lines with some sharp point, such as 

 that of a hard lead pencil or an ivory stylus. 

 Most painters then secure the drawing by re- 

 tracing with India ink applied with a pen or a 

 very fine, pointed brush; or, if the finished 

 work is to show an outline, they put it in at 

 once with the mineral paints in the desired 

 color, after which the piece is fired in order 

 to fix the lines. In either case, the outline is 



A PORTABLE KILN 



fundamental and must be carefully aud accu- 

 rately drawn. 



The Actual Painting. The next step is to 

 make up or "set" the palette with the colors 

 needed for working out the design. The worker 

 is then ready to 

 fill the spaces 

 with color and 

 apply the gold, 

 enamel or luster 

 called for by the 

 design. Sure, 

 firm strokes, 

 making correc- 

 tions unnecessary, 

 are needed in ap- 

 plying mineral 

 paints ; for it 

 must be borne in 

 mind that, being 

 transparent, they 

 do not allow the 

 same working- 

 over that is pos- 

 sible with oils. One also must know which 

 colors can be used together. A gold color such 

 as ruby, for instance, will "eat" an iron color 

 such as carnation, if painted over it, while 

 yellows will eat almost any color over which 

 they are applied. 



When the painting is completed the china 

 is sent to the kiln for its first firing. If there 

 is gold in the design it will need at least one 

 more painting and then a second firing; and, 

 in fact, the oftener the process is repeated, the 

 heavier and richer the gold will look. It is 

 not always necessary to go over the painting 

 itself the second time, although this is generally 

 done to enrich the color. It is not until the 

 china has had its last firing that the gold 

 portions are polished with what is called a 

 glass burnisher, which is a brush made of 

 spun glass; less frequently an agate burnisher 

 is used, and sometimes burnishing sand. 



What a China Kiln Is Like. There are many 

 different makes of china kilns on the market, 

 but in general those adapted for home or 

 studio use are similar to the portable kiln here 

 illustrated. This is made of metal lined 

 throughout with fire-brick. The model shown 

 burns kerosene oil, which seems generally 

 conceded to be the ideal fuel because of its 

 cheapness, availability, ease of ^regulation and 

 freedom from disagreeable odors as well as 

 noxious gases that might affect the brilliancy 

 of the colors. There are kilns burning gas or 



