254 
PAINTING. 
water-colours ; that is, with earths infufed in water and 
diluted in iize. 
For a common white kind of this painting, fteep Spa- 
nilh-white moderately pounded in water for two hours. 
Infufe a proper quantity of the black of charcoal in water 
for the fame fpace of time ; mix the black and white in 
the proportion that the tint requires ; afterwards mix 
them up with a pretty ftrong fize fufficiently thick and 
warm, and apply them to the fubjeft in as many layers as 
may be thought neceflary. It requires about two pounds 
of white in a pint of water, and a quantity of black in 
proportion to the tint, together with a part of fize, to 
cover a fquare fathom. If this be employed on old walls, 
they mull be well 1 craped, the dull bruihed oft' with a hair 
beibm, and walked carefully with lime-water. If on new 
plalter, the colours require more fize. 
All kinds of colours may be ground in water only when 
the tint is made ; and, when they have been infufed in 
water, they mult be mixed up with fize. In general, it 
requires about a pound of colours to paint a fquare fa¬ 
thom (fix feet fquare) in water-colours. In making-up 
this quantity, take three-fourths of colours ground in 
water, and one-fourth of a pound, or fix ounces, of fize 
to dilute it. 
Of Varnijhed Water-Colours. —The advantages of this 
kind of painting are, that the colours do not fade ; that 
they reflect the light; that they give no offenfive fmell, 
but permit the places to be inhabited as foon as finilhed ; 
and that the varnifk preferves the wood from infefts and 
moifture. 
To make a fine varnifh on water-colours, feven opera¬ 
tions are neceflary; namely, to fize the wood, to prepare 
the white, to foften and rub the fubjeft, to clean the 
moulding, to paint, to fize, and to varnifh. 
1. To fize the wood, is to give one or two layers of fize 
to the fubjeft which you intend to paint. Take three 
heads of garlic and a handful of wormwood-leaves ; boil 
them in three pints of water till they are reduced to one ; 
pafs the juice through a linen cloth, and mix it with a 
pint of parchment-iize; add half a handful of fait and 
half a pint of vinegar; and boil the whole on the fire. 
Size the wood with this boiling liquor; allow it to pene¬ 
trate into the carved and fmooth places of the wood, but 
take care at the fame time to take it as clean off the work 
as poffible, or at lealt to leave it at no place thicker than 
another. This firft fizing ferves to fill up the pores of the 
wood, and to prevent the materials afterwards from col¬ 
lecting in a body, which would caufe the work to fall off 
in fcales. 
2. To prepare the white, take a quantity of ftrong 
parchment-fize; and fprinkle lightly over it, with the 
hand, Spanifh-white, till the fize is covered with it about 
half an inch in thicknefs; allow it to foak for half an 
hour as near the fire as to keep it milk-warm ; and then 
ftir it with the brufli till the lumps are broken, and it is 
fufficiently mixed. Give feven, eight, or ten, layers of 
this white, or as many as the nature of the work or the 
defefts in the wood (hall render neceflary, giving more 
white to the parts which require to be foftened; but, in 
general, the layers mult be equal both with regard to the 
quantity of the white and the ftrength of the fize. The 
lalt layer of the white ought to be clearer than the reft, 
which is made by adding water. It mult be applied more 
flightly, taking care with fmall brufhes to cover all the 
uneven places in the mouldings and carved work. It is 
neceflary alfo, between the drying of the different layers, 
to fill up all the defeats with white maftic and fize. 
3. To foften, is to give to the fubjeft, after the whiten¬ 
ing, a fmooth and equal furface, and to rub it over with 
a pumice-ftone. The wood being dry, take little pieces 
of white wood and of pumice-ftone, ground for the pur- 
pofe into all neceflary forms, either for the pannels or the 
moulding. Take cold water, heat being deftruftive of 
this kind of work; in fummer, it is common to add a little 
ice. Soften the wall with a bruffi, but only as much at a 
time as you can eafily work, as the water might dilute 
the white and fpoil the whole: then fmooth and rub it 
with the pumice-ftones,and with the fmall pieces of wood : 
waffi it with a bruffi as you fmooth it, and rub it over 
with a piece of new linen, which gives a fine luftre to the 
work. 
4. The mouldings and carved work are cleaned with an 
iron; and the only thing to be attended to in the opera¬ 
tion is not to raife the grain of the wood. 
5. The fubjeft thus prepared is ready to receive the co¬ 
lour you intend to give it. Choofe your tint; fuppofe 
a filver colour. Grind white cerufe and Spanilh-white 
feparately in water, of each an equal quantity, and mix 
them together. Add a little indigo, and a very fmall 
quantity of finely-powdered charcoal; more or lefs of the 
one or other gives the tint you require. Dilute this tint 
in ftrong parchment-fize; pafs it through a bolting-cloth 
of lilk very fine, and lay the tint on your work, taking 
care to fpread it very equally ; and then give it two layers, 
and the colour is applied. 
6. Make a weak, beautiful, and clean, fize; ftir it till 
it cools ; ftrain it through a fine cloth, and give two layers 
to the work with a foft painting-brufh. Take care not 
to choke-up the mouldings, nor to lay-011 the fize thicker 
on one place than another, and fpread it over the work 
very flightly, otherwife you will dilute the colours, and 
occafion undulations in the painting. The beauty of 
the work depends on this laft fizing; for, if any part is 
omitted, the varnifti will penetrate into the colours, and 
give it a darker lhade. 
7. When the fizing is dry, lay on two or three layers 
of fpirit-of-wine varniffi, taking care that the place on 
which you lay it be warm; and the work is finiflied. 
Of King's White .—This derives its name from having 
been ufed in the apartments of the French king. It is in 
all refpefts condufted like the former, except that there 
is only a fmall quantity of indigo, to take the yellow from 
the white, without any black of charcoal, and without 
varnifti. This white anfwers extremely well for apart¬ 
ments which are feldom ufed ; but otherwife it Fpoils ea¬ 
fily, efpecially in bedchambers. It is the belt white where 
there is any kind of gilding; and in this cafe a little var¬ 
nifh is added. 
Of House-Painting in Oil-Colours. 
To paint in oil is to apply to all forts of fubjefts, as 
walls, wood, cloths, and metals, coloured earths ground 
and diluted in oil. By means of oil, the colours are 
longer preferved; and, not drying fo fpeedily, they give 
the painter a longer time to fmooth, finiffi, and re-touch, 
his work; the colours being more marked, and mixing 
better together, give more diftinguiftiable tints, and more 
vivid and agreeable gradations, and the colouring is more 
delicate. 
In every branch of painting in oil, as applicable either 
to churches, theatres, houfes, or any other public or pri¬ 
vate buildings, or edifices, the general procefs will be 
found very fimilar; or with fuch variations as will eafily 
be fuggefted by the judicious workman. 
The firft coatings, or layers, if on wood or iron, ought 
always to be of cerufe, or white-lead ; the very belt that 
can be obtained ; which iliould have been previoufly 
ground very fine in nut or linfeed oil, either with a muller, 
or, as that mode is too tedious for large quantities, it may 
be palled through a mill. If ufed on wood, as (flutters, 
doors, or wainfcoting, made of fir or deal, it is highly requi- 
life to deftroy the effefts of the knots, which are generally 
fo completely faturated with turpentine, as to render it, 
perhaps, one of the moft difficult procefles in the bufinefs 
to conquer. The bell mode in common cafes, is to pafs 
over the knots with cerufe ground in water, bound by a 
fize made of parchment, or fome other animal fubftance. 
When that is dry, paint the knots with white-lead ground 
in oil, to which add fome powerful ficcative, or dryer; 
as red-lead, or litharge of lead, about one-fourth part of 
3 the 
