ftERAMlC STUDIO 
THE CLASS ROOM 
The subject for the next class room will be "Enamels. " The same 
prizes will be awarded as for the articles on the Color Palette. 
A COLOR PALETTE AND ITS USE 
First Prize— Martha M. Howells, Bridgeport, O. 
THE first question the beginner in china painting asks 
is: "What colors shall I get?" and probably nothing 
confuses and discourages her more than the formidable 
array that is generally advised, not necessarily from a 
financial standpoint, but from the, apparently, hopeless 
outlook of learning when to use each color in its proper 
place. If one bears in mind the fact that china colors may 
be mixed almost as much as water colors the work is 
simplified. 
COLORS. 
A good list of colors is: 
Rose Albert Yellow 
Ruby Yellow Brown 
Hair Brown Russian Green 
Black Shading Green 
Yellow Red Banding Blue 
Blood Red 
In vials: 
Deep Blue Green — French colors, Flux, Aufsetzweiss 
(Muller & Hennig.) 
To this may be added for special effects 
Copenhagen Blue 
Royal Green Frys. 
Dark Green 
Pompadour 
Grey for white flowers 
or White Rose Bischoff . 
Brown Pink 
Apple Green 
Violet of Iron French. 
The first list used pure or in combinations will be found 
to meet almost all demands for naturalistic or conventional 
work. 
COLOR PURE AND IN COMBINATION. 
Albert Yellow is indispensable. Used alone for yellow 
flowers, such as jonquils, roses, chrysanthemums, etc., or 
for tinting it is always trustworthy. By using a small 
amount of green it can be used for lemon yellow ; with yellow 
Red it becomes Orange, with Yellow Brown, Yellow Ochre. 
Shading Green is another good color ; mixed with green 
(shading) various shades are produced according as one or 
the other color predominates. To make Shading Green 
darker add a little Ruby. For Brown Green or Olive, mix 
Yellow Brown with Shading Green to procure the desired 
shade. All shades of purple, for violets, blackberries, 
pansies, grapes, etc., may be made by mixing Banding 
Blue and Ruby, making the mixture a little bit bluer than 
desired as the Ruby comes out stronger than the Blue in 
firing. Yellow Red and Blood Red, for poppies, currants, 
etc., may in the absence of Violet of Iron, be strengthened 
by Ruby. Ruby is used for dark red roses, grapes, etc. 
By mixing a little Dark Green with it for the "heart" of the 
rose in the first firing a good depth may be acquired without 
putting the color on so thick as when Ruby is used alone 
thus avoiding the risk of the color "chipping." 
Black is used for outlining in conventional work, also 
for toning the colors. In naturahstic treatment it is used 
over purple for the darkest parts of grapes, plums, black- 
berries, pansies, etc. Rose, as the color indicates, is a pink 
for roses, arbutus, dainty spring blossoms, chrysanthemums, 
etc. 
Care must be exercised to keep the color clean, and not 
to paint it too heavily or it will fire a disagreeable shade. 
Russian Green is used for the high lights of leaves, 
where the light falls directly on them, is also a beautiful 
color to use in background. If a thin wash of it comes over 
the petals of white flowers, not prominent in the design, it 
gives a pleasing "atmosphere." Mixed with yellow, it 
makes a good Yellow Green, for the high light of leaves 
showing the light through them. 
Dark Green is a good color for shading leaves, it can 
also be used, very thin, for shadow effects. Purple back- 
grounds that have fired too glaringly may be toned down 
with a thin wash of this color or it may be dusted on for 
the first firing to give "depth" to it. It may also be added 
to purple for fruits and flowers of that color, for the darkest 
parts, mixing with the brush. 
Hair Brown is a warm brown used for shading leaves, 
branches and stems. 
Deep Blue Green is a most satisfactory color for blue 
flowers, as forget-me-nots, and is much used for conventional 
work, in combination with other blues and greens. 
Banding Blue is useful for representing the "bloom" 
of fruits, mixed with a little Copenhagen Blue makes a better 
shade than alone or with black as it is generally used. 
There are several combinations for making greys, and 
a little practice soon enables one to know which harmon- 
izes with the work in hand. 
A, good grey for yellow flowers is made by mixing Rose, 
Albert Yellow, and Banding Blue. Used softly it will also 
do for pink and white flowers. Apple Green and Rose 
makes a soft grey for pink flowers. Yellow and purple for 
Yellow flowers. Red and Violet (Banding Blue and Ruby) 
for red flowers. A dark, almost black grey may be made 
by mixing Shading Green and Ruby, to use under the 
darkest mass of flowers, by using rather more Ruby as it 
emerges to the lighter part of background, a beautiful 
effect is obtained. 
Mix Yellow Brown and Rose with the Yellow Brown 
predominating for the salmon pink of tea roses. 
PALETTE. 
Having the colors at hand we may now get them ready 
for use. For this purpose, the covered palette, while not 
an absolute necessity, is such a vast improvement on the old 
tile, that the additional cost is more than offset by the saving 
in time, patience and paint. 
MEDIUMS. 
It is better for the beginner to use a prepared painting 
medium, as Fry's or Mason's. There is then no doubt about 
the paints being mixed properly, as there is a tendency to 
lay the blame of difficulties of first attempts on the material. 
Later on it will be found that as good progress can be 
made with Balsam Copaiba and Clove oil mixed in propor- 
tion of 6 drops Balsam Copaiba to i drop oil of Cloves. 
Have also a small bottle, i oz. of Oil of Copaiba — (not 
Balsam Copaiba) — which can be had at any drug store. 
Have at least a pint of turpentine in a bottle with mouth 
