ilERAMlC STUDIO 
12^ 
Use cotton cloth for paint rags-old sheets or pillow cases 
are best-do not tear as that makes lint-but cut the cloth 
with shears into squares about the size of a handkerchief 
fold several times and use to wipe brushes. Put on the 
table just under the right hand corner of palette. Do not 
wipe brushes on your apron; use the cloth or run them 
through your fingers to remove particles of paint or dust. 
Paint in a cotton, linen or silk gown, also to avoid lint or 
dust. A plain black silk gown is economical, for spots of 
paint or oil can be cleaned off at once with alcohol, leaving 
the silk as good as before. Never wear woolen or flannel gowns 
for painting, even with an apron. A black sateen apron is 
good, but a simple calico, white with tiny black spot or 
stripe, made to hang from the shoulders, can be laundried 
each week and always looks neat. Have a pocket on the 
left side. You are less apt to catch it and tear it, and it is 
handy to keep the dabber and cotton in that pocket. 
For tinting use a piece of soft silk, India or China silk, 
without a twill; a silk handkerchief is preferable, not too 
old or it will shed lint. This can be soaked in a little turpen- 
tine or kerosene oil when it becomes soiled and washed out 
with soap and warm water. Always iron smooth, as the 
wrinkles make bad places in the tints. Keep the cotton 
alwaj^s on the same side of the silk, also to avoid lint. Sur- 
geon's wool is best and can be washed out after ' ' dusting' ' 
colors ; but for ordinary tinting any cotton free from lumps 
will do. Do not tie your cotton into little hard pads; it 
makes much better work to slip it around under the silk 
handkerchief as you need a clean spot. If the silk is too 
thin you may use two thicknesses of silk so that the cotton 
will not pull ' ' through. ' ' 
A medium of 5 parts copaiba and i part clove oil is best, 
but excellent results are obtained with other oils and 
proportion if others be at hand; as fat oil of turpentine 
lavender oil. One-third fat oil, ^ copaiba, and j- each of 
lavender and clove oil is good. Remember that the fat 
oil and copaiba are for body and the clove oil to ' ' keep it 
open longer. ' ' Lavender oil dries quickly. If your medium 
is gummy, thin with turpentine or lavender or clove oil or 
tar oil. To clean your brushes when painting, use turpen- 
tine or alcohol. To some the odor of turpentine is offensive. 
There are two ways to obviate this. Either pour alcohol 
on your turpentine-it is lighter and will float and thus 
covers the odor of the turpentine-or keep a glass jar of tur- 
pentine uncovered always on the outside window-sill or 
out of doors when not in use. It becomes almost odorless. 
The jars in which come Beechnut bacon or some kinds of 
dried beef are fine for turpentine; fill them at least half full. 
The edges of the glass are sharp and as the brush is wiped 
across the edge after cleaning, the turpentine runs back 
into the glass instead of on the outside, saving far more 
than one has any idea. The little low flat salt cellars 
which some use for oil and turpentine are an abomination 
as they are not only wasteful but most untidy. A whisky 
glass is also good for turpentine, oil or alcohol — anything 
which has a sharp thin smooth edge. 
In regard to brushes, get square shaders inclined to be 
long rather than short, and thin rather than too thick at the 
base, so that in tinting, as well as in painting, you may get a 
lighter, softer and more even tint when you desire, and so 
that each stroke may have ' ' swing. ' ' The red sable riggers 
should be carefully selected; not too long, nor too short; 
uncut hairs preferred; with good backbone, which means 
the instant springing back to position of the hairs directly 
pressure is taken off the brush in bending in the fingers or 
painting. Make strokes always drawing toward you, or so 
that the hairs hang together, feel every hair in the brush 
(mentally of course), and keep them together as you would 
stroke fur or velvet-always the right way; you will keep 
your brushes longer and do better work. Use a very little 
oil to keep the hairs together, and work it into the brush 
first by dipping the tip of the brush into the edge of the oil, 
laying it flat with a side to side motion and then drawing it 
toward you. 
The most important thing in painting is first to grind the 
colors smooth and to the right consistency; next comes 
taking color on to the brush. The better and more smoothly 
the color is worked into the brush, the less padding you will 
have to do, and the greater depth of color you can put on 
safely with one stroke. 
Do not be so anxious to do great things that you slight 
the details, which seem so trivial but really mean so much. 
Master the mechanical part of the work so thoroughly that 
finally it will be an unconscious part of your artistic efforts 
and you will be free to exercise your mind in the more inter- 
esting planes of composition and design. 
000 
Third Prize — Sydney Scott Lewis, Georgetown, Ky. 
For the beginner in china painting — first a course 
in drawing and designing with a good teacher. But 
these will not avail unless there is good working material 
close at hand. — Cheap china, a scanty stock of colors, in- 
different mediums and brushes handicap many a good 
worker and make them wonder at the poor results of their 
labors. 
For the beginners let them by all means invest, ist, in 
one of the covered palettes (a wonderful economy it is). 
2nd, a well selected, liberal range of colors. To have just 
the right color always at hand and plenty of it is most 
satisfying. Not to have to substitute something that is 
"almost" but not quite the color desired — a thing that so 
often happens and which may ruin the whole effect. Either 
Fry's or Miss Mason's colors are excellent. The following 
is a very complete list: 
Banding Blue, Baby Blue, Copenhagen Blue (Fry) ; 
Royal Blue (Mason's) ; Yellow Brown (Fry and German) ; 
Dark Brown (Fry) ; Hair brown (Mason, heautiful) ; Finish- 
ing Brown, Meissen Brown, Gold Grey, Copenhagen Grey, 
Pearl Grey, Grey for Flesh, Royal Green (do not use on 
Beleek), Russian Green, Yellow Green (use on Beleek in- 
stead of Royal), Shading Green, Apple Green, Dark Green, 
Brown Green, Sea Green, Deep Blue Green, Empire Green, 
Ruby , (Fry's) ; Osgood's Standard Pink (for roses) ; 
Yellow Red, Pompadour Red, Carnation, Violet i, Violet 2, 
Albert Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Neutral Yellow, German 
OutHning Black, Black, Hard Black (Fry's); Azure Glaze 
(Mason) ; Mason's Paste for Raised Gold; Mason's Enamels 
and enamel medium; Fry's lusti'es; Hasburg's Gold (Roman 
and unfluxed. 
To set palette begin lower left hand corner with darkest 
greens shading into lightest, then lightest yellow into yellow 
brown, going into darkest brown, on into the reds, into 
violets, to blues, leaving the centre of palette for brush play. 
Mix a generous supply of each color thoroughly with 
Fry's medium until it stands up proudly (you might say). 
For the second day rub down only with lavander oil. In- 
stead of turpentine I use entirely alcohol (grain) and 
lavander oil — the alcohol only to wash brushes in, in passing 
from one color to another — never to mix paint unless mixed 
with the lavander oil. Have three cups, one medium, one 
alcohol, one lavander oil. Use lavander oil in mixing enamels 
