Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-12-05

>ides most OF more or less Sklllfui anna
teurs. In Chicago there are several In
dies who do really excellent work, an,
the number of these would undoubted
ly be greater were it not for the tech
nical difficulties to be mastered befOr,
one can paint readily on such sub
stance as porcelain. The greatest trou
bic is, that in painting, the colOrs should
be painted in side by side, not over on,
another, as, in the latter case, they
would not come out clear and pure aftel
being fired, The only exception to thii
rule is that dark shades may be painted
over lighter shades of the same color
| Then, too, the cOlOrs cannot be mixed
together, to form other shades with the
same freedom as when oil colors are
used, as the result after the piece wa.
fired, might be something very differ.
ent from what was intended. The chem
zeal combinations of the different color,
have to be carefully studied and expert
mented with before it is safe TO mix
them. Then. too, some of the col
ors change considerably while being
fired, what goes into the kiln deep RED
coming out light pink, dull brown
becoming gold, etc. The best way OF
overcoming these difficulties is by be-
ginning with painting sketches in
monochrome, and thoroughly master.
ing the use of single color before at.
tempting to paint with several. Very
beautiful sketches may be made i'm blue
shaded from light to dark; black and
brown are good colors to Use in this
way, while pink and red are harder tC
manage and less satisfactory in results.
A very useful thing to remember, and
one often lost sight of, is, that when
painting on a white ground. dark colors
show to the best advantage, and on a
dark ground light coIors show tine best
bright colors show well almost any
where.
There are Il great number of colors
prepared for porcelain painting, but
some shades, u bright red, for example,
it is impossible to obtain. These col
Ors come prepared for use in small
tubes, the same as oil colOrs, but they
are used with the fat oil and spirits of
turpentine. \ pattern Fay be sketch
ed on the china before commencing to
paint, by putting on thin coat of tur-
pentine, and then sketching in the de-
H.rI Iaa.l
After the decoration is completed the
pieces have still to submit to the ordeal
of firing. They are arranged as COM
pactly a possible in a square oven or
kiln made of fire brick, and tightly
sealed, and then brought to an intense
heat, sufficient TO melt the glaze and
fuse the colors with it. If there is any
gliding on the piece it comes from the
kiln with u dead finish, and to give Il |
bright metallic lustre, it is polished
with bloodstOpe burnishers. \ very
pretty effect is produced by burnishiD g
only a part of the gilt, leaving the rest
dull and lusterleSs.
There is 4 wide range of subjects es-
pecially suitable for china decoration,
that arrange themselves naturally into
several distinct classes. At present,
flower painting is receiving by far the
most attention, and il possesses this adj
vantage, that beginner can produce
very creditable and pretty pieces, while
the best artists can find no more pleas
ing subjects for their brush. Niolets,
poppies, daisies. mOrning-glories and
buttercups are favorite flowers with
amateurs; roses are very beautiful, but
much more difficult To draw and paint
we'll. Flowers are sometimes arranged
in bouquets and garlands, on treated
conventionally. but more frequently
are painted in what is known as the de
tached' or Sevres style, with sprays of
flowers and grasses thrown earelessly
over the article orna meuted. Delicate
ferns are very pretty treated IN this
way.
a way Of arranging flowers, much in
favor with German artists, is 10 group
ferns, grasses aud wild flowers around
Il vase naturally. as if they grew there.
Birds and butterflies form very good
accessories to flower paintings, but they
also make excellent decorations IN them
selves. and should receive more atten-
ton from artists than il given them
Little has been done in this country
as vet i'm the way OF elaborate landscape
and figure paintings ON porcelain, al
rhOuph English and German amateurs
have produced very creditable pieces of
this sort. Landscapes would be es-
pecially pretty, and not very difficult,
Sketched in blue and en edmdien, or sha-
ded from light to dark, and would be an
agreeable change from the mOnotony of
flower painting.
The interest taken in china decorating
all over the country has had one good
effect-in raising the standard of public
taste, so that, instead of the daubs on
china that were thought pretty few
years ago. the people demand and ap-
preciate the finest decorations of Sevres
and Limoges, of Worcester and Dres-
den; and by comparing and studying
these specimens of the best European
work, the amateur decorator can judge
of the relative positions of the different
schools, and learn how To raise Ameri-
can porcelain painting TO the high po-
sitiOn which the art has reached i'm 9TH
er countries.
A Pigeons Love.
A writer in the Scottish Naturalist
tells a story Of a pigeon, which Illus