Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-09-07
BEGINNERS ON CHINA.
Advice in the Art of Painting Worthy tn,
 Attention of Amateurs.

Advice in the Art of Painting Worthy the Attention of Amateurs.
 '' In order to be successful in the art ot | painting on china,'' said a slillful amateur
 in that class of decorative work to New 1 York MdH and Express reporter, "the begin.
 ner should not soar too high, but should
 commence with simple, semi-conventional designs in single color until complete fa-
 miliarity with the handling of the brush
 and a thorough knowledge of colors is ob- l tained. To paint in mineral colors one ! should possess a knowledge of drawing, but l much may still be done when that knowl- l edge is lacking by tracing the outline of the i designs. A delicate tracing may be made 1 upon the china by going over the outline
 with hard point, provided the china has been dipped in solution of turpentine or
 lavender. That the tracing may not be rubbed off during the painting it should be gone over with fine brush and water-color
 carmlne, or lead pencil may be used in- stead where the colors are not very delicate.
 The carmine will disappear in firing. After the design has been outlined the color should be laid on with broad strokes. with goOd-sIzed brush well filled when the design will permit How to make the color of the proper consistency is to be gained only by personal experience, the paint should be thinned with spirits of turpentine as required, and only enough fat oil should be used to make the paint work smoothly 1 Special care should be taken in the matter of cleanliness in the delicate art, and ex- cessive pains should be employed to prevent the various colOrs from muddying. If the
 work is to be fired it should be dried as soon
 as possible, and when dry should he at once
 put in the kiln.
 "Desplte what has been said of its cost
 china painting is really the most economical
 of the kindred arts, for it is much more use-
 ful, while its expense is not more than that incurred in any other class of painting. A
 set of colors may seem expens1ve at first.
 but they will last for long time and china of cheap quality, which is just as desir- able, ln many respects, as the most costly can be purchased at reasonable price Any little blemishes that appear in the glaze can be readily covered up, and when the piece is completed 1t will look as we'll as If it cost one hundred times as much The expense of taking the work to professional hrers can be avoided by procuring a port able kiln, for there are many excellent ones ito be obtained, with full instructions for their use. When one does the firing at home 1t is best also to do the gliding, but if the china Is to be taken to professional, I should recommend that the banding be done by him. Bands, however, are not necessary, Tor there are many ways of finishing the china without them.
 "A new preparation of gold comes in the form of the finest powder, which can be dusted on after the china is covered with coat of the tinting on.aThis comes in yellow gold, deep gold, red gold, green gold and lemon gold and costs three dollars a pennv- weight. After covering the surface with the tlnting oil, which should be applied with pad made of chamois skin and cotton, the gold should be dusted on with absorbent cotton, care beng taken to place the china on piece of paper so that the gold dust which falls outside can be saved. Although this dust is more expensive than the liquid gold 1t is said to be more economical on the whole"
 "What are the newest importations in decorated chinaa"
 They run almost entirely te, metal deo- oratlons, with several shades of gold in the majority of the designs. While these speclmens appear very rich, hsey are in re- allty quite simple, and can be co pied by any amateur who is proficient, and as all the shades of gold and metals can Joe procured at reasonable rates, I predict substantial advance Tn the popularity of ch ina decora- tion.n