The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-12-02
GIANT SIGNS ARE
QUICKLY PAINTED
Accurate Work That Is Done
on Blank Walls,
FIGURES FORTY FEET HIGH
Finished BY Experts In One Day
Time-Method BY Which the Right
Proportions Are Preserved.
"A Difficult. krt.
FIGURES FORTY FEET HIGH

"A Difficult. krt.
From the New York Sun.
How is 1t possible in painting a picture
of a man, say thirty. fifty or a hundred
feet tall, on the side of a blank wall,
to make the figure come out all right in
from and life-like and natural?
The artist can't see the whole figure in
its true proportions as he paints on it, but
only part of it. He may be painting at
this minute on an ear or a nose or chin
or on one of the figures hands and he
can see that; but how does he know that
he is getting that in proportion with the
other features and the entire figure?
Why doesn't he get the head too broad
or too narrow and the whole business.
out of skew?
He is standing as he paints close to the
wall and on scaffolding hanging maybe
forty feet from the ground He can't
jump down every few minutes and run off
fifty or hundred feet and take squlnt
a. the picture to see how he's getting on,
and as a matter of fact he doesn't; he
stays right there, up in the air, and slaps
on the paint boldly and with confidence.
and the picture comes out all right.
But how does he manage 1t? Really in
the simplest way in the world.
AS a model or pattern for the great
picture there is first drawn a life size
portrait of the person whose figure is to
be thus reproduced and this life size
portrait is then painted precisely as it is
desired to have it appear in the giant
reproduction. Then over the entire front
of the painted portrait figure. are drawn
equidstant vertical and horizontal lines
dividing the painting into squares, like
those on a checker board.
Checker Board Reproduced.
Then the checker board that has thus
been drawn on the pattern picture is re-
produced on an enlarged scale on the wall
to be painted by drawing there a COR
responding number of vertical and hori-
zontal chalk lines, dividing the wall space
off into the same number of squares with
those on the portrait painting.
Suppose the original portrait painting
was six feet in height; In which case the
vertical and horizontal lines on 1t might
be four inches apart dividing the painting
into four-inch squares. Suppose the paint
| ing ON the wall was to be thirty-six feet
in height, or six times as big as the origi-
nal. In such a case, with the same num-
Der of lines drawn there, the squares
would be just six times as large as those
on the original-they would be twenty
| four inch squares
&. But all over the great wall surface the
| enlarged squares would correspond ex-
actly with the smaller squares in posi-
| ton and relation; and so with the lines
of the squares for a guide the work of
painting the great picture Is easy-for
| the man that knows how.
| Even with the wall so prepared not
every man can paint one of those big
pictures. TO do this work successfully
| the painter must be himself a good free
! hand artist, with knowledge of his art
and facility with the brush; but with
| those lines on the wall and the lined-off
original conveniently beside him on the
| scaffoldng, the expert goes a 1t with
dash and vigor, and with certainty of re-
| suit. For illustration:
On the original lined-off figure the slope
of shoulder may enter certain four
inch square at such point and at such
a, angle and sweep through that square
with such and such a curve to go
out of 1t, into the next square. at such
a point and angle; and all these things
the painter reproduces. in their same
relative positions but enlarged to their
due proportions, in the corresponding
twenty-four inch square on the wall.
Painting in Patches.
The artist might be able to paint
| through two vertical squares at once,
sweeping from one into the other when
he could and painting up and down, 50
through two he might sweep from side
to side of a head as he progressed, get.
1 inn tl1f1t tn Df md In Ind
the bridge of the nose and finishing that
course with the top of the other ear on
the other side before he lowered his
/ scaffolding. And at that stage of its de-
velopment the face may present q strange
| appearance.
But though he must thus paint two
pictures, so to speak, In patches, there is
no danger that the painter will get lost
lower down. 1t will come out all right
The artist has always the squares to
guide him, and In due time the wall pic
ture appears complete in every detail,
reproduction Of the original on a giant
scale.
If a number of giant figures of the
same sort are to be painted in different
places at the same time, copies of the
original portrait painting are made and
duly lined off for the use of the sew
eral painters of the big pictures.
Sometimes these big wall figures have
been the work of two men, one start
ing on the head of the figure and the 9TH
er on the feet And these two men,
one painting downward from the sky
and the other painting upward from the
earth. would meet somewhere about the
middle of he figure, and their work
would meet there as accurately as do,
for instance. the nlidends of a tunnel
built out from either side of river.
But while these two painters might be
of equal skill, there might be a difference
in their touch. So now for the sake of
unity of effect. it is the practice to have
the entire figure done by one man.
But that doesn't necessarily mean much
delay. for a skilled expert in this work
can paint giant thirty or forty feet
high in one day.
.'
Mirrors That EIatter