The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1907-11-12
PAINTING GIANT SIGNS.
QUICK AND ACCURATE WORK ON
BLANK WALLS.
Figures 40 Feet High Finished by Elk.
perts in a Day-Method by Which
The Right Proportions Are Pre-
serVed-Not Every Man Succeeds
in This Branch of Art.

Oldnk wall, 10 make the inquire come
out all right in form and life-like and
natural?
The artist can't see the whole figure
in its true proportions as he paints
on it, but only a part of it. He may
be painting at this minute on an ear
or nose or a chin or on one of the
figures hands, and he can see that;
but how does he know that he is get
ting that in proportion with the 9TH
er 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 a scaffolding hang.
ing maybe forty feet from the ground.
He can't jump down every few min
utes and run off fifty or a hundred
feet and take squirt at the picture
to see how he's getting on, and as
matter of fact he Doesn't he stays
right there, up in the air, and slaps
on the paint boldly and with conf
dence, and the picture comes out all
right.
But how does he manage it? Really
in the simplest way in the world
As model or pattern for the great
picture there is first drawn a life
size portrait of the person whose fig
ure is to be thus reproduced, and this
life size portrait is then painted pre-
cisely as it is desired to have it ap.
pear in the giant reproduction Then
over the entire front of the painted
portrait figure are drawn equidistant
vertical and horizontal lines. dividing
the painting into squares, like those
on checker board.
Then the checker board that has
thus been drawn on the pattern pic.
ture is reproduced on an enlarged
scale on the wall to be painted by
drawing there corresponding Num-
Der of vertical and horizontal chalk
lines, dividing the wall space off into
the same number of squares with
those on the portrait painting.
Suppose the original portrait paint
ing was six feet in height: in which
case the vertical and horizontal lines
on it might he four inches apart, divid-
ing the painting into four-inch
squares. Suppose the painting on the
wall was to be thirty-six feet in
height, or six times as big as the orig
inal. In such case, with the same
number 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
he 10,
pond exactly with the smaller squares
in position and relation: and so with
the lines of the squares for a guide
the work of painting the great pic
ture 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 success
fully 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 be-
side him on the scaffolding. the ex-
pert goes at it with dash and vigor,
and with certainty of results. For IL
Illustrations:
On the original lined-oT figure the
slope Of a shoulder may enter a GER
tain four inch square at such a point
and at such On angle and sweep
through that square with such and
sIch a curve, TO go out OF it, into
the next square. at such a point and
angle; and all these things the paint
er reprCluces, I'm their same relative
positions, but enlarged to their due
proportions, I'm the corresponding
twenty-four inch square on the wall.
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 so through two he might sweep
from side TO- side of a head as he pro
crossed getting the top of one ear
and the eyes and the bridge Of the
nose and finishing th1t course with
the top OF the other ear ON the other
side before ho lowered his scanolding.
And at that stage OF its development
the face may present strange APP
pearauce
But though he must thus paint two
pictures. go TO- speak. i'm patches,
there is mo- danger that the painter
will get lost lower down 10 will come
ont all right The artist has always
the squares tO guido him. and i'm due
limo tho wall picture appears com
pleto i'm every de.ail. reproduction
or the original ON q giant scale
IF a number of giant figures of the