l66 OF THE SUBSTANCES
SECTION II,
Qf the colours proper to be ufed in painting in miniature or with water; with the manner of mixture or compojition of them with their proper vehicles.
THE colours ufed in what is called minia-ture painting, or with water, are, for re^carmine, lake, rofe pink, vermilion, red lead,fcarlet oker, common Indian red, red oker, ’
Venetian red, Spanilh brown ;—for blue, ul-tramarine, ultramarine allies, PrulHan blue,verditer,indico, Sander’s blue, fmalt, blue bice,•and litmus;—for yellow, gamboge, Naplesyellow, Dutch pink, Englilh pink, gall ftone,mafticot, French berry, walh, turmeric walh,and tin&ure of laffron ;—for green, fap green,verdigrile, diftilled verdigrife, and terra verte j■—fer purple, true Indian red, arcjial, and log-wood walh;—for brown, bilire, umbre, brownoker, Cologn earth, and terra Japonica ;—for•white, flake white, white lead, calcined hartf*horn, pearl white, troy white, and egg-lhelUwhite;—for black, Indian-ink, • lamp-blackyivory black, and blue black.
As water is a much lefs kindly lubllance fowc the Spreading and working colours than oil fo there is a variety of treatment neceflary fo« rendering it a proper vehicle for the differ emr- fubftances that are to be ufed with it: an- Whoever, therefore, would have a complete fet of water colours, mull not attempt to procure them by one general method of management, as in the cafe of oil, for all indiferimi- nately; but mult attend to the nature of each, and accommodate to it fuch a compofition of the water, and what elfe may be neceflary tg give it a due confiftence, as may belt fuit each, kind. This reftri&ion, neverthelefs, fhould be always obferved, that nothing be ufed in the compofition of water colours, however well it may make the colours work at the firft admixture, but what will again, even though the compofition become perfectly dry, fo dif- fblve and fbften on the addition of a frefh quantity of water, as, by rubbing with the pencil, to regain the fluid {late, as on the firft mixture, and to fuffer the colour to work equally well as then. The beft fyftems for the admixture of the variety of water colours hitherto given to the public having been defective in fome material particulars, and the principal reafon of it having been their confining themfelves to the ufe of gum water, and 0- mitting that of ifinglafs fize, I fhall be the more explicit in the directions I fhall give for the management of each kind ; and am fatis- fied that.whoever follows what I advife, will find themfelves under no difficulty in ufing all the variety of colours, that are proper to be commixt with water. But in order to avoid the repetition of the feme thing in many places it is proper firft to fhew the manner M 4 fif
of preparing properly the gum water, and ilin-. glafs 1 lze. The gum water may be thus prepared.“ Take three quarters of an ounce of gum ** Arabic, and a quarter of an ounce of gum “ Senegal. Powder them; and then tie them “ up in a linnen rag; leaving fomuch unfilled “ room in the bag, as to admit its being flat- il ned by the prefiure of the hand. Having “ fqueezed the bag till it be fiat, put it into a «* quart of hot water j and there let it con- ** tinue, moving it iometimes about, and ftir- “ ring the water, for about twenty-four hours.
“ The gums will then be difiolved j and the “ bag mrft be taken out: and the fluid being “ divided into two parts, to one half of it ado “ a quarter of an ounce of white fugar-candy <c powdered $ keeping the other in its pure *{ ftate. By this means, a ftrong and weak “ gum water, each proper for their particular “ purpofes, will be obtained.”
The following method is the moil advife- able for the making the ilinglafs fize..
“ Take half an ounce of the beaten ifin- “ glafs and a pint and half of water. Boil “ them till the ifihglals be wholly difiolved j “ and then firain the fluid while hot through ‘c a liijnen rag. Divide the fize thus made into two parts : and to one of them add an . “ equal meafure of hot water : by which- “ means a ftrong and weak fize will be like— “ wife obtained.”
it*
avingj
Having thus prepared the gum water and fize,a proper aflbrtmcnt of mufcle Ihells, or final)ivory dilhes, muft be fuited to the colours; ac-<commodating the fize of each to the due propro-tion of each kind of colour: it being proper tomix up a much greater quantity of white, bilire,and the ooarfer torts, than of carmine, ultrama-rine, and lake; as the laft are to be Ipaiingly uled,on account of their great price, and are only ne-ceflary for the lights and higher touches in theobjects of the fame colour. A very fmooth Chinaor Dutch tile mull be provided: as alio a finallivory pallet knife: for though an iron one mightbe employed for lome purpoles; yet it is lo noxi?ous and injurious to the colours in other cafes,that the ufe of it is bell rejected for the Whole.Vermilion, ultramarine, ultramarine alhes,red lead, fcariet oker, common Indian red,true Indian red, yellow oker, Venetian red,brown oker, verditer, indico, mafticot, umbre,terra verte, Sander’s blue, bice, Cologn earth,white lead, calcined hartlhorn, ivory black,and blue black, having been previoufiy wellground and walhed over, mult be mixed onthe tile with the pallet knife, with as much ofthe llrong gum water as will bring them tothe right temper to work with the pencil; and,while they are yet wet, they mull be feraped'from off the tile, and fpread with the finger inthe Ihells intended for them : where they will
•be ready for ufe at all times, on moillning themduly with a little frefh water rubbed uponthem by the finger or pencil.
Pruflian
Pruflian blue lake, and Naples yellow, if it be ufed, Ihould be firft reduced to an impair pable powder; which may be beft done for this purpofe by levigation on the ftone in fpirit of wine: and then they, as alfo carmine, biflre, Dutch pink, and Englifh pink, Ihould be well mixed, by grinding on the tile or pallet, with the ivory knife, with as much of the weaker gum water before mentioned, as will bring them to a proper confidence. After which they ihould be difpofed of in their proper fhells, as was before directed for the other.
Gamboge, Indian ink, fap green, gall done; and terra Japonica, as they become of a vifcid and adhefive nature when wet, require no guni water; but ihould be only moiftned and rubbed on the ihells till the furface be incrufted with a proper quantity: which, by the addition of a little water, may be worked off with the pencil in the fame manner as the other colours.
Verdigrife, though ufed with water colours, Cannot, neverthelefs, be brought to a proper .date for working by means of water. The method of rendering it fit to be ufed in water colours, is to powder it; and then pour on it a quantity of vinegar, in the manner before -directed for the making the chryftals of ver- digrife : which vinegar, when it has diflolved as much of the verdigrife as it can take up, mud be poured off free from the fettlings or undiffolved part of the verdigrife ; and muft . be put into a bottle to;be kept for ufe. The kind of bottles the mod’fit for ufing with this, or the following fubftances, in miniature painting, would be a finall fort of fuch as are made for ink bottles; in which the widenefs of the neck, and the lhallownefs of the body, make it ealy to dip die pencil; and the broadnefs of the bottom, proportionably to the height, prevents their being fo liable to be thrown down, as thofe of any other form. The verdigrife may likewife be prepared for miniature painting by means of the juice of rue; which being poured on the verdigrife, after it is. well powdered, will diflolve it in the lame manner as vinegar} and render it fit for ufe by the fame treatment. The verdigrife thus diflolved becomes a truer green than when vinegar is employed ; and it is much better adapted to miniature painting in this date; for, as the juice of rue has not die acid quality of the vinegar, it does not, like it, change or dedroy feveral of the other colours, particul arly the litmus blue, and archal j and is therefore greatly preferable. For indeed the Solution of verdigrife, though a very good green Avalh, is not to be ufed with a variety of other colours without great care: and for this realbn lap green for the mod part is chofen to fupply its place.
The litmus blue mud likewife undergo a preparation by other means than the addition of water, before it be fit to be ufed in miniature painting. The mod approved method of 'which is as. follows.
« Take an ounce of litmus: and boil it in “ finall beer wort, till there remain only a- u bout one fourth of the fluid j ftrain it then, *c while boiling hot, through flannel: and, when it is cold, being then of a glutinous con- u iiftence, add as much warm water to it as “ will bring it to due fluidity for working. “ This muft be ufed in the fame kind of bot- ** tie as the verdigrife.”
Arehal, the yellow berry walh, and turmeric. walh, logwood wafh, and tindure of faffron, need no other preparation than has been before mentioned in their original production : but they muft be put in the fame bottles; and tiled as the folution of verdigrife and litmus blue.
Gamboge, Indian ink, fap green, gall ftonc, and terra Japonica, as they really diflolve and become tranlparent in water, are true wafhing colours j aj5 are alfo thofe laft mentioned, which are to be in a fluid form. But neither the verdigrile, litmus, or the yellow walhes, are fafely to be ufed for glazing over other colours j as they are either liable to fuffer themfelves by fuch treatment, or to do injury to thofe they are laid upon.
Carmine, ultramarine, and biftre, are alfo ufed as wafhing colours; as they will have an effect of that nature when fpread very thin ; but they are not, neverthelefs, properly lpeak- ing, wafhing colours, as they are in fad: opake.
As the producing this effed of wafhing is of great ufe, as well in miniature painting,as in the colouring of prints and maps, I will here impart a method by which the end may be compafled in a very ferviceable degree, even in the cafe of vermilion, red lead, PruA flan blue, lake, or even the moft opake colours. This is to be done by mixing the pigments, I have before directed to be Compounded with the ftrongeft gum-waters, with the ftrongeft kind of ifing-glafs fize above mentioned; and to fubftitute likewise the weakeft fize, in the place of the weaker gum-, water, for the colours where that is oraeredi So prepared, the heavier colours will work and fpread, as well as carmine, biftre, or any 4Xher fubftances, except thole wholly fluid > itnd may be ufed with great convenience and advantage, not only where walking colours are wanted, but likewife for lhading, touching, and finilhing, or any of thole purpole# wriere the free working of the colours is particularly requifite in miniature painting. In the Pruflian blue, lake, &c. it is proper, however, in order to prevent their cracking, add fugar candy or honey to the fize, in proportion of half the weight of the ifin- gUfs; m which cafe they will be found to ^ork more commodioufly in this vehicle than other formed of water. Of which adjutage the Chinefe are fo fenfible, that all ^^ir other compofitions for ufing colours in "r9.ter feem to be of this kind, as well as that *?*oft ulefol one called Indian ink.