Choose your picture and get a pane of window glass the size of the
picture, varnish one side of the glass with white varnish, and place it
where it will dry ; then fill a pan with water and put the picture in it ;
after it is wet, remove carefully and place on a paper to dry. The face
of the picture goes on the side of the glass that is varnished, then
commence while the picture is damp and rub off the paper until you
see the outlines of the picture, taking care not to rub clear to the glass.
Smooth it nicely with a fine piece of sandpaper, and give it a heavy
coat of varnish. After it is dry take any color of paper you fancy for
a background. By carefully following these directions you cannot fail
to produce a pleasing picture. For colored pictures use one teaspoon-
ful of vinegar to one quart of water, for wetting the picture.
PAINTED SHELLS.
The smooth, pearly shells give a very fine surface on which to paint
marine views. Almost any beach view can be adapted to the size of
the shell, and by varying the coloring the same view may be painted in
several different ways.
Some of the Atlantic coast views, especially on the coast of Maine
and Massachusetts, give a variety of grand sea views, from which bits
may be taken suitable for shell painting.
These views may be obtained from woodcuts and engravings, the
artists coloring them as they may see fit. It is also very easy to design
a handsome beach view, especially if one is familiar with the sea.
Those who are so favored as to often visit it, can paint lovely views
from nature ; rough water making the handsomest views.
The broad pearl shells now used for painting are beautiful for a vari-
ety of views ; in fact, any water view is suitable. They are much
larger than the clam shell, and give a surface for a good sized land-
scape. A border of an inch or more in width should be left around
the shell, the pearl edge giving a lovely effect to the landscape. The
prevailing tint of the pearl edge should harmonize with the sky tints.
A green tinted pearl should not be painted with a blue sky. Such
combinations of colors would mar the effect of a view, which, with
other coloring would have been lovely. Blue skies are beautiful on the
pure pearl white, or the pink-tinted shell.
The best effect is produced on pearl shells, by painting landscapes
with the broadest part of the shell up, and on the clam shell the broad-
est part down, the sky running up into the pointed part.
The clam shell should be finished with a narrow edge of pure white,
something over an eighth of an inch in width. This edge gives a more
finished look than to paint the view close to the edge. A large pearl
STUDIO HINTS. 307
shell, some eight or ten inches across, painted with landscape, and
placed in a satin or morocco holder, or on a gilded or silver wire easel,
makes an elegant ornament for mantel or table.
As regards flower painting on shells, it is easily done if one likes it,
but it seems entirely unsuitable to paint flowers on sea shells. When
we take up a shell with flowers upon it, we can hardly imagine the roar
of the sea or the rush of waters that washed it up on the beach. ,
As to decorating other than the broad open shells, that have no par-
ticular beauty of their own, it seems a desecration of Nature's painting.
DESIGNS FOR SCREENS.
Page 272
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Choose your picture and get a pane of window glass the size of the picture, varnish one side of the glass with white varnish, and place it where it will dry ; then fill a pan with water and put the picture in it ; after it is wet, remove carefully and place on a paper to dry. The face of the picture goes on the side of the glass that is varnished, then commence while the picture is damp and rub off the paper until you see the outlines of the picture, taking care not to rub clear to the glass. Smooth it nicely with a fine piece of sandpaper, and give it a heavy coat of varnish. After it is dry take any color of paper you fancy for a background. By carefully following these directions you cannot fail to produce a pleasing picture. For colored pictures use one teaspoonful of vinegar to one quart of water, for wetting the picture.
PAINTED SHELLS.
The smooth, pearly shells give a very fine surface on which to paint marine views. Almost any beach view can be adapted to the size of the shell, and by varying the coloring the same view may be painted in several different ways.
Some of the Atlantic coast views, especially on the coast of Maine and Massachusetts, give a variety of grand sea views, from which bits may be taken suitable for shell painting.
These views may be obtained from woodcuts and engravings, the artists coloring them as they may see fit. It is also very easy to design a handsome beach view, especially if one is familiar with the sea. Those who are so favored as to often visit it, can paint lovely views from nature ; rough water making the handsomest views.
The broad pearl shells now used for painting are beautiful for a variety of views ; in fact, any water view is suitable. They are much larger than the clam shell, and give a surface for a good sized landscape. A border of an inch or more in width should be left around the shell, the pearl edge giving a lovely effect to the landscape. The prevailing tint of the pearl edge should harmonize with the sky tints. A green tinted pearl should not be painted with a blue sky. Such combinations of colors would mar the effect of a view, which, with other coloring would have been lovely. Blue skies are beautiful on the pure pearl white, or the pink-tinted shell.
The best effect is produced on pearl shells, by painting landscapes with the broadest part of the shell up, and on the clam shell the broadest part down, the sky running up into the pointed part.
The clam shell should be finished with a narrow edge of pure white, something over an eighth of an inch in width. This edge gives a more finished look than to paint the view close to the edge. A large pearl
STUDIO HINTS. 307
shell, some eight or ten inches across, painted with landscape, and placed in a satin or morocco holder, or on a gilded or silver wire easel, makes an elegant ornament for mantel or table.
As regards flower painting on shells, it is easily done if one likes it, but it seems entirely unsuitable to paint flowers on sea shells. When we take up a shell with flowers upon it, we can hardly imagine the roar of the sea or the rush of waters that washed it up on the beach. ,
As to decorating other than the broad open shells, that have no particular beauty of their own, it seems a desecration of Nature's painting.
DESIGNS FOR SCREENS.