ARTISTIC EMPLOYMENTS.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 348, 8 August 1885, Page 4

ARTISTIC EMPLOYMENTS.

MIRROR PAINTING. This work is suited only to proficients with the brush, as paintings on mirrors must be treated broadly, without the faintest indication of indecision on the part of the artist, for any such indecision will be at once apparent. As regards the subjects most in accord with the nature of the decoration, Cupids, birds, grasses, rushes, and flowers are by far the most appropriate generally, but there are of course exceptions, when fruit may advantageously take the place of flowers ; as for example, in the ornamentation of the glass back of a sideboard, and for an over-mantel and over-door in a dining room. Here, too, branches of the vine are admirable, and they are easily adapted to space of any shape or size, as the tender shoots may be twined in a naturalistic style where plants of more formal growth could not be arranged to meet the artist's require-

ments. The rich purple colour of the grapes shows well against the foliage, and the white grapes form a charming contrast when the two- are introduced together. Brilliant colours are exceedingly effective on glass. We saw lately some cacti that looked splendid ; the ruddy tint gleamed like fire, and proved how adequately such a' bit of coloring ' would light up" a dark corner in a town house. Yellow is another color that answers well, and it is not, as some might imagine, showy. "We consider the laburnum blossoms will equal any flowers for glass decoration, they are so elegant in form and so pure in color ; then, too, the drooping bunches of blossoms may be lighter or heavier, as the artist pleases, and yet be true to nature. . ISTow as to the painting. Ordinary oil colors are usually recommended for mirror painting ; it is of the first importance that the purest colors should be employed, if the work is to last uninjured by time and the atmosphere. Some of the colors attainable from artists' colormen are prepared with too much oil to answer the mirror-painter's purpose well, and the vehicles are also questionable. Again, some of the most useful colors for the flower-painter are not lasting, unless ' locked up ' in varnish, and this will not sufficiently counteract the fugitiveness if they are not pure. The tendency of linseed oil to turn ' horny ' after a time is even greater on glass than on canvas, in consequence of the non-absorbant quality of the former, so it must only be used sparingly. Turpentine, which is of value as a dilutent, does not bind the colours sufficiently, and there is the danger of opaque colours 'rubbing up' when the glass is cleaned should turpentine be too freely employed. Resinous ingredients and the ordinary varnishes that are used in oil painting on canvas, are xmsuitable for painting on glass, for they would not bear friction, and would render the colours liable to crack and peel off. Numerous articles can be embellished with these decorations. To mention some suitable for lady amateurs :— There are small panels that can be framed in plush, U nd hung on the wall ; fire-screens that, when thus ornamented, are pretty as well as useful— they are made of clear or or silvered glass, according to fancy. Brackets are much in favor nowadays, and some we have seen may be novel to our readers ; silvered glass is cut in the form of a large fan and" framed in plush, and a plush-covered slab, to hold china, projects in front of it. Squares of painted glass can be inserted in pianos and cabinets, whilst for panelling doors and window shutters, or filling a recess in a room, painted glass is most appropriate.