Page:The Building News and Engineering Journal, Volume 22, 1872.djvu/269

 DO Stent for Marca 29, 1872. THE BUILDING NEWS. 251 DECORATIVE PROCESSES. MARBLING AND INLAYING OF MARBLES. By AN EXPERIENCED WorkKMAN, (Continued from page 232.) i now proceed to describe the best system of imitating the various marbles enumerated in our last ; but in doing so, we shall be only able to speak of the particular system best suited to each marble, and to group them so as to show which and how many marbles may be imitated by like means, with variations of character, of course. Space will not allow us to enter into minute detail, but still we hope to be able to place before the reader each system in so clear a light that only a bungler will make any mistakes. We lately read some extracts from an American work on ‘‘ Coach Painting” and other things, in which a method of imitating white marble is set out as something to be proud of. The sapient author tells us to smoke the paint all over with the flame of a tallow candle, by which process he says an admirable imitation of the marble may be produced. Brother Jonathan’s experience is very different to ours, if he is in earnest, but we suspect he is trying to hoax his readers ; at all events, we promise our readers something different to the smoke of a candle. The systems of imitating marbles may be divided into crayon marbles, sponge marbles, feather and brush marbles, and splashed marbles. The marbles which may be principally imitated by the use of coloured crayons are Sienna, Italian Pink, and all the Breeche marbles of every shade; also Griotte, Black Bardilla, White-vein, Brescia Ficario, &e. Indescribing the method of imitating crayon marbles—that is, marbles in which crayons are used—our remarks will apply to the whole of the marbles above-named, allowing, of course, for the difference in colour and character of each marble. The crayons here spoken of as being used for marbling are not the ordinary coloured crayons sold by the artists’ colourman, and will have to be made specially for the purpose, the only exception being the soft black crayon, which may be obtained at any artists’ colourman. Crayons for marbling require to be made so that they shall be hard enough to be held by the crayon-holder without breaking, and yet soft enough to mark on paint without scratch- ing; and on the other hand, they should be hard enough to retain the line or mark on the paint with distinctness, and yet soft enough to soften or blend with the paint without smearing or being altogether obliterated very opposite qualities, which the French crayons or any crayons sold by the artists’ colourman do not possess, but which qualities are indispensable to the work in hand. Our method of making crayons for marbling is as follows :—Procure a quantity of the finest washed pipeclay from the pipe-maker’s, and scrape or pound it to a fine powder; now mix the colours we want in water to the consistency of a stiff paste, scrape into this colour a few shreds of the best yellow soap, mix, and work the soap and colour well together, then gradually add the powdered pipeclay until it is of the con- sistency of stiff clay. The mixture must be well kneaded, and then rolled into a cake and cut into sticks of a full quarter of an inch in thickness, or small portions of the paste may be rolled on to round sticks, about the thickness of the thick part of a pipe stem; this may be done by rolling the sticks on a sheet of plate glass, using a flat piece of wood for rolling with. The crayons may now be placed on a dry board and left to dry witha very gentle heat, and when dry they may be cut into convenient lengths and rubbed square upon a sheet of sandpaper. It is always best to make a trial of a small quantity before rolling the mass. If the crayons, when dry, crumble and break, add more soap and pipe- clay; but if they are too hard and do not work freely, add more colour and pipeclay The crayons of most use for marbling are, first, the soft black crayon, before-named, which may be used for all the black veins in Sienna marble, Italian pink, all the Breeche marbles, Griotte, Bardilla, and all black veins ; and the following crayons: made with (1) Indian red and black; (2) Indian red and ultramarine blue; (3) Indian red, drop black and burnt sienna; (4) Indian red and Oxford ochre ; (5) Indian red, raw sienna, and a little black; (6) black, a little ultramarine blue, and a small quantity of Indian red. All these are, of course, made in the manner before described, and we believe are all the colours required for crayon marbles. All broken crayons or short bits may be powdered and wet, and worked up again into whole crayons. In preparing the grounds for marbling apon, care should be taken to get them up as level as possible, as nothing adds so much to the beauty of the work as a smooth, level surface. If the surface is level to begin with, smoothness and polish may be obtained afterwards; but if it is not level to begin with, no after labour will rectify that defect. For all marbles in which the crayon is used, the last coat of grounding colour should be painted with flat colour and stippled. The stippling furnishes a key for the crayon to ite, As we have before said, we do not purpose here to describe our method of imitating every marble, as that would occupy too much space; but to describe the system upon which certain classes of marbles may be done, and although the same process in parts may, and does apply, and may be used in all marbles, yet the different processes are so essentially distinct that we may separate them into systems or methods. For convenience of description we will take for our illustration Italian pink, which is essentially a crayon marble, and the description will apply to all veined or crayon marbles, with certain modifications as to form and colour. The crayons used for Italian pink are first a crayon made with drop black, Indian red, and ultramarine blue; second, made with Indian red and light red (7.e. burnt Ox- ford ochre); third, Indian red and Oxford ochre; fourth, made with Oxford ochre and a little orange chrome with a shght quantity of Indian red added, forming a crayon of a light yellow colour ; fifth, soft black crayon, ground colour white. Wenow mix arub- bing in, or ground colour of the best white lead or flake white, and pure linseed oil : if the oil is refined or clarified it will be better. We stain this colour with a little vermilion to a light pink shade, add a little sugar of lead from the tube, but only sufficient to cause the paint to dry in about forty-eight hours. We coyer the part to be marbled with this colour, using a stiff brush, and rubbing the colour out as bare as we possibly can. This isa very important point in the success of the work, as will be seen further on. We now take the black crayon and put in the leading veins. Inall blocks of veined marbles it will be found that there are, as a rule, one or two leading veins which are of a darker colour than any other part, and upon these leading veins the mass of veins seem to rest, andthe broken patches of colour are supported by them, so that in painting the marble these leading lines should form a prominent feature. After the black we then use the next darkest crayon, and break up the ground into angular and irregular patches on and about the leading vein; next we use the red crayon. Having got so far, we mix a little yellow ochre in turpentine, thin, and with a feather we put in a quantity of veins on and above the last crayon marks. We then use the yellow crayon, and break up the ground still further, graduating the veins in depth of colour into the large masses, which latter are crossed and broken up with faint lines of yellow. We now mix vermilion in turps, thin, and ultramarine in turps, thin, in separate pots ; and with a flat tin camel’s-hair tool for each colour, we put in first the thin blue wash here and there on the patches and in im- mediate contact with the veins ; next we put in the thin wash of red in the same manner. We now go over the whole with a feather, for thin or light veins and touches of yellow. The work is now ready for softening or blending ; this is done by the aid of a hog- hair softener, which is made of the best hair by Messrs. Hamilton & Co. In softening or blending, the brush is used so that only the extreme ends of the hairs come in contact with the paint, and thus the colours and crayon marks are blended the one into the other without smearing or destroying their sharpness ; but if the side of the softening brush is used, it will drag the colour and destroy the form, and make dirty work. This will also be the case if we put too much of the oil colour we rub in with on the work ; it will cause the veins to be blurred and indis- tinct. If the ground colour and the crayons are all right, the work, when softened pro- perly, will be beautifully soft and semi-trans~ parent in its effect. Care must be taken not to use the softener too much, as the work is often spoiled by the artist not knowing when to stop. The old adage says, ‘“ It is best to let well alone,” and there is, no doubt, much truth in the saying. The work must now stand until quite dry, when we proceed to glaze and finish. In the Italian Pink or Breeche marbles there is a kind of grain or vein which crosses some of the patches like the veins which mark some pebbles and gems. Some of these are yellow, others are pink, and others of a deep red-lake colour, We now put in these veins with a pencil, or with a flat tin tool in which the hairs are parted in places. When this is done, we use the tin tool and solid white, and brighten up some of the lighter patches. We then take a feather and thin white in turps, and scumble over the whole of the work, crossing the veins, and using the badger-hair softener to blend the white ; this takes off all appearance of rawness or crude- ness, softens the veins, and gives a flatness and quietness to the work. When this is dry, we may proceed to varnish in the usual manner. On this system all veined marbles may be correctly imitated with a freedom and fulness of vein which would be exceedingly difficult and laborious if the pencil alone were used; but in the finishing the pencil may be used to heighten the effect and finish, and give depth. Here, again, we may repeat the caution as to cleanliness in working—brushes, cans, and colour should be kept free from contact with dust and dirt of any kind, or else the work will be spoiled, and we guarantee that if the instructions here given are strictly followed success will result. Small specimens of the various marbles may be obtained at the marble works; and, of course, these will be the best guides as to form and colour. (To be continued.) —— MATERIAL AND STYLE FOR LONDON ARCHITECTURE. PRINTED letter, says the Pall Mal Gazette, bearing the signature of a dis- tinguished retired architect, is now in circula- tion, which inculeates anew a lesson often suggested by ourselves, as well as by others of higher authority. We make, therefore, no apology for endeavouring to give it publicity by calling attention to its statements. The subject is the unsightly and decaying aspect presented by the modern architecture of Lon- don in consequence of two causes: the per- sistent employment, for out-door purposes, of ordinary freestone, which inevitably decays in our London atmosphere; and the equally pertinacious habit of delicate ornamentation, whether in the shape of Gothic tracery or Corinthian capitals or Renaissance Inxuriance, to which the use of this stone so easily lends