Afarbliso—Marbles are generally imitated with oil colours, and those colours are mostly opaque, as for this purpose it is not at all necessary that they be transparent. The manner of proceeding with the different marbles will not be detailed, but a few general instructions applicable to all of them will be given. The tools for imitating marble are less vaned than those for imitating wood. A palette and palette knife, with numerous small sized hog-hair brushes and camel-hair pencils, and a duster, or worn badger-hair softener, are all that is necessary for imitating any of the marbles. The ground is to be chosen of that colour which is most predominant in the marble to be imitated ; for example, in black and gold marble, the ground is black; in veined, it is white; in sienna, it is cream colour; • and in dove marble, the ground is of a dark pearl colour. In proceeding to the imitation, the necessary colours are to be taken on the palette, and mixed up to match the tints in the marble to be imitated. In mixing, they must be lightly tempered with oil, and further tempered with tur pentine for use ; and they should not be laid on thicker than is necessary to produce the proper effect. The softer shades are first to be put in, blending the different colours, as may be, in the marble. As soon as they are put in a proper form, they are to be softened by brushing lightly over with a clean duster, or old badger-hair softener; but in some marbles there requires to be no softening : of course, when the shades or veins are sharp and hard, they must not be softened. The softer veins may be next put in, while the soft shades or ground-work is yet wet. As soon as this ground-work is dry, the shades may be heightened, and the strong and sharp veins put in. in the soft
shades or ground-work, care must be taken not to mix the colours together, so as to give the work a muddy appearance ; and the colours should be used as thin as will make the work sufficiently solid, or it will look uneven when varnished.
Ornamental Painting.—This chiefly consists in painting scrolls, figures, or other enrichments on plain work, so as to give them the appearance of relief or projection ; it is most commonly done in the corners and margins of panels. The ornaments or enrichments to be painted are usually sketched on paper, and the outlines are then pricked through with a needle point. This paper is to be laid on the wall or work on which the ornament is to be painted and pounced over with a charcoal pounce-bag ; the charcoal dust, passing through the email holes in the paper, will leave a faint tracing of the outline of the ornament on the work, and serves as a guide to paint it by. The brushes used are camel or sable-hair pencils, with long hair; and a rest-stick is held in the left hand, to steady the right hand by ; also a palette, to work the colour from, the same as is used by artists generally. If the colour of the ornament is to differ from that of the ground on which it is painted, the pounced outline should first be filled up, and, when that is dry, the Shades put in • but when the orna ment is to be of the same colour as the ground, it will only be necessary to put in file shades, by the assistance of the pounced outline. As soon as the first shades are dry they may be heightened, and a stronger relief given to the ornament.