The Art of projection and complete magic lantern ... - Yesterday Image

14^cheap slides are painted—we should have said daubed. Three colourswill often constitute a coloured slide, blue sky, green trees and a brownforeground, and these sell complete including the photograph from i/-toi/6 each.To colour and make up a slide, as it should be, will sometimes takean artist a day, others of course only a few hours, where a photograph isweak, or wanting detail, the artist will strengthen it up in painting, andin the case of figures, they will be so painted up as to stand out in relief,and rotundity, strengthening the shadows, and often merely using thephotograph as a basis whereon to work up his picture.Figure subjects require very special working up, to give them a life-likeappearance, otherwise they appear flat, the more indistinct a photographthe harder it is to colour and greater the skill required to make it effective.A great deal is said pro and con, about hand paintings, our opinion isthat an entirely hand painted slide for some subjects is most essential,in fact has no equal, in the case of effects, especially when transparencyis taken into consideration. Landscapes and views should have a photographicbasis, as detail to the same extent cannot be obtained by anentire hand painting, and again the cost is considerably lessened by thiscourse, a good photograph well painted, is a picture and a pleasure, buta photograph daubed is an eyesore and cannot be appreciated.The day for glaring red, blue and yellow is fast waning, art tints andsoft neutrals are steadily advancing in favour and appreciation by thosewith an artistic mind, and we hope that the time will come when thecheap and nasty will not be tolerated at any price.THE ART OF SLIDE PAINTING.We do not wish to damp the ardour of those who have a taste andpossibly the ability for tinting photographs, some amateur pictures arefairly passable but never come up to the standard of those done byprofessional hands, singular though this may appear it is neverthelesstrue, (that genial and graphic contributor to the English Mechanic, aloneexcepted) he was an artist only as a hobby, and under the nom deplu7ne ' Sable ' was ever ready to give aspirants the benefit of hisexperience. The amateur commencing will have his patience oftencalled into requisition and sorely tried, but constant practice on oldphotographs is required, and it not liked when finished, wash off, andgo over the whole again ; no half measures or royal roads are attached toslide painting. Have ready to hand the following :—A bottle of puremastic varnish, a little oil of almonds, some good turpentine and a little