Part 1 (1/2)
Crayon Portraiture.
by Jerome A. Barhydt.
PREFACE.
In issuing this second treatise on Crayon Portraiture, Liquid Water Colors and French Crystals, for the use of photographers and amateur artists, I do so with the hope and a.s.surance that all the requirements in the way of instruction for making crayon portraits on photographic enlargements and for finis.h.i.+ng photographs in color will be fully met.
To these I have added complete instructions for free-hand crayons.
This book embodies the results of a studio experience of twenty-four years spent in practical work, in teaching, and in overcoming the everyday difficulties encountered, not alone in my own work, but in that of my pupils as well. Hence the book has been prepared with special reference to the needs of the student. It presents a brief course of precepts, and requires on the part of the pupil only perseverance in order that he may achieve excellence. The mechanical principles are few, and have been laid down in a few words; and, as nearly all students have felt, in the earlier period of their art work, the necessity of some general rules to guide them in the composition and arrangement of color, I have given, without entering into any profound discussion of the subject, a few of its practical precepts, which, it is hoped, will prove helpful.
While this book does not treat of art in a very broad way, yet I am convinced that those who follow its teachings will, through the work they accomplish, be soon led to a higher appreciation of art. Although this kind of work does not _create_, yet who will say that it will not have accomplished much if it shall prove to be the first step that shall lead some student to devote his or her life to the sacred calling of art?
It has been said that artists rarely, if ever, write on art, because they have the impression that the public is too ill-informed to understand them--that is, to understand their ordinarily somewhat technical method of expression. If, therefore, in the following pages I may sometimes seem to take more s.p.a.ce and time for an explanation than appears necessary, I hope the student will overlook it, as I seek to be thoroughly understood.
My hope with reference to this work is that it may prove of actual value to the earnest student in helping him reach the excellence which is the common aim of all true artists.
J. A. BARHYDT.
CRAYON PORTRAITURE.
To many who know nothing about the art of crayon portraiture, the mastery of it not only seems very difficult, but almost unattainable.
In fact, any work of art of whatever description, which in its execution is beyond the knowledge or comprehension of the spectator, is to him a thing of almost supernatural character. Of course, this is more decided when the subject portrayed carries our thoughts beyond the realms of visible things.
But the making of crayon portraits is not within the reach alone of the trained artist who follows it as a profession. I claim that any one who can learn to write can learn to draw, and that any one who can learn to draw can learn to make crayon portraits. Making them over a photograph, that is, an enlargement, is a comparatively simple matter, as it does not require as much knowledge of drawing as do free-hand crayons. But you must not suppose that, because the photographic enlargement gives you the drawing in line and an indistinct impression of the form in light and shade, you are not required to draw at all in making a crayon portrait over such an enlargement. Some knowledge of drawing is necessary, though not a perfect knowledge.
Many people err in supposing that only the exceptionally skilled can produce the human features in life-like form upon the crayon paper.
While recognizing great differences in natural apt.i.tude for drawing in different persons, just as those who use the pen differ widely in their skill, some being able to write with almost mechanical perfection of form, I still hold that any one who is able to draw at all can succeed in producing creditable crayon portraits; and the lack of great skill as a draughtsman, should neither discourage a student nor debar him from undertaking to make crayon portraits (over enlargements, at least), either as an amateur or professional. To make a crayon from life undoubtably requires considerable talent and some education as an artist; but photography, in recent times, has made such advances from the old fas.h.i.+oned daguerreotype to the dry plate process and instantaneous exposure, and such developments have recently been made in the field of enlargements and in photographic papers, that it is now possible for anyone, who will carefully follow the plain instructions given in the following pages, to make a good crayon portrait by the aid of the different kinds of enlargements. These place in his hands a perfect reproduction of what he wishes to make; and care and close attention to details will insure the rest.
The student, however, must have courage. I tell my pupils not to be afraid to work freely; that if they spoil their work beyond their ability to redeem it, I can always fix it up and restore it for them; and that they should go ahead confidently. The reader may say that he has no teacher to help him out of his difficulty; but he must remember that he has the photographic enlargement as a sure guide, and that whenever he fears he is losing the outline, he can see at once what he is doing, by holding the enlargement against the light with its back towards him. My experience as a teacher has shown me that pupils, as a rule, are timid, especially that cla.s.s which works mostly on enlargements, resulting from the fear of losing the outline and from lack of a thorough knowledge of drawing. I especially urge the necessity for boldness and freedom in execution. As an expert in chirography can read character in handwriting, so the artist's public will judge him from his work. If he is, in fact, weak and timid, these traits will find expression in what he puts on paper. Let courage, then, be an important part of your equipment, if you would succeed in doing good crayon work.
PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGEMENTS.
There are three kinds of photographic enlargements used as a basis for crayon portraits, and, with a little experience, the student can determine for himself which kind will prove the most satisfactory.
Free-hand crayons are made on Steinbach and other crayon papers, without any photograph as a basis. Silver enlargements are made on paper coated with a solution of chloride of silver, which the action of the light reduces to salts of silver. This is the oldest form of photography, and has been used since its introduction by Scheele in 1778. Silver enlargements are made by the aid of the sun (and are then called solar enlargements) or they can be made with the electric light.
Platinum enlargements are a recent advance in photographic printing with iron salts, the process which has been worked out and patented by W. Willis, Jr., being a development of such printing. Its principle is that a solution of ferrous oxalate in neutral pota.s.sium oxalate is effective as a developer. A paper is coated with a solution of ferric oxalate and platinum salts and then exposed behind a negative. It is then floated in a hot solution of neutral pota.s.sium oxalate, when the image is formed.
This process was first introduced by Mr. Willis in 1874, and he has since made improvements. He claims that the platinotype paper does not contain any animal sizing. The early experiments convinced him that the paper upon which the image was to be printed would prove an important factor, as all photographic paper contained animal sizing, which was found to be antagonistic to platinum salts. The action of platinum salts upon a paper containing animal sizing gave it a tint which no amount of acid was.h.i.+ng could remove. For the past nine years Mr. Willis has had manufactured for his special use a Steinbach paper, free from the animal sizing, and he also uses a cold developer, thereby causing the paper to retain its original elasticity.
The chief points of difference between bromide enlargements and silver or platinum enlargements are that, in the former, we have the sensitive compound of silver suspended in a vehicle of gelatin, and, in the latter, a thin coating of an aqueous solution of the sensitive salts.