John L. King

“ Today, with the common use of automobiles and the rapidly growing use of colored lights for signs and signals, color-blindness becomes an important matter.
The defect is hereditary and much more common in men than in women. A woman may have normal eyesight herself and yet transmit the color-blindness to her children. ”

“ Color is an effect caused by the reflection of certain rays of light. In order to understand this statement, it is necessary that we know what light is. Science teaches us that light is a form of intense vibration which reaches the earth direct from the sun. ”

“ Lemon yellow, which is of greenish hue; yellow of orange hue; red with orange hue; red which has a bluish cast. Blue with a reddish tone, also blue with a leaning toward green. A liberal supply of white and some black which does not contain blue.
To produce a pure tint you must first produce a pure base of the primary colors. White, which is a neutral color, does not alter the original hue, it merely pales. In making pure greens from yellow and blue, the yellow and blue should contain none of the primary color red ”

“ A new practical book by a color expert, for students, artists, dyers, decorators, show card writers, painters, printers, pressmen, etc., to assist them in mixing oil colors to obtain standard and popular hues in as permanent and practical manner as possible. Great thought has been given to the permanency of the resultant colors. It takes the guess work out of color mixing. ”

“ Make the paint just stout enough to apply with a wall brush and put it on in that consistency. When the surface has been so coated, and before the paint begins to set, use a good size stippler, and see that you do the work uniformly and evenly. You can color the white to any desired tint with finely powdered dry color or you may use color ground in oil, but if much of the latter is required, use one-third raw oil and two-thirds turpentine for thinning. When solid color is desired for wall stippling, use colors ground in oil and the finest bolted whiting, dry to make stout paste. ”

“ Tint mixing is both interesting and profitable, but in order to obtain the best results, first-class materials are very essential. Great care should be exercised in the selection of this material, as the product of one manufacturer often varies, as to shade with that of another manufacture, therefore it is well for the color mixer to make it a rule, never to select colors promiscuously. ”

“ Orange and violet make russet, violet and green make olive, orange and green make citron.
Black, white and gray are natural tones in which no color is apparent: White pales but does not brighten any color. Yellow is the brightening color and always stands out strong and advancing; to deepen a color, use its complementary color; to deepen yellow add purple; to deepen red add blue; to deepen blue add burnt sienna, then you will have purity of color.
THE TWO EXTREMES OF WARM AND COLD Vermilion or any other red of orange hue (warm) . ”

“ White, which is also a cold color when added to black makes a cold gray. Yellow added to red forms a warm orange.
MEANING OF COLORS White is said to mean purity; blue, fidelity or truth; red, love or sacrifice; green, envy; pink, modesty; violet, innocence; yellow, jealousy; black, sorrow or distress, and lavender, passion.
4 ART OF COLOR MIXING Mixing colors is an art in itself. With a combination of the chief colors—red, yellow, blue (and black and white) , thousands of shades and hues may be produced. ”

“ Learn How to MAKE MONEY as a COMMERCIAL ARTIST or CARTOONIST
Have you ever wished that you were the one who made comic drawings for the Daily and Sunday Newspapers, and received the enormous salary that some of those artists make? ”

“ This is because it is what the geneticist calls a recessive character. A man may have a color-blind father and still not transmit the defect. But a color-blind woman, married to a color-blinded man, transmits the defect to all off-springs, both sons and daughters.
ALTERING COLOR To brighten color, add yellow; to give it warmth, add red. To brighten and warm, add orange. To deepen and cool, add blue. To cool and lighten, add green; to deepen and warm, add purple.
Ultramarine blue contains sulphur and will tarnish with admixtures of pigment containing lead. Substitute zinc white. ”

“ GOOD BRUSHES GET GOOD RESULTS Keep brushes out of water. When paint and varnish brushes are not in use, they should be suspended in raw linseed oil away from the bottom of the container by at least two inches and at least an inch above the bottom ferrule or strap. Water is not a paint solvent. When brushes are suspended in linseed oil, the oil will dissolve the pigment which, being heavier, will sink to the bottom of the container, in this way cleaning the brush. ”

“ When thoroughly dry dip into marbling solution as has been previously described, when dry, place in running water until all show card writer’s white is washed free. A clean soft brush will help loosen it.
The marbling colors should be a trifle darker with less agitation. The darker background will help show to better advantage the pure white border and lettering.
White material is best for marbling. White, a neutral color will not alter the various colors and tints applied in this process. However, colored board may be used to good advantage for certain purposes. ”

“ The object to be painted or printed has a lot to do with the selection of colors. It is well to study the subject carefully.
Printing pressmen have their problems. When printing on white material which is a neutral color he does not encounter the obstacles as when printing colored inks on colored material.
All fine pictorial color printing is executed on white material, this being the only way to get pure coloring, as it is generally printed with transparent ink.
8 MIXING TINTS
Paints, Inks, Etc. ”

“ These absorb some of the superfluous oil and force the pigment into a solid mass.
Reducing to eliminate picking is the principal cause of mottle. Before mixing reducer with ink, add a little soft ink, such as halftone; if straight halftone picks, add 00 varnish.
Inks are made for all purposes. Best results are obtained by using them without adulteration. Oftentimes a drop or two of linseed oil distributed on press will do the trick. If ink mottles from the start with no other inks at hand, use less ink and double roll.
Picking and mottling on platen presses is more prevalent than on cylinders. ”

“ Pigments that are jet black and pure white either vegetable or mineral are unknown. It takes the addition of blue to alter the yellowish cast of white, and blue to deepen the brownish cast of any so called black pigment.
White being a neutral color, will harmonize with most any color combination.
NEUTRAL HUES AND TINTS Neutral hues are made by a 50–50 mixture of warm and cold colors. White added to neutral hues produce neutral tints. ”

“ WEIGHT OF PAINT Good paint weighs 18 pounds and upwards to the gallon. Ordinary paint weighs 15–16 pounds.
57 HINTS FOR PRESSMEN COVER WHITE When cover white is too short or stiff to be workable, add a small amount of mixing white.
PROCESS COLOR PRINTING For the very best results in this fascinating art, print the lighter colors first, as follows: Yellow, red, blue and black unless otherwise instructed by the engraver.
When dark colors are run first contrary to progressive proof, the full richness and detail are lost and hues altered. ”

“ Permalba White—A fine opaque white for artists, etc. Contains neither lead or zinc. Can safely be mixed with ultramarine and all other pigments. A product of an American manufacturer.
Red Lead—Used on iron prevents rust. Is an inexpensive product of lead, largely used as barn paint. Possesses good covering qualities.
Rose Madder or Madder Lake—A beautiful transparent rose color of a clove or flesh pink hue. Alizarin, a coal tar product, now affords a better substitute than the original pigment obtained from the madder plant. ”

“ The coloring adheres to the sheet instantly and it is needless to hold it under water. Colors will run if used in excessive quantity or failure to thin enough. If air pockets form, wait until thoroughly dry before redipping in solution.
White oil paint or printer’s ink may be mixed with colors to form tints before same is thinned. More thinning of colors also make lighter shades.
Over painting on these backgrounds should be 69executed with color ground in Japan to better adhere to the slightly greasy surface. ”

“ With point of knife cut out letters which are traced from painted show card and paste with rubber cement, or weight with small objects to prevent color from running under the edges, directly on the face of each corresponding letter and apply spatter. Remove these masks when the work has dried.
High lights may be added to spatter drawings with touches of Chinese or show card writers white with a pencil brush.
Gold ink spatter shows well on dark materials; white is effective on black material. ”

“ Applied to the under side of a tent or awning, it reduces by three-fourths the amount of heat from the sun which gets through the cloth, while if used on the cover of an automobile or ice wagon it cuts in half the heat let through and makes the temperature inside the vehicle more nearly that found in natural shade, thereby making it much more comfortable. ”

“ Antwerp Blue—A transparent color lighter than prussian blue; splendid to mix with yellow for greens and tints.
Bronze Blues—Made by mixtures of ferro and ferricyanides of iron and potassium or sodium. Bronze blue, so called for its bronzy effect. It is an opaque, deep blue, used almost exclusively by printers.
Bronzes—Are pulverized gold, brass, copper and aluminum. Can be dyed with aniline colors such as violet, green, etc.
Bone Black—Made by charring bones which are then finely ground. Semi-transparent.
Burnt Sienna—Raw sienna when burnt yields a brownish orange, quite transparent. ”

“ Yellow Bronze—Lemon or medium chrome yellow, French ocher and a touch of burnt umber.
Yellow Drabs—Same as the preceding, in various proportions.
41 COLOR MIXTURES BY PARTS In this list where green is mentioned, “Universal” regular green is referred to. The yellow to be used can be chrome yellow for a darker shade, or lemon yellow for a lighter shade, although lemon yellow is to be preferred.
GREENS BY TWO-COLOR MIXTURE GOOD GREENS Some very fine greens can be made with lemon yellow and Antwerp blue in various proportions. Can be toned or deepened with black. ”

“ PADDING GLUE (any color) FOR PRINTERS
Requires no heating. In addition to the above formula purchase ten cents’ worth of analine (any color desired) from your druggist, dissolve this in two ounces of glycerine. Then stir all together. The glycerine keeps the glue flexible and prevents cracking. This formula, in print for the first time, means the saving of a great many dollars.
MIXING GLASS Before mixing colors on glass, glue or lay a sheet of white paper to the back. Or paint it white. ”

“ REMOVE INK STAINS FROM WOOD Prepare a mixture of 8 ounces of concentrated sulphuric acid and 13⁄4 pints of water. Scour the stain thoroughly with water and sand and then pour some of the mixture upon it and rub until the stain disappears.
56 TO CLEAN SMOKED OR BLACKENED WALLS AND CEILINGS Wash with a cloth wrung out of a strong solution of baking soda and water or use vinegar and water. If the stain is not all removed, dissolve gum shellac in alcohol to the consistency of milk or cream, and with it cover the sooty parts. Paint or whitewash over the shellac. The black will not show through. ”

“ Purple made from this combination is inferior.
5 COLOR BLINDNESS Today, color-blindness is a serious difficulty in the way of a person earning a living. A generation or so ago, it was considered a matter of small importance. Many persons, suffering from the disease, went through life without knowing they were afflicted. The only persons, as a class, who were greatly affected by the problem were railroad men, who had to take tests for the distinction of colors. ”

“ Additional coating should contain less turpentine in proportion to the oil.
A REMEDY FOR LOW CEILINGS Rooms with low ceilings can be made to appear much higher by using a striped paper, preferably in a pale tint.
53 TO REMOVE PAINT FROM GLASS Common washing soda dissolved in water; let it soak a while—if put on thick, say thirty minutes—then wash off. If it does not completely remove, give it another application.
CLEANING PAINTED WALLS Dissolve two ounces of borax in two quarts of water. Add one teaspoonful of ammonia, put half this mixture into a pail of water. Use no soap. ”

“ The cylinder requires less ink, has ample distribution and the printed sheet is peeled from the form.
Every printing press has its capacity. You can not successfully print a solid oversize form just because it can be locked in a platen chase. Even with a good vibrator, this kind of form requires double or triple rolling. ”

“ A GOOD WALLPAPER VARNISH Dissolve equal parts of borax and shellac in ten times their weight of alcohol; strain. Give two coats. For a very light-colored paper use sandarac instead of shellac. Paper treated with this lacquer can be washed with water, and even with soap, if necessary.
LUMINOUS PAINT FORMULA Linseed Oil cold compressed and thickened by heat 3 oz., barium sulphate 3 oz., prepared calcium carbonate 3 oz., white zinc sulphide 6 oz., luminous calcium sulphide 18 oz. Mix well and grind in a paint mill, very fine. ”