very little is required, but it must be put in with spirit and skill and the beauty of the work will thereby be greatly enhanced.
The whole of these veins are put on one upon the other whilst wet and blended together with the badger softener. When quite dry the dark vein may be retouched either wholly or in parts.
Lay on a ground of white and put in the veins with a marbling crayon or camel's hair brush whilst the ground is wet, and soften with the badger. This is, of course, a much inferior method to the above, as the different degrees of depth of the veins, and the pale smooth portions caused by the confluences described are not as well represented.
Florentine Marble. The ground for this marble is white, Indian red and black, mixed together to form a very light reddish neutral tint. The veins are umber or burnt sienna; they are laid on very irregularly, while the ground color is wet; sometimes they are very close together, and then seem to break suddenly into the forms of rocks or ruins, an effect which must be studied from natural specimens and must be imitated by hand.
Black-and-Gold Marble. The ground is black. Paint the large spots from which the fibrous veins are to run with yellow ochre and white, the bright tone of which must be heightened by the addition of a little vermilion. These masses must be dabbed with freedom upon the ground with a brush full of color and, whilst quite wet, threads must be drawn from them in all directions, some, of course, being larger and thicker than others.
A white vein is sometimes seen running in the deepest parts of the black, with small threads attached to it, crossing each other and the yellow veins in all directions. Care must be taken that the threads are connected with, and run in some degree in the same direction as, the thicker veins. If the ground of this is properly prepared, the yellow and white veins may both be painted at once in oil color.
