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NEEDLES AND BBUZHES

vantage. The colors once mixed with glycerine, can be kept ready for painting for several weeks, if carefully kept from the dust under a bowl or glass jar, and thus some expense and trouble are saved. Perhaps it is as well to add that with the tube paints, colors left on the palette can be used again by the addition of fresh turpentine. Glycerine painting should have a coat of lavendar oil all over it before firing. This should be put on, after the painting is thoroughly dry, with a broad flat brush in even strokes, proceeding regularly from one side to the other.

Monograms should be very carefully and accurately drawn, and can be painted either in colors or gold. A prepared liquid gold comes for this purpose ready for use. It can also be procured in powder, to be used like other colors with turpentine. It should be laid on rather thickly. Where colors are used in connection with gold, the two should never be laid over each other, as they do not fire well.

MOIST WATER COLORS FOR CHINA PAINTING.

Some find that the smell of turpentine or lavender oil, used in china painting, has an injurious effect on their health. Especially is this the case with those whose throats are delicate. The moist water colors, prepared from china painting, will prove a boon to all such. The mechanical part of this work, however, is a little more difficult than in using mineral colors mixed with oils. The moist water colors for china painting come in pans like Winson and Newton's water colors. As they do not rub off easily, however, a little must be taken off with the palette knife, and rubbed down with a little water. With the ordinary mineral paints, it is generally better to use the paint in thin washes, thus securing delicacy of tint, but with the water colors the opposite course is necessary. As much paint should be used with each stroke as the brush will hold. Over-painting is to be