In 1912, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “January 15th the big furnace at the studio fell over and started a fine fire – a loss of about $2,000.00, a week’s delay in repairs and getting started.” That is the equivalent of a $53,000 loss today, no small fire. However, with the fabric and other flammables stored in the studio, the damage could have been far worse.
Moses’ record of the studio fire is an opportune moment to contemplate some practical considerations of running a scene painting studio in Chicago during 1912, such as making the binder for paint. In 1912, stage scenery was painted with a combination of dry pigment (powdered color) and size water (diluted animal hide glue/gelatin). The dry pigment was transformed into a paste and then mixed with size on the scenic artists’ palettes before applying the paint. The type of paint used by Moses and his colleagues included only three ingredients: color, water and binder. All were kept separate until just prior to application, an ideal way to store paint with an indefinite shelf life. Today’s paint uses the same three ingredients, and then some – other additives for shelf life, flexibility, etc.
Handling any paint requires an understanding of both the product and usage. Manuals not only train artists, but also may sell a particular product. In 1916, scenic artist Frank Atkinson discussed the use of size in his publication, “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 154). He wrote, “The medium for binding distemper is known as ‘size,’ or sizing. For making it, gelatin is preferred, although the best grade of White Cabinet Glue answers very well and is most commonly used. Drop four or five pounds into the cauldron, cover it with water, and fill the water vessel two-thirds full of water. Apply the heat, and when the glue is melted you will have extra strong size. One dipper full of strong size with four dippers of clear hot water will produce working size.” Atkinson worked for Sosman & Landis during the early twentieth century, so his description of the process is likely the same used at many paint studios at this time.
Depending on the strength of the size, there is a tendency for it to gel. Even the perfect ratio of water to strong size will gel if a paint studio gets cool, hence, keeping the studio warm with a big furnace. The other option was to keep the size warm, but this was a bit tricky since you don’t want the glue to scorch. Making and storing unused size is like a juggling act, where all of the balls need to keep moving in the air without one hitting the ground. The smell of rotting glue is when a juggling ball hits the ground. Now in the case of Sosman & Landis, averaging the production of 4 drops a day, the size barrel was never left full for long. The key to painting with size is rapid turnover, where size water is constantly being mixed and replenished for scenic artists’ palettes.
Over the years, I have done quite a few experiments with size water, studying the strength and storage; all the while understanding that size water should really be mixed daily. Just as dry pigment palettes are prepared in the morning, preparing size each day is quite easy and takes about the same amount of time.
The greatest complaint among older artists is the rancid smell of old size. It is an organic compound that will spoil, no surprise to anyone. But like old food, there is a point when you throw it out instead of still using it. There are many ways to prevent the size from rotting and smelling like a dead animal. I have successfully kept size for over a month without any noticeable odor, you just have to understanding this little science experiment that you are creating.
The container is the first issue. Plastic and metal are not good long-term storage containers. Glass or glazed pottery (porcelain) containers are the best options, as nothing will leach into the size. I learned this from a chemist who specializes in hide glue and technical gelatin.
The container should never be tightly sealed, as this starts a little science experiment. Loosely draping the top with size, or fabric, allows the size to “breathe” and prevents contaminants from building up in the storage container.
Finally, keeping size at a cool temperature will cause it to gel, but it also preserves it like many organic substances. Gelled size just needs to be warmed up again prior to use.
Discussing the dry pigment painting process and cooking of size is nothing new or unique to our industry. There were a variety of publications and articles describing the scene painting process. As the use of dry pigment was gradually replaced with pre-mixed products, paint manufacturers and distributers took it upon themselves to include directions in their product catalogues. Bob Foreman recently shared a section about paint in a 1964 Paramount Theatrical Supply catalogue (http://vintagetheatrecatalogs.blogspot.com/…/paramount-thea…).
In the section on “Scenic Paint,” there was an article written by Mr. Wayne Bowman, College of William and Mary, Norfolk 8, Virginia. Bowman’s article was placed immediately below a brief description of Paramount’s scenic paints, dyes and the necessary cast-aluminum glue pot for evenly heating size. The catalogue offered “regular colors” and “prepared colors,” adding that “regular colors are more economical.”
Wayne wrote:
“For general stage use, the most satisfactory painting is done with dry scenic colors mixed with size water. The scenic colors cannot normally be obtained locally, but through theatre supply houses, such as Paramount Theatrical Supplies.” I was reminded of a conversation that I had with Italian scenic artist, Umberto di Nino, this summer. He explained the clients who wanted the best quality scenery paid for it to be created with dry pigment, whereas those without the substantial budgets used pre-mixed paints. Dry pigment is a superior product. This says a lot, as there is a visible difference of dry pigment scenery under stage lights, especially LEDS. I was able to see the difference when attending a CITT session last month where various lighting instruments were compared on paint samples. There were both dry pigment and pre-mix paint samples. In every case, the dry pigment had a greater depth and vibrancy, regardless of the lighting instrument or lamp.
Wayne’s article in the 1964 article continued: “Size water is a mixture of water and glue. Ground glue is most commonly used. The glue must be melted by covering with water and heating in a double boiler. In most scene shops, a water bucket or lard can is used for the water, and the glue is placed in a somewhat smaller container. It is good practice to place a block of wood under the glue container, so that it will not scorch if the water should boil dry. As a general rule, size water consists of one part glue, by volume, to sixteen parts of water. Since glues vary in their properties, it is necessary to test size water in this manner: wet the thumb and forefinger in the size water, touch them and then separate them. They should feel slightly sticky. If not, add more glue.”
When theatrical supply companies stopped adding instructions about dry pigment, the use went down. When demand decreased, the product was removed from many theatrical supply catalogues. The same can be said for any specific painting product; if a client is unsure how to use it, the demand goes down and then the product is discontinued by the distributor. If the product is difficult to obtain and shipping prices are high, it is less likely that the client will risk purchasing the product.
I have to wonder if that is why the use of house paint for scene painting has continued to increase over the years. The false perception that it as more expense and dangerous, combined with either the difficulty in quickly obtaining the product and expense shipping rates. For smaller institutions, it is cheaper to use, and people are willing to sacrifice the latex or acrylic sheen for convenience.
Finally, many people have used paint from a hardware/lumber store; the same cannot be said for scene paint. Many people default to a product that they are most familiar with and is easily obtainable. When the majority of academic institutions switch to house paint, storing gallons of latex from the local lumber store instead of scenic paint, the theatrical paint manufacturers will have a problem. Those students carry their training out into the professional world. Unfortunately, this trend has already started; the use of inappropriate paints for stage scenery is gaining ground at many schools.
To be continued..
