Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

F. Lloyds “Practical Guide to Scene Painting and Painting in Distemper” in  1875 prominently depicts a painted scene with abbey ruins as the scene.  This composition was picked up by a variety of stage venues, especially the Scottish Rite.  In the majority of Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite venues, the setting depicts the ruins of an abbey for a secret meeting during dark times in Europe for the 21st degree.

At the Austin Scottish Rite, their abbey ruins are also intended for the 30th degree – complete with the translucent section on a tombstone that reveals the words “He who shall overcome the dread of death shall ascend above the terrestrial sphere and be entitled to the greater mysteries.”  This is an alternative staging to the catacombs where the magical illusion of “Pepper’s Ghost” transform’s a man into a skeleton with the assistance of plate glass and lights.

All compositions are similar to various illustrations of Holyrood Abbey as noted below.

Backdrop in Austin, Texas at the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the 30th degree.

“A pounce is used for tracing designs on scenery.  It is made by first drawing the design on paper of a reasonable weight.  The design in then “pricked” with a pounce wheel or with a pin mounted on a short stick.  The backside of the pounce paper is sanded lightly with sandpaper to remove the brr from the holes.  Then rubbing with a pounce bag, an impression of the design in made on the scene.  Note that the design is drawn once by hand so that the pounce method results in great economy of time.  The repeat pattern has a “register” mark to fit the spacing which has been laid out on the scene.  When the entire pounce process is completed, the scene is ready for painting.”

Excerpt from Bradford Ashworth’s “Notes on Scene Painting” (1952, page 30)

My professional note: I had pounce bags.  They create dust, you inhale it, your hands are covered with charcoal dust, and there is a fine layer of grey everywhere.  About twenty years ago, I started a new process that saved time, energy, grime, and money.  I trace the pounce outline with a piece of jumbo charcoal, then, with a paper towel or rag, I wipe it off of the surface.  Wiping it off of the surface prevents the spread of airborne particles and surface contaminants.

Using jumbo charcoal to trace the pattern and transfer the image is MUCH faster than a pounce bag from a simple time standpoint.  The pattern is also transferred directly to the surface without any of the charcoal dust leaking through and spreading on the canvas.  Quick, easy, fast and far less messy.

Below is an example of a pounce pattern that remained visible after 90 years.  It is from the Fort Scott Scottish Rite scenery collection, ca, 1924.

This is an earlier take from my previous post that noted Atkinson’s directions for scene painters in 1916.   F. Lloyds gives instruction to make the binding for dry pigment in 1875.  Below is an excerpt from his “Practical Guide to Scene Painting and Painting in Distemper” on page 19.

“Size is sold in firkins or by weight.  That called best double is to be preferred, and when melted, must be mixed with water in the proportion of one pint size to four pints water, to make what is called working size.  Another called, strong size, for sizing and priming a cloth or any piece covered with canvas, may be made by dropping the size exactly as it comes from the shop, into a kettle in which there is just sufficient water to prevent the size from adhering to the bottom of the kettle.  The size is ready for using as soon as it is completely melted, without having been allowed to boil.  Use is frequently made of what is called half-and-half size, a mixture of working size and strong size in equal quantities.”

I have found the best hide glue available from Bjorn Industries in North Carolina.  Working closely with their chemist to get the perfect version – HC315.  In the past I have mixed my own versions with products labelled rabbit skin glue, hide glue, and technical gelatin.  The biggest thing is to heat it up in water over very low and indirect heat.  The expensive glue pot is not always an option.  I have used a double-boiler (not the same one I use for melting chocolate!) and a crock pot (not the same one I use for cooking).  My personal favorite for small projects is the mini crockpots as you can create very small amounts of size glue each day.  The best experience that I have has is mixing ONLY the amount of size that I will use for one day and then disposing of it.  If you need to keep it for an extended period of time, store it is glass containers, do NOT cap, and ideally refrigerate it.  I use those industrial size pickle jars and cover with cheesecloth.  In these conditions, size can last for weeks.  I try not to add any preservative to extend the shelf life as I really believe that counteracts with the strength of adhesive properties.  Putting in metal or plastic has a tendency to turn your size into a science experiment.

Below is the crystallized hide glue that I purchase from Bjorn.  You can immediately tell the strength based on the translucent quality of each grain.  Weak version appear very opaque and dull.  Good versions are translucent and shiny.

“The scene painter’s colours are known technically as ‘distemper colours.’ They are bought in the form of powder, and the only preparation they require is the admixture of water.  The usual proportion is one pound of colour to a pint of water, but some colours will ‘take’ more water than others; thus ivory black powder requires more water than vermillion.  The powder is merely stirred up until it dissolves, but each pot of paint will require an occasional stirring while it is being used.  The painter will also require a small pail for ‘letting down’ his colour and a half pail of dissolved size for mixing in before applying the paint to canvas, otherwise the paint on drying would fly off in a powder.”

Excerpt from “Secrets of Scene Painting and Stage Effects” by Van Dyke Browne (1900, page 14)

“Glazing is very much resorted to in scene painting and can always by employed in an agreeable effect…for glazing purposes, a little strong size must be added to the working size, and the deeper and stronger the glaze is desired, the stronger the glaze must be. It must be not strong enough, however, to impart to your color the shiny or crystallized appearance, which is to be avoided as you would a pest…The best of all size for glazing is glue size, and can be improved by adding a little molasses, which renders it more adaptable for a dark, strong glaze, and, to a certain extent, prevents it from shining when dry.”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 169)

“If rubber set brushes are not used, care should be taken that the ordinary glue set brush is not plunged into hot water, size, or glue. When brushes used for distemper work wear down so that the bristles get to short to hold sufficient amounts of color, they will be found of excellent service in dye work where a short, stubby brush works to the best advantage…Always clean your brushes well after using them in a flat tray where the bristles do not become mussed up and disarranged….Brushes that are frequently used can be kept soft between working hours by being laid in a tray of trough filled with a solution of part linseed oil, part coal oil and part gasoline.”

Excerpt from “Theatrical Scene Painting” (Appleton Publishing Company, 1916)

“The Scenic Painter oftentimes is requested to furnish sample drawings or sketches of the work to be performed, and to familiarize the beginner with the most essential rules of correct drawing, which necessarily must be known by all scenic artists, we have included, in this work; several chapters on pencil drawing, elementary perspective, pencil sketching, crayon drawing, in addition to the painting of scenery in oil, all of which are very instructive and necessary, as no scenic painting, no matter how elaborately executed in colors, can correct the faulty drawing of the scene depicted.”

Excerpt from “Theatrical Scene Painting: A Thorough and Complete Work on How to Sketch, Paint, and Install Theatrical Scenery” (Appleton Publishing Co., Omaha, Nebraska, 1916, preface)

The rendering below is from the Holak Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries, Performing Arts Archives.  These renderings are available in a searchable online database: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch

The attached rendering depicts a 31st degree scene, titled Classical Interior and is in numerous Scottish Rite Theaters across the country.

Corresponding scene by Sosman & Landis Studios, ca. 1912.  This was taken during the photo shoot this week for the upcoming Santa Fe Scottish Rite book.

“This brings the painting to a conclusion, and when dry, draw all of the tacks along the bottom of the frame and up both sides, then carefully slide a 4-inch diameter wooden roller into the “roller apron” at the bottom, which is stitched in at the time the seams are run. It is almost needless to say that the roller apron must be absolutely straight and in square of the curtain, which was in turn mounted square on the painting frame. Range as many assistants as possible along the roller, leaving one assistant to lower away the hauling line. Let them the, all working in unison, roll the curtain on the roller, keeping it moderately tight. When you come to a seam, see that it is parallel to the roller; and if it is not, loosen or tighten the cloth at either side, as the case may require; otherwise you may find the cloth two or three feet out by the time the curtain is entirely rolled…”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 164)

The pictures below are from the St. Paul, MN SOKOL Hall (CSPS, Czech-Slovak Hall).

Whiting was a white powder used in both priming and painting. Studios purchased this product in 300 lbs. wooden barrels.  Inside this thin wooden container was an inner wrapping on paper to prevent this fine white silica powder from leaking through the seems.  The pictures depict a barrel of whiting found on site at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite temple during November 2016.  It was ordered by Thomas Moses to create the scenery collection on site and was never opened.  We discovered and opened the barrel to find a perfect product, well-encapsulated for 90 years!  I emptied the barrel to transport the product for future restoration purposes.  The whiting is now the property of the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center.

“Finally, it must be borne in mind that scene painting is hard work, both physically and mentally, and when indulged in every day will yield all of the physical culture necessary to the promotion of good appetite and sound sleep.  The work is fascinating and full of interest to those filled at all times with enthusiasm and the desire to excel; if you are not so constituted, it would be better not to make the effort.  Scene painting will promote all of the latent talent you possess and reward you in exact proportion to the ability and talent developed.”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 201)