OF late years there has been a very great advance in the use of oil and water colors in interior decorations. Many ladies have turned their attention to painting panels, screens, and plaques for adorning their own houses, and some have accomplished most satisfactory results in painting on china. The following pages give the necessary instructions for the amateur who wishes to try her skill in this elegant art.

The materials necessary are very few, rendering the work less difficult than it seems, and at the same time less costly. A few camel's-hair brushes, - some fine, others coarse, - a tile, a plate, or a piece of window glass to mix the paints on, a small vessel to hold turpentine, and a few tubes of oil-colors, to be had at any paint store, are the requisite materials. Some knowledge of drawing is necessary, so that the design to be painted may be outlined on the material with a pencil. Unless the person is skillful in this, the outline should be drawn once or twice on paper before it is traced upon the material.

No amateur should be ambitious to undertake difficult and elaborate designs at the outset. Let the advancement be easy. Take, for the first effort, a simple subject requiring only two or three tints. Flowers are best for beginners. Patience and continued practice will teach the pupil how to meet the difficulties in the use of brushes, colors, etc.

In handling the brush, avoid "dabbling," and accomplish as much as possible at a single stroke. It is hardly necessary to say that the tints are better if a brush is provided for each color, but by careful cleaning the same brush may be used for several colors. In oil-colors, it is a good plan to squeeze the paint from the tube on blotting paper, so that the surplus oil may be absorbed; otherwise there is a risk of staining. If the paint then becomes too dry, turpentine should be used to thin it, at the same time causing it to dry more quickly.