Those attempting gesso work for the first time should, to get familiar with the work, colour a panel of wood green with metallic colours. Brush the gesso upon the green ground and model the design; let it dry, then silver it, adding touches of gold to bring out the pattern. Or the design may first be sketched on the panel, the gesso laid and modelled, then the background laid in, and, lastly, the gesso silvered and gilded. This is one of the simplest styles of panel that cau be executed. Good ideas for designs may be obtained from some of the best Japanese papers. Large scrolls, arranged on decorated backgrounds, look well. Let the treatment of the subject be-bold, and free, and strong. Gesso is not fitted to the carrying out of minute details. When a little experience has been gained, a slightly more advanced exercise can be attempted. Cover a panel of wood with gesso, and rapidly sketch the design. Now model on the background a set pattern in low relief, after the style of old illuminations or figure pictures.

Next fill in the design with gesso in higher relief, and let the whole set. The gesso composition will take the colour more easily if it is sized, but this is not always necessary. Silver the background, gild the set pattern, and tint the design, which is in high relief, with emerald or serge blue, relieving it with copper gold in parts, if it is desired to get a bright effect, size and varnish the panel; if not, the gold alone can be sized; this renders it more permanent. As nothing more is required in the way of finishing, it will be understood how easily and quickly gesso work can be executed. Prepared metallic colours of a number of beautiful shades are sold in tins. In using them, pour off some of the liquid, turn outthe requisite amount of colour on to the palette, and put the rest of the liquid bark into the tin; this keeps the colour in good condition. The white powder and the composition must be well mixed; if too much of the latter is added to the powder a high relief cannot be secured. The brushes and palette are cleaned with turpentine. Excellent effects may be obtained by shading a background from silver to blue, or by graduating the tints from light blue to dark blue, or from salmon to bronze.

A background, again, may be entirely gilded, or silvered, or coloured to any desired shade. It is unnecessary to gesso the panel for gilding or silvering unless a decorated background is wanted; in the latter case the decoration is first moulded, or incised, on the gesso ground and the whole is then coated with gold or silver.

The design may be silvered, copper gilded, or gilded. The indentations may be accentuated with colour. Again, the design may be tinted with one or more colours relieved or not according to fancy, with gold, silver, or copper gold. It will be seen that greatly varied effects can be produced in gesso decoration. To make a profit on picture frames executed in gesso work, great facility in rapidly producing decorations must be attained. Amateurs are more given to perfecting details than to attending to the general effect, which, after all, is the main point in decorative arts. The outlines should be kept true and sharp, but the modelling of the foliage will not need the amount of care and labour bestowed on it as would be wanted on a figure or a panel. The work can be quickly done either with or without the aid of cotton-wool. Workers of little experience often suppose that high relief is effective. To a certain extent it is, but the purpose of decoration must be borne in mind. There is no true art in subordinating the picture or photo, which should be the centre of interest, to the ornamentation of the frame; therefore the design should be kept in rather low relief, and the colouring should be quiet in tone.

The latter is more important if the photo is coloured; for etchings, too, the colouring of the frame should be subdued, but for plain photos a bright frame is often desirable.