,illustration3 ,november ,beechwood4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,,the ,,painter ,,in ,,oil ,a ,,complete ,,treatise ,,on ,,the ,,principles ,,and ,,technique ,,necessary ,,to ,,the ,,painting ,,of ,,pictures ,,in ,,oil ,,colors ,,by ,,daniel ,,burleigh ,,parkhurst ,,pupil ,,of ,,william ,,sartain1 ,,of ,,bouguereau ,,and ,,tony-,,fleury1 ,,and ,,of ,,aim,e ,,morot2 ,,member ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,york ,,water ,,color ,,club2 ,,formerly ,,lecturer ,,on ,,art ,,in ,,dickinson ,,college2 ,,author ,,of ,,sketching ,,from ,,nature1 ,,etc4 ,la peinture l'huile est bien difficile2 ,mais beaucoup plus beau que la peinture l'eau4 ,,boston3 ,,lothrop1 ,,lee ,,shepard ,,co4 ,,copyright1 #ahih1 ,,by ,,lee ,,and ,,shepard ,all ,rights ,reserved ,,the ,,painter ,,in ,,oil ,,typography ,,by ,c4 ,j4 ,,peters ,,son ,,presswork ,,by ,,berwick ,,smith1 ,,norwood ,,press ,,norwood ,,mass4 ,,to ,a4 ,m4 ,p4 ,,this ,,book ,,is ,,affectionately ,,inscribed4 ,september #dth1 #ahig4 ,,preface ,books of instruction in the practice of painting have rarely been successful4 ,chiefly because they have been too narrow in their point of view1 and have dealt more with recipes than with principles4 ,it is not possible to give any one manner of painting that shall be right for all men and all subjects4 ,to say do thus and so will not teach any one to paint4 ,but there are certain principles which underlie all painting1 and all schools of painting2 and to state clearly the most important of these will surely be helpful1 and may accomplish something4 ,it is the purpose of this book to deal practically with the problems which are the study of the painter1 and to make clear1 as far as may be1 the principles which are involved in them4 ,i believe that this is the only way in which written instruction on painting can be of any use4 ,it is impossible to understand principles without some statement of theory2 and a book in order to be practical must therefore be to some extent theoretical4 ,i have been as concise and brief in the theoretical parts as clearness would permit of1 and ,i trust they are not out of proportion to the practical parts4 ,either to paint well1 or to judge well of a painting1 requires an understanding of the same things3 namely1 the theoretical standpoint of the painter2 the technical problems of color1 composition1 etc42 and the practical means1 processes1 and materials through which and with which these are worked out4 ,it is obvious that one cannot become a good painter without the ability to know what is good painting1 and to prefer it to bad painting4 ,therefore1 ,i have taken space to cover1 in some sort1 the whole ground1 as the best way to help the student towards becoming a good painter4 ,if1 also1 the student of pictures should find in this book what will help him to appreciate more truly and more critically1 ,i shall be gratified4 ,d4 ,b4 ,p4 ,december #d1 #ahig ,,contents ,,part ,i4--,,materials ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,observations #c ,,ii4 ,canvases and ,panels #f ,,iii4 ,easels #ae ,,iv4 ,brushes #bj ,v4 ,paints #cc ,,vi4 ,vehicles and ,varnishes #fa ,,vii4 ,palettes #fe ,,viii4 ,other ,tools #fi ,,ix4 ,studios #gf ,,part ,,ii4--,,general ,,principles ,x4 ,mental ,attitude #he ,,xi4 ,tradition and ,individuality #ie ,,xii4 ,originality #ajc ,,xiii4 ,the ,artist and the ,student #ajg ,,xiv4 ,how to ,study #aaj ,,part ,,iii4--,,technical ,,principles ,,xv4 ,technical ,preliminaries #abc ,,xvi4 ,drawing #abf ,,xvii4 ,values #ach ,,xviii4 ,perspective #adf ,,xix4 ,light and ,shade #aea ,,xx4 ,composition #aff ,,xxi4 ,color #ahd ,,part ,,iv4--,,practical ,,application ,,xxii4 ,representation #bji ,,xxiii4 ,manipulation #bbd ,,xxiv4 ,copying #bcf ,,xxv4 ,kinds of ,painting #bdb ,,xxvi4 ,the ,sketch #bde ,,xxvii4 ,the ,study #bed ,,xxviii4 ,still ,life #bfj ,,xxix4 ,flowers #bhj ,,xxx4 ,portraits #bhf ,,xxxi4 ,landscape #cji ,,xxxii4 ,marines #cce ,,xxxiii4 ,figures #cdg ,,xxxiv4 ,procedure in a ,picture #cga ,,xxxv4 ,difficulties of ,beginners #chi ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,page ,,november ,,beechwood ,parkhurst ,frontispiece ,,stretchers #aa ,,canvas ,,pliers #ac ,,double-,,pointed ,,tack #ac ,,easel #af ,,easel #ag ,,sketching ,,easel #ah ,,sketching ,,easel #ai ,,brushes4--,red ,sable1 ,round #bb ,red ,sable #bc ,red ,sable1 ,flat #bd ,round ,bristle #bf ,flat ,bristle #bh ,flat pointed #bi ,fan #cj ,,brush ,,cleaner #ca ,,oil ,,colors #ed ,,oval ,,palette #fe ,,arm ,,palette #fg ,,the ,,color ,,box #gj ,,palette ,,knife #ga ,,the ,,scraper #gb ,,the ,,oil-,,cup #gc ,,mahl-,,sticks #gc ,,three-,,legged ,,stool #gd ,,sketching ,,chair #gd ,,sketching ,,umbrella #ge ,,drawing ,,of ,,hands ,drer #acd ,,eggs4 ,,white ,,against ,,white #aed ,,the ,,canal ,parkhurst #aef ,,bohemian ,,woman ,franz ,hals #aei ,,sewing ,,by ,,lamplight ,millet #afa ,,descent ,,from ,,the ,,cross #afc ,,the ,,golden ,,stairs #agd ,,the ,,sower ,millet #age ,,return ,,to ,,the ,,farm ,millet #agh ,,the ,,fisher ,,boy ,franz ,hals #bag ,,boar-,,hunt ,snyders #bba ,,good ,,bock ,manet #bbg ,,sketch ,,of ,a ,,hillside #bdf ,,the ,,river ,,bank ,parkhurst #bej ,,study ,,of ,a ,,blooming-,,mill ,parkhurst #beg ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #a #bfe ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #b #bff ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #c #bfg ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #d #bfi ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #e #bgj ,,still ,,life1 ,,no4 #f #bga ,,sweet ,,peas #bhb ,d,,rer by ,himself #bhi ,,portrait ,,of ,,his ,,mother ,whistler #bia ,,portrait ,,of ,,himself ,valasquez #bic ,,portrait ,parkhurst #big ,,haystacks ,,in ,,sunshine ,monet #cjg ,,on ,,the ,,race ,,track ,degas #cad ,,willow ,,road ,parkhurst #cag ,,entrance ,,to ,,zuyder ,,zee ,clarkson ,stanfield #ccg ,,girl ,,spinning ,millet #cde ,,sketch ,,of ,a ,,flute ,,player ,parkhurst #cee ,,milton ,,dictating ,,paradise ,,lost ,munkacsy #cfc ,,buckwheat ,,harvest ,millet #cfh ,,study ,,of ,,fortune ,angelo #cgc ,,bouch ,,of ,,portrait ,th4 ,robinson #cgi ,,landscape ,,photo4 ,,no4 #a #cid ,,landscape ,,photo4 ,,no4 #b #cie ,,part ,i ,,materials ,,the ,,painter ,,in ,,oil ,,chapter ,i ,,general ,,observations ,there is a false implication in the saying that a poor workman blames his tools4 ,it is not true that a good workman can do good work with bad tools4 ,on the contrary1 the good workman sees to it that he has good tools1 and makes it a part of his good workmanship that they are in good condition4 ,in painting there is nothing that will cause you more trouble than bad materials4 ,you can get along with few materials1 but you cannot get along with bad ones4 ,that is not the place to economize4 ,to do good work is difficult at best4 ,economize where it will not be a hindrance to you4 ,your tools can make your work harder or easier according to your selection of them4 ,the relative cost of good and bad materials is of slight importance compared with the relative effect on your work4 ,the way to economize is not to get anything which you do not need4 ,save on the non-essentials1 and get as good a quality as you can of the essentials4 ,save on the number of things you get1 not on the quantity you use4 ,you must feel free in your use of material4 ,there is nothing which hampers you more than parsimony in the use of things needful to your painting4 ,if it is worth your while to paint at all1 it is worth your while to be generous enough with yourself to insure ordinary freedom of use of material4 ,the essentials of painting are few1 but these cannot be dispensed with4 ,put it out of your mind that any one of these five things can be got along without3-- ,you must have something to paint on1 canvas or panel4 ,have plenty of these4 ,you must have something to set this canvas on--something to hold it up and in position4 ,your knees won't do1 and you can't hold it in one hand4 ,the lack of a practical easel will cost you far more in trouble and discouragement than the saving will make up for4 ,you must have something to paint with4 ,the brushes are most important2 in kind1 variety1 and number4 ,you cannot economize safely here4 ,you must have paints4 ,and you must have good ones4 ,the best are none too good4 ,get the best4 ,pay a good price for them1 use them freely1 but don't waste them4 ,and you must have something to hold them1 and to mix them on2 but here the quality and kind has less effect on your work than any other of your tools4 ,but as the cost of the best of palettes is slight1 you may as well get a good one4 ,now1 if you will be economical1 the way to do it is to take proper care of your tools after you have got them4 ,form the habit of using good tools as they should be used1 and that will save you a great deal of money4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,canvases ,,and ,,panels ,you should have plenty of canvas on hand1 and it would be well if you had it all stretched ready for use4 ,many a good day's work is lost because of the time wasted in getting a canvas ready4 ,it is not necessary to have many kinds or sizes4 ,it is better in fact to settle on one kind of surface which suits you1 and to have a few practical sizes of stretchers which will pack together well1 and work always on these4 ,you will find that by getting accustomed to these sizes you work more freely on them4 ,you can pack them better1 and you can frame them more conveniently1 because one frame will always do for many pictures4 ,perhaps there is no one piece of advice which ,i can give you which will be of more practical use outside of the principles of painting1 than this of keeping to a few well-chosen sizes of canvas1 and the keeping of a number of each always on hand4 ,it is all well enough to talk about not showing one's work too soon4 ,but we all do1 and always will like to see our work under as favorable conditions as possible4 ,and a good frame is one of the favorable conditions4 ,but good frames are expensive1 and it is a great advantage to be able to have a frame always at hand which you can see your work in from time to time2 and if you only work on four sizes of canvas1 say1 then four frames1 one for each size1 will suit all your pictures and sketches4 ,use the same sizes for all kinds of work too1 and the freedom will come1 as ,i say1 in the working on those sizes4 ,don't have odd sizes about4 ,you can just as well as not use the regular sizes and proportions which colormen keep in stock1 and there is an advantage in being able to get a canvas at short notice1 and it will be one of your own sizes1 and will fit your frame4 ,all artists have gone through the experience of eliminating odd sizes from their stock1 and it is one of the practical things that we all have to come down to sooner or later1 and the sooner the better1--to have the sizes which we find we like best1 not too many1 and stick to them4 ,i would have you take advantage of this1 and decide early in your work1 and so get rid of one source of bother4 ,rough and ,smooth4--,the best canvas is of linen4 ,cotton is used for sketching canvas4 ,but you would do well always to use good grounds to work on4 ,you can never tell beforehand how your work will turn out2 and if you should want to keep your work1 or find it worth while to go on with it1 you would be glad that you had begun it on a good linen canvas4 ,the linen is stronger and firmer1 and when it has a grain1 the grain is better4 ,grain4--,the question of grain is not easy to speak about without the canvas1 yet it is often a matter of importance4 ,there are many kinds of surface1 from the most smooth to the most rugged4 ,some grain it is well the canvas should have2 too great smoothness will tend to make the painting slick1 which is not a pleasant quality4 ,a grain gives the canvas a tooth1 and takes the paint better4 ,just what grain is best depends on the work4 ,if you are going to have very fine detail in the picture use a smoothish canvas2 but whenever you are going to paint heavily1 roughly1 or loosely1 the rough canvas takes the paint better4 ,the grain of the canvas takes up the paint1 helps to hold it1 and to disguise1 in a way1 the body of it4 ,for large pictures1 too1 the canvas must necessarily be strong1 and the mere weight of the fabric will give it a rough surface4 ,knots4--,for ordinary work do not be afraid of a canvas which has some irregularities and knots on it4 ,if they are not too marked they will not be unpleasantly noticeable in the picture1 and may even give a relief to too great evenness4 ,twilled ,canvas4--,the diagonal twill which some canvases have has always been a favorite surface with painters1 particularly the portrait painters4 ,this grain is a sympathetic one to work on1 takes paint well1 and is not in any way objectionable in the finished picture4 ,the best4--,the best way is to try several kinds1 and when you find one which has a sympathetic working quality1 and which has a good effect in the finished picture1 note the quality and use it4 ,you will find such a canvas among both the rough and smooth kinds1 and so you can use either1 as the character of your work suggests4 ,it is well to have both rough and smooth ready at hand4 ,absorbent4--,some canvases are primed so as to absorb the oil during the process of painting4 ,they are very useful for some kinds of work1 and many painters choose them2 but unless you have some experience with the working of them1 they are apt to add another source of perplexity to the difficulties of painting1 so you had better not experiment with them1 but use the regular non-absorbent kinds4 ,old and ,new4--,the canvas you work on should not be too freshly primed4 ,the painting is likely to crack if the priming is not well dried4 ,you cannot always be sure that the canvas you get at stores is old1 so you have an additional reason for getting a good stock and keeping it on hand4 ,then1 if you have had it in your own possession a long while1 you know it is not fresh4 ,canvas is all the better if it is a year old4 ,grounds4--,the color of the grounds should be of interest to you4 ,canvases are prepared for the market usually in three colors1--a sort of cool gray1 a warm light ochrish yellow1 and a cool pinkish gray4 ,which is best is a matter of personal liking4 ,it would be well to consider what the effect of the ground will be on the future condition of the picture when the colors begin to effect each other1 as they inevitably will sooner or later4 ,vibert in his ,la ,science de la ,peinture advocates a white ground4 ,he says that as the color will be sure to darken somewhat with time1 it is well that the ground should have as little to do with it as possible4 ,if the ground is white there is so much the less dark pigment to influence your painting4 ,he is right in this2 but white is a most unsympathetic color to work over1 and if you do not want to lay in your work with frottes1 a tint is pleasanter4 ,for most work the light ochrish ground will be found best2 but you may be helped in deciding by the general tone of your picture4 ,if the picture is to be bright and lively1 use a light canvas1 and if it is to be sombre1 use a dark one4 ,remember1 too1 that the color of your ground will influence the appearance of every touch of paint you put on it by contrast1 until the priming is covered and out of sight4 ,stretchers4--,the keyed stretcher1 with wedges to force the corners open and so tighten the canvas when necessary1 is the only proper one to use4 ,for convenience of use many kinds have been invented1 but you will find the one here illustrated the best for general purposes4 ,the sides may be used for ends1 and vice versa4 ,if you arrange your sizes well1 you will have the sides of one size the right length for the ends of another4 ,then you need fewer sizes1 and they are surer to pack evenly4 ,illustration3 ,stretchers4 ,stretching4--,you will often have to stretch your own canvases1 so you should know how to do it4 ,there is only one way to make the canvas lay smoothly without wrinkles3 ,cut the canvas about two inches longer and wider than the stretcher1 so that it will easily turn down over the edges4 ,begin by putting in one tack to hold the middle of one end4 ,then turn the whole thing round1 and stretch tightly lengthwise1 and put a tack to hold it into the middle of the other end4 ,do the same way with the two sides4 ,only four tacks so far1 which have stretched the canvas in the middle two ways4 ,as you do this1 you must see that the canvas is on square4 ,don't drive the tacks all the way in at first till you know that this is so4 ,then give each another blow1 so that the head binds the canvas more than the body of the tack does2 for the pull of the canvas against the side of the tack will tear1 while the head will hold more strands4 ,this first two ways stretching must be as tight as any after stretching will be or you will have wrinkles in the middle1 while the purpose is to pull out the wrinkles towards the corners4 ,now go back to the ends3 stretch1 and place one tack each side of the first one4 ,in a large canvas you may put two each side1 but not more1 and you must be sure that the strain is even on both sides4 ,don't pull too much2 for next you must do the same with the other end which should bear half of the whole stretch4 ,do just the same now with the two sides4 ,now continue stretching and tacking1--each side of the middle tacks on each end1 then on each side1 then to the ends again1 and so gradually working towards the corners1 when as you put in the last tacks the wrinkles will disappear1 if you have done your work well4 ,don't hurry and try to drive too many tacks into a side at a time1 for to have to do it all over again would take more time than to have worked slowly and done it properly4 ,you may of course stretch a small canvas with your hands1 but it will make your fingers sore1 and you cannot get large canvases tight without help4 ,you will do well to have a pair of canvas pliers which are specially shaped to pull the canvas and hold it strongly without tearing it1 as other pliers are sure to do4 ,illustration3 ,canvas ,pliers4 ,when you take canvases out-doors to work1 you will find it useful to strap two together1 face inwards1 with a double-pointed tack like this in each corner to keep them apart4 ,you will not have any trouble with the fresh paint1 as each canvas will then protect the other4 ,you can pack freshly painted canvases for shipping in the same way4 ,illustration3 ,double-pointed ,tack4 ,panels4--,for small pictures panels are very useful1 and when great detail is desirable1 and fine1 smooth work would make an accidental tear impossible to mend well1 they are most valuable4 ,they are made of mahogany and oak generally4 ,panels are useful1 too1 for sketching1 as you can easily pack them4 ,they are light1 and the sun does not shine through the backs4 ,you can get them for about the same cost as canvas for small sizes1 which are what you would be likely to use1 and they are often more convenient1 particularly for use in the sketch-box4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,easels ,the important thing in an easel is that it should be steady and firm2 that it should hold the canvas without trembling1 and so that it will not fall as you paint out towards the edges4 ,you often paint with a heavy hand1 and you must not have to hold on to your picture with one hand and paint with the other4 ,nothing is more annoying than a poor easel1 and nothing will give you more solid satisfaction1 than the result of a little generosity in paying for a good one4 ,the ideal thing for the studio is1 of course1 the great screw easel1 which is heavy1 safe1 convenient1 and expensive4 ,we would like to have one1 but we can't afford it1 so we won't speak of it4 ,the next best thing is an ordinary easel which doesn't cost a great deal1 but which is firm and solid and practical4 ,don't get one of the various three-legged folding easels which cost about seventy-five cents or a dollar4 ,they tumble down too often and too easily4 ,the wear and tear on the temper they cause is more than they are worth4 ,it is true that they fold up out of the way4 ,but they fold up when you don't expect them to2 and you ought to be able to afford room enough for an easel anyway1 if you paint at all4 ,illustration ,the illustration shows one of the firmest of the inexpensive easels1 and one which will fold up into as small a compass as any practical easel will4 ,it will hold perfectly well a good-sized canvas1 even with its frame1 and will not tumble over on slight provocation4 ,another good easel is shown on p4 #ag4 ,it is more lightly made1 not so well braced1 but is more convenient for raising and lowering the picture1 as the catch allows the whole thing to be raised and lowered at once4 ,if you are to save money on your easel1 don't save on the construction and strength of it1 but on the finish4 ,let the polish and varnish go1 but get a well-made easel with solid wood4 ,the heavier it is1 the less easily it packs away1 to be sure1 but the more steadily it will hold your picture4 ,illustration ,sketching ,easels4--,the same things are of importance in an easel for out-of-door work that are needed in a studio easel1 except that it must also be portable4 ,so if you must have a folding easel1 get a good sketching easel2 or if you can't have one for in-doors and one for out-doors1 then pay a good price for a sketching easel1 and use it in doors and out also4 ,there are two things which are absolutely essential in a sketching easel4 ,it must have legs which may be made longer and shorter1 and it must hold the canvas firmly4 ,it is not enough to lean the canvas on it4 ,the wind blows it over just when you are putting on an interesting touch1 or the touch itself upsets it1 either of which is most aggravating1 and does not tend to satisfactory work4 ,you must not be obliged to sit down to work just where you don't want to1 a little this side or a little that side of the chosen spot1 because the ground isn't even there and the easel will not stand straight4 ,you must be able to make a leg longer or shorter as the unevenness of the ground necessitates4 ,it is impossible to work among rocks or on hillsides if you cannot make your easel stand as you want it4 ,these things are not to be got round4 ,you might as well not work as to sketch with a poor sketching easel4 ,and you must pay a good price for it4 ,the sketching easel that is good for anything has never been made to sell for a dollar and a half4 ,pay three or four dollars for it1 at any rate1 and use it the rest of your life4 ,i use an easel every day that ,i have worked on every summer for twelve years4 ,most artists are doing much the same4 ,the easel is not expensive per year at that rate6 ,it is such an easel as that shown on the opposite page1 and is satisfactory for all sorts of work4 ,illustration ,if you are working in a strong wind1 or if you have a large canvas1 such an easel as this illustration shows is the best and safest yet invented1 and it is as good for other work1 and particularly when you want to stand up4 ,and either of these easels will be perfectly satisfactory to use in the house4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,iv ,,brushes ,an old brush that has been properly cared for is generally better than a new one4 ,it seems to have accommodated itself to your way of painting1 and falls in with your peculiarities4 ,it is astonishing how attached you get to your favorite brushes1 and how loath you are to finally give them up4 ,what if you have no others to take their places8 ,don't look upon your brushes as something to get as few of as possible1 and which you would not get at all if you could help it4 ,there is nothing which comes nearer to yourself than the brush which carries out your idea in paint4 ,you should be always on the lookout for a good brush2 and whenever you run across one1 buy it1 no matter how many you have already4 ,don't look twice at a bad brush1 and don't begrudge an extra ten cents in the buying of a good one4 ,if you are sorry to have to pay so much for your brushes1 then take the more care of them4 ,use them well and they will last a long while2 then don't always use the same handful4 ,break in new ones now and again4 ,keep a dozen or two in use1 and lay some aside before they are worn out1 and use newer ones4 ,so when at last you cannot use one any more1 you have others of the same kind which will fill its place4 ,have all kinds and sizes of brushes4 ,have a couple of dozen in use1 and a couple of dozen which you are not using1 and a couple of dozen more that have never been used4 ,what6 six dozen8 ,well1 why not8 ,every time you paint you look over your brushes and pick out those which look friendly to what you are going to do4 ,you want all sorts of brushes4 ,you can't paint all sorts of pictures with the same kind of brush4 ,your brush represents your hand4 ,you must give every kind of touch with it4 ,you want to change sometimes1 and you want a clean brush from time to time4 ,you don't want to feel that you are limited2 that whether you want to or not these four brushes you must use because they are all you have6 ,you can't paint that way4 ,that six dozen you will not buy all at once4 ,when you get your first outfit1 get at least a dozen brushes4 ,as you look over the stock and pick out two or three of this kind1 and two or three of that1 you will be astonished to see how many you have--yet you don't know which to discard4 ,don't discard any4 ,buy them all4 ,then1 if you don't paint1 it will not be the fault of your brushes4 ,and from time to time get a half a dozen which have just struck you as especially good ones1 and quite unconsciously you acquire your six dozen--and even more1 ,i hope6 ,bristle and ,sable4--,the brushes suitable for oil painting are of two kinds1--bristle and sable hair4 ,of the latter1 red sable are the only ones you should get4 ,they are expensive1 but they have a spring and firmness that the black sable does not have4 ,camel's hair is out of the question4 ,don't get any1 if you can only have camel's hair4 ,it is soft and flabby when used in oil and you can't work well with such brushes4 ,the same is true of the black sable4 ,but though the red sables are expensive1 you do not need many of them1 nor large ones1 so the cost of those you will need is slight4 ,illustration ,the only sables which are in any degree indispensable to you are the smaller sizes of riggers4 ,these are thin1 long brushes which are useful for outlining1 and all sorts of fine1 sharp touches4 ,you use them to go over a drawing with paint in laying in a picture1 and for branches1 twigs1 etc4 ,as their name implies1 you must have them for the rigging of vessels in marine painting also4 ,the three sizes shown in the cut on the opposite page are those you should have1 and if you get two of each1 you will find them useful in all sorts of places4 ,when you buy them1 see that they are elastic and firm1 that they come naturally and easily to a good point1 without any scraggy hairs4 ,test them by moistening them1 and then pressing the point on the thumb-nail4 ,they should bend evenly through the whole length of the hair4 ,reject any which seem weak in the back4 ,if it lays flat toward the point and bends all in one place near the ferrule1 it is a poor brush4 ,illustration ,these three larger and thicker sizes come in very useful often and it would be well if you were to have these too4 ,sometimes a thick1 long sable brush will serve better than another for heavy lines1 etc4 ,all these brushes are round4 ,one largish flat sable like this it would be well to have2 but these are all the sables necessary4 ,illustration ,bristle ,brushes4--,the sable brush or pencil is often necessary2 but oil painting is practically always done with the bristle1 or hog hair1 brush4 ,these are the ones which will make up the variety of kinds in your six dozen4 ,a good bristle brush is not to be bought merely by taking the first which comes to hand4 ,good brushes have very definite qualities1 and you should have no trouble in picking them out4 ,nevertheless1 you will take the trouble to select them1 if you care to have any satisfaction in using them4 ,the ,bristle4--,you want your brush to be made of the hair just as it grew on the hog4 ,all hair1 in its natural state1 has what is called the flag4 ,that is the fine1 smooth taper towards the natural end of it1 and generally the division into two parts4 ,this gives the bristle1 no matter how thick it may be1 a silky fineness towards the end2 and when this part only of the bristle is used in the brush1 you will have all the firmness and elasticity of the bristle1 and also a delicacy and smoothness and softness quite equal to a sable4 ,but this1 in the short hair of an artist's brush1 wastes all the rest of the length of the hair2 for it is only by cutting off the flag1 and using that1 which is only an inch or so long1 that you can make the brush4 ,yet the bristle may be several inches long1 and all this is sacrificed for that little inch of flag4 ,naturally the flag is expensive1 and naturally also the manufacturer uses the rest of the hair for inferior brushes4 ,these latter you should avoid4 ,these inferior brushes are made from the part of the bristle remaining1 by sandpapering1 or otherwise making the ends fine again after they are cut off4 ,but it is impossible to make a brush which has the right quality in this way4 ,selection4--,never buy a brush without testing its evenness1 as has been advised in the care of sables4 ,feel carefully the end of the bristles also1 and see that the flag is there4 ,all brushes are kept together for packing by paste in the bristles4 ,see that this is soaked off before you test your brush4 ,round or ,flat4--,it will make little difference whether you use round or flat brushes4 ,the flat brush is most commonly preferred now1 and most brushes are made that way4 ,so you had better get that kind1 unless you have some special reason for preferring the round ones4 ,handles4--,whether the handles are nicely polished1 also1 is of no importance4 ,what you are to look to is the quality of the bristles and of the making2 the best brushes are likely to be nicely finished all over4 ,but if you do find a really good brush which is cheaper because of the plain handle1 and you wish to save money1 do it by buying the plain-handled one4 ,sizes and ,shapes4--,you will need some quite large brushes and some smaller ones1 some square ones and some pointed4 ,illustration ,here are three round brushes which1 for all sorts of painting1 will be of very general utility4 ,for most of your brushes select the long and thin1 rather than the short and thick ones4 ,the stubby brush is a useless sort of thing for most work4 ,there are men who use them and like them1 but most painters prefer the more flexible and springy brush1 if it is not weak4 ,so1 too1 the brush should not be too thick4 ,a thick brush takes up too much paint into itself1 and does not change its tint so readily4 ,for rubbing over large surfaces where a good deal of the same color is thickly spread on the canvas1 the thick1 strong brush is a very proper tool4 ,but where there is to be any delicacy of tone1 it is too clumsy2 you want a more delicate instrument4 ,the same proportions hold with large and small brushes1 so these remarks apply to all4 ,flat ,brushes4--,this is particularly applicable to the flat brushes1 and the more that most of your brushes will be flat4 ,you should have both broad-ended and pointed brushes among your flat ones4 ,for broad surfaces1 such as backgrounds and skies1 the broad ends come in well2 and for the small ones there are many square touches where they are useful4 ,the most practical sizes are those shown on page #bh4 ,but you will often need much larger brushes than the largest of these4 ,for the smaller brushes you will have to be very careful in your selections4 ,for only the silkiest of bristle will do good work in a very small brush1 and then the temptation is to use a sable1 which should be resisted4 ,why you should avoid using the sable as a rule is that it will make the painting too slick and edgy4 ,there is a looseness that is a quality to prize4 ,all the hardness1 flatness1 and rigidity that are desirable you can get with the bristle brush4 ,when you work too much with sables1 the overworking brings a waxy and woodeny surface1 which is against all the qualities of atmosphere and luminosity1 and of freshness and freedom of touch4 ,illustration ,some of the most useful sizes of the more pointed brushes are shown on opposite page4 ,there are1 of course1 sizes between these1 and many larger2 but these are what you will find the best4 ,it would be better to have more of each size than to have more sizes4 ,you should try to work with fewer rather than more sizes1 and1 as a rule1 work more with the larger than with the smaller brush1 even for fine work4 ,you will work with more force and tend less to pettiness1 if you learn to put in small touches with the largest brush that will do it4 ,breadth is not painting with a large brush2 but the man who works always with a small brush instinctively looks for the things a small brush is adapted to1 and will unconsciously drift into a little way of working4 ,illustration ,the fan brush1 such as here illustrated1 is a useful brush1 not to paint with1 but to flick or drag across an outline or other part of a painting when it is getting too hard and liney4 ,you may not want it once a month1 but it is very useful when you do want it4 ,illustration ,care of ,brushes4--,the best of economy in brushes lies in your care of them4 ,you should never let the paint dry on them nor go too long without careful washing4 ,it is not necessary to wash them every day with soap and water1 but they would be the better for such treatment4 ,quite often1 once a week1 say1 you should wash your brushes carefully with soap and water4 ,you may use warm water1 but don't have it hot1 as that may melt the glue which holds the bristles together in the ferrule4 ,use strong soap with plenty of lye in it--common bar soap1 or better1 the old-fashioned soft soap4 ,hold several brushes together in one hand so that the tips are all of a length1 dip them together into or rub them onto the soap1 and then rub them briskly in the palm of the other hand4 ,when the paint is well worked into the lather1 do the same with the other brushes1 letting the first ones soak in the soap1 but not in the water4 ,then rinse them1 and carefully work them clean one by one1 with the fingers4 ,when you lay them aside to dry1 see that the bristles are all straight and smooth1 and they will be in perfect condition for next painting4 ,illustration ,cleaning4--,but from day to day you need not take quite so much trouble as this4 ,true1 the brushes will keep in better condition if washed in soap and water every day1 but it is not always convenient to do this4 ,you may then use the brush-cleaner4 ,this is a tin box with a false bottom of perforated tin or of wire netting about half-way down1 which allows the liquid to stand a half-inch or so above it2 so that when you put your brush in and rub it around1 the paint is rinsed from it1 and settles through the perforations to the bottom1 leaving the liquid clear again above it4 ,if you use this carefully1 cleaning one brush at a time1 not rubbing it too hard1 and pulling the hairs straight by wiping them on a clean rag1 you may keep your brushes in good condition quite easily4 ,but they will need a careful soap-and-water washing every little while1 besides4 ,the liquid best for use in this cleaner is the common kerosene or coal oil4 ,never use turpentine to rinse your brushes4 ,it will make them brittle and harsh2 but the kerosene will remove all the paint1 and will not affect the brush4 ,,chapter ,v ,,paints ,of all your materials1 it is on your paints that quality has the most vital effect4 ,with bad paint your work is hopeless4 ,you may get an effect that looks all right1 but how long will it stand1 and how much better may it not have been if your colors had been good8 ,you can tell nothing about it4 ,you may have luck1 and your work hold2 or you may not have luck1 and in a month your picture is ruined4 ,don't trust to luck4 ,keep that element out as much as you can1 always4 ,but in the matter of paints1 if you count on luck at all1 remember that the chances are altogether against you4 ,don't let yourself be persuaded to indulge in experiments with colors which you have reason to think are of doubtful quality4 ,keep on the safe side1 and use colors you are sure of1 even if they do cost a little more--at first2 for they are cheaper in the long-run4 ,and even in the time of using of one tube1 generally the good paint does enough more work to cover the difference of cost4 ,bad ,paints4--,suspect colors which are too cheap4 ,good work is expensive4 ,ability and skill and experience count in making artists' colors1 and must be paid for4 ,if you would get around the cost of first-class material you must mix it with inferior material4 ,the first effect you will notice in using poor colors is a certain hindrance to your facility1 due to the fact that the color is weak--does not have the snap and strength in it that you expect4 ,the paint has not a full color quality1 but mixes dead and flat4 ,this you will find particularly in the finer and lighter yellows4 ,you need not fear much adulteration in those paints which are naturally cheap1 of course4 ,it is in those higher-priced colors1 on which you must largely depend for the more sparkling qualities1 that you will have most trouble4 ,unevenness of working1 and lack of covering or mixing power1 you will find in poor paints also4 ,they have no strength1 and you must keep adding them more and more to other colors to get them to do their work4 ,all these things are bothersome4 ,they make you give more attention to the pigments while working than you ought to1 and when all is done1 your picture is weak and negative in color4 ,another effect to be feared from bad colors is that your work will not stand2 the colors fade or change1 and the paint cracks4 ,the former effect is from bad material1 or bad combinations of them in the working1 and the latter mainly from bad vehicles used in grinding them4 ,i have seen pictures go to pieces within a month of their painting--bad paint and bad combinations4 ,of course you can use good colors so that the picture will not stand4 ,but that will be your own fault1 and it is no excuse for the use of colors which you can by no possibility do good work with4 ,good ,paints4--,the three things on which the quality of good paint depends are good pigment1 good vehicles1 and good preparation4 ,the pigments used are of mineral1 chemical1 and vegetable origin4 ,the term pigment technically means the powdered substance which1 when mixed with a vehicle1 as oil1 becomes paint4 ,the most important pigments now used are artificial products1 chiefly chemical compounds1 including chemical preparations of natural mineral earths4 ,as a rule1 the colors made from earths may be classed as all permanent2 those from chemicals1 permanent or not1 as the case may be2 and those of vegetable origin fugitive1 with few exceptions4 ,some colors are good when used as water colors1 and bad when used in oil4 ,further on ,i will speak of the fugitiveness and permanency of colors in detail4 ,i wish here to emphasize the fact that the origin of the material of which the pigment is made has much to do with the sort of work that that pigment will do1 and with the permanency of the effect which is produced2 and therefore that while a paint may look like another1 its working or its lasting qualities may be quite different4 ,the ,vehicles4--,the vehicles by which the pigment is made fluent and plastic are quite as important in their effects4 ,they not only have to do with the business of drying1 owing to the substances used as dryers1 but they may have to do with the chemical action of one pigment on another4 ,the ,preparation4--,finally1 the preparation of the pigment demands the utmost skill and knowledge1 if the colors are to be good4 ,the paints used by the old masters were few and simple1 and the fact that they prepared them themselves had much to do with the manner in which they kept their color4 ,the paints used now are less simple4 ,we do not prepare and grind them ourselves1 and we could hardly do so if we wished to1 so we are the more dependent on the integrity of the colorman who does it for us4 ,the preparation of the paint begins with the chemical or physical preparation of each pigment1 and then comes the mixing of several to produce any particular color2 and finally the mechanical process of grinding with the proper vehicle to bring it to the proper fineness and smoothness4 ,grinding4--,the color which the artist uses must be most evenly and perfectly ground4 ,the grinding which will do for ordinary house paints will not do for the artist's colors4 ,neither will the chemical processes suitable for the one serve for the other4 ,not only must the machinery1 but the experience1 skill and care1 be much greater for artist's colors4 ,therefore it is that the specialization of color-making is most important to good colors for the use of the artist4 ,reliable ,makers4--,if you would work to the best advantage as far as your colors are concerned1 both as to getting the best effects which pure pigments skilfully and honestly prepared will give you1 and as to the permanency of those effects when you have gotten them1 see to it that you get paint made by a thoroughly reliable colorman4 ,it is not my province to say whose colors you should use2 doubtless there are many colormen who make artists' materials honestly and well4 ,nevertheless1 ,i may mention that there are no colors which have been more thoroughly tested1 both by the length of time they have been in the possession of painters1 and by the number of painters who have used them1 than those of ,winsor and ,newton of ,london4 ,no colors have been so generally sold and for so long a time1 particularly in this country1 as these1 and none are so well known for their evenness and excellence of quality4 ,i do not say that these manufacturers do not make any colors which should not go on the palette of the cautious artist--,i believe that they do not make that claim themselves2 but such colors as they do assert to be good1 pure1 and permanent1 you may feel perfectly safe in using1 and be sure that they are as well made as colors can be4 ,this is as much as can be said of any paints1 and more than can be said of most4 ,i have used these colors for many years1 and my own experience is that they have always been all that a painter need ask4 ,the fact that ,winsor and ,newton's colors can be found in any town where colors can be had at all1 makes me the more free to recommend them1 as you can always command them4 ,this fact also speaks for the general approval of them4 ,inasmuch as certain colors are not claimed to be permanent and others are1 it is for you to compose your palette of those which will combine safely4 ,this you can do with a little care4 ,some colors are permanent by themselves or with some colors1 but not in combination with certain others4 ,you should then take the trouble to consider these chemical relationships4 ,it is not necessary for you to study the chemistry of paints1 but you may read what has been ascertained as to the effects of combinations1 and act accordingly4 ,there are practically duplications of color-quality in pigments which are bad1 and in pigments which are good2 so that you can use the good color instead of the bad one to do the same work4 ,the good color will cost more1 but there is no way of making the bad color good1 so you must pay the difference due to the cost of the better material1 or put up with the result of using bad colors4 ,chemical ,changes4--,the causes of change of color in pigments are of four kinds1 all of them chemical effects4 #a1 the action of light2 #b1 the action of the atmosphere2 #c1 the action of the medium2 and #d1 the action of the pigments themselves on each other4 ,the action of light is to bring about or to assist in the decomposition of the pigment4 ,it is less marked in oil than in water color1 because the oil forms a sort of sheath for the color particles4 ,the manner in which light does its deteriorating work is somewhat similar to that of heat4 ,the action of light is very slow1 but it seems to do the same thing in a long time that heat would do in a short time4 ,some colors are unaffected or little affected by light1 and of course you will use them in preference to all others4 ,the atmosphere affects the paint because of certain chemical elements contained in it1 which tend to cause new combinations with the materials which are already in combination in the pigment4 ,the action of the oxygen in the air is the chief agent in affecting the pigment1 and it is here particularly that light1 and especially sunlight1 assists in decomposition4 ,the air of towns and cities generally contains sulphuric and sulphurous acids and sulphuretted hydrogen4 ,this latter gas is most effective in changing oil paintings1 because of its action in turning white lead dark2 and as white lead is the basis of many qualities in painting1 this gas may have a very general action4 ,moisture in the atmosphere is also a cause of change1 but there is little to be dreaded from this1 as the oil protects the colors4 ,oil absorbs oxygen in drying1 and so is apt to have an effect on colors liable to change from that element1 and many vehicles contain materials to hasten the drying which further aid in the deterioration of the pigment4 ,bad oil will tend to crack the picture also4 ,the greatest care should be used in this direction1 as the most permanent colors may be ruined by bad vehicles4 ,pigments will not have a deteriorating effect on each other as long as they are solid4 ,but if one of them is soluble in the medium1 then chemical action commences2 but as most pigments are somewhat soluble1 there is always some danger in mixing them4 ,the best we can do is1 as ,i said before1 to try to have on the palette1 as far as possible1 only colors which are friendly to each other4 ,as a student you should not be much occupied1 however1 with all this4 ,you must expect that all color will change somewhat4 ,but you need not use those which change immediately or markedly1 and you may use them in a way which will tend to make them change as little as may be4 ,colors have stood for years1 and what is practical permanence1 not perfect permanence1 is all you need look for4 ,if you think too much of the permanence of your colors1 it will interfere with the directness of your study4 ,therefore1 decide on a palette which is as complete and safe as you can make it1 excluding the notably bad pigments1 and think no more about it4 ,when you need to add a new color to your palette1 choose it with reference to those already on it1 and go ahead4 ,this is what the whole subject resolves itself to1 practically1 for you as a student4 ,opaque and ,transparent ,colors4--,some colors1 like the madders1 have a jelly-like consistency when mixed with oil1 others1 the earths among them1 are dense and opaque4 ,we speak of them respectively as transparent and solid colors4 ,these qualities1 which divide the paints into two classes1 have no relation to their permanency4 ,as far as that is concerned you use them in the same way1 as some transparent colors are safe and some fugitive2 and the same with the opaque colors4 ,the only difference is in the fact that1 as a rule1 the solid colors are better dryers4 ,but you will notice that while you may mix these colors together as though this difference between them did not exist1 in certain processes you use them differently4 ,so you will see1 farther on1 that for a glaze you can use only the transparent or semi-opaque colors1 for a scumble you naturally use the solid ones4 ,you should know1 however1 for the sake of clearness1 just what is meant when solid or body or opaque color is spoken of1 and what is meant by transparent color4 ,safe and ,unsafe ,colors4--,beyond what has been said of the causes of change in colors it is not necessary that you should know the chemical constituents of them4 ,if you want to look into the matter further there are books1 such as ,field's ,chromatography1 which treat fully of the subject1 and which you may study4 ,but practically you should know which colors are to be depended on and which not4 ,let us consider the principal colors in detail then1 merely as to their actual stability4 ,i will speak of them in connection with the plates of colors at the end of this book4 ,i would like you to compare what is said of each color with the corresponding color in the plates4 ,those colors in the plates which are not spoken of here1 you may consider as useful in showing you the character of different colors which are made1 but which may or may not be used1 according as you may need them4 ,i shall not attempt to mention all the pigments that are in the market4 ,you need never use more than fifteen or twenty all told4 ,many painters use more1 it is true2 but if you know how to make the best use of that number1 you may safely wait till you grow to them before you bother with more4 ,and ,i shall speak only of those which you will find essential or most generally useful1 and those which should be particularly avoided4 ,permanency4--,it should be stated what is meant by a permanent color4 ,there is no color which is not to be influenced in some way4 ,the most sound of pigments will change if the conditions favor the change4 ,when we speak of a permanent color1 we mean only one which under the usual conditions will stand for an indefinite time4 ,by which is meant ordinary diffused daylight1 not direct sunlight1 and the ordinary air under normal conditions4 ,if there be direct sunlight1 you may expect your picture to change sooner or later4 ,but one does not hang his pictures where the sun's rays will fall on them4 ,if there is any exceptional condition of moisture in the air1 the picture may suffer4 ,or if from any cause unusual gases are in the atmosphere1 or if the picture be too long in a dark1 close place1 the picture may smother for lack of fresh air1 just as any other thing1 plant or animal1 which depends on normal conditions of atmosphere would do4 ,let us say1 then1 that what we mean by a permanent color is one which will stand unchanged for an indefinite length of time in a room which is of the usual condition of temperature and freedom from moisture1 and where the light is diffused1 and such that the direct rays of the sun are not on the picture often1 or to any great extent4 ,cold will not hurt a picture if the canvas is not disturbed in that condition1 but to bend or roll it while it is very cold will of course crack it1 and sudden and extreme changes of temperature may have the same effect4 ,in other words1 some care must be used with all pictures as a matter of course4 ,,color ,,list ,whites4--,zinc white is the only permanent white1 but it lacks body and is little used4 ,the lead whites1 flake1 silver1 cremnitz1 will darken in time1 and will turn yellow with oil1 and may change with or affect change in other pigments4 ,the zinc white is liable to crack4 ,we have no perfect white1 so practically you may consider the lead whites as permanent enough1 as other painters do4 ,yellows4--,cadmium is permanent in all three of its forms4 ,it is a color the permanence of which is of great importance2 for its brilliancy is quite essential to modern painting1 and if it were not permanent1 the picture would soon lose the very quality for which the color was used4 ,the chromes1 which are of similar color-quality1 are less permanent1 and are almost sure to turn to a horny sort of yellow2 and a green1 which by their use was bright and sparkling1 will1 in a few months1 lose its freshness--this cadmium will not do4 ,cadmium is also to be preferred to chrome1 because it is of a much finer tonality4 ,greens and yellows made by the admixture of chrome are apt to be crude as compared with those in which cadmium was used4 ,strontian yellow is a permanent and most useful light yellow1 much to be preferred to all other citron yellows except the pale cadmium1 and can be used in place of that if necessary4 ,they are both expensive colors of about the same cost4 ,naples yellow was a very prominent pigment with the older painters4 ,it is still very much used1 but in the simplification of your palette you may as well leave it out1 as you can get the same qualities with cadmium and white4 ,it is durable and safe1 but adds another tube to your palette which you can well dispense with4 ,the ochres are among the oldest and safest of pigments4 ,you can use them with any colors which are themselves permanent4 ,there are several of them1--yellow ochre1 ,roman ochre1 transparent gold ochre1 and others4 ,they are all native earths1 and though they contain iron1 they are sufficiently inert to be thoroughly sound colors4 ,the siennas1 burnt and raw1 are like the ochres1 native earths1 very old and permanent colors1 and may be used anywhere4 ,the umbers are in the same class with the siennas and ochres4 ,they should all rank among the yellows4 ,the browns of umber and sienna will make greens with blues4 ,indian yellow and yellow lake should both be avoided as fugitive4 ,aureolin is a rich1 warm golden yellow of the greatest permanence1 and should be used when ,indian yellow and yellow lake would be used if they were permanent4 ,reds4--,the vermilions are permanent when well made4 ,they are of great body and power1 as well as delicacy4 ,they are of two kinds1--,chinese1 which is bluish in tone1 and scarlet and orange vermilion1 which have the yellow quality4 ,both kinds are useful to the palette because of the practical necessities of mixing4 ,light red is a deep1 warm red earth1 made by calcining ochre1 and has the same permanence as the other ochres4 ,it is a fine color1 of especial value in painting flesh1 and mixes with everything safely4 ,the madders--rose1 pink1 purple1 and madder carmine--are the only transparent reds which are permanent4 ,whatever the name given them1 they should not be confounded with the lakes1 which are absolutely untrustworthy4 ,by reference to the plates you will see that the madders are practically the same as the lakes in color when first used4 ,but the lakes fade and the madders do not4 ,the madders cost about twice as much as the lakes2 but you must pay the difference1 for the lakes cannot be made to stand1 and you must have the color4 ,there is nothing for it but to pay twice as much and buy the madders4 ,the lakes--scarlet1 geranium1 crimson1 and purple--are all bad4 ,the madders and lakes are all slow dryers2 but unless carelessly used with other colors which are not yet dry they need not have a bad effect on the picture from cracking4 ,distinguish the so-called madder lakes and the lakes2 and between carmine1 which is a lake1 and madder carmine1 which is a madder4 ,blues4--,the ultramarine of the old masters is practically unused to-day because of its cost4 ,but the artificial ultramarines1 while not quite of the same purity of color1 are equally permanent1 and are in every respect worthy to be used4 ,of these the brilliant ultramarine is the nearest in color to the real lapis lazuli4 ,the ,french ultramarine is less clear and vivid1 but is a splendid deep blue1 and most useful4 ,the so-called permanent blue is not quite so permanent as its name implies1 but permanent enough for practical purposes4 ,cobalt blue and cerulean blue are two pigments1 one very light and clear1 the other darker1 which are made of the oxide of the metal cobalt4 ,in oil they are permanent1 and do not change when mixed with other colors4 ,for delicate tints1 when the tones are to be subtly gray yet full of the primary colors1 the cobalts are indispensable4 ,you should always have them on hand1 and generally on your palette4 ,cerulean blue is of less importance than the other1 but in very clear1 delicate blue skies it is often the only color which will get the effect4 ,prussian blue possesses a depth and power and a quality of color which make it unique4 ,the greenish tone gives it great value in certain combinations as far as its tinting effect is concerned4 ,but it is not reliable as a pigment4 ,it changes under various conditions1 and fades with the light4 ,it is not to be depended upon4 ,antwerp blue1 a weaker kind of ,prussian blue1 is even more fugitive4 ,it is a pity that these colors will not stand1 but as they will not1 we must get along without them4 ,indigo has a certain grayish quality which is useful sometimes1 but it cannot be placed among the even moderately permanent colors4 ,the blacks may be classed as blues1 because they will make green if mixed with yellow4 ,considered as blues1 they are1 of course1 dense and negative1 and should not be too freely used4 ,but they are all permanent4 ,the only ones we need speak of are ivory black1 which has a reddish cast1 and blue black1 which is weaker1 but lacks the purplish note1 which is often an advantage4 ,greens4--,we need mention only a few greens4 ,there are numerous greens1 of various degrees of permanence1 but it is not necessary to speak of all the colors on the market4 ,you could not use them all if you had them1 and we may as well confine ourselves to those we really need4 ,veridian1 or emeraude green1 is the deepest and coldest of our greens1 and is permanent4 ,it is too cold1 and looks even more so at night4 ,in use it needs the addition of some yellow which holds its own at night1 such as yellow ochre1 or the painting will be impossible in gaslight1 and even worse under electric light4 ,emerald green is the same as the ,french ,veronese green1 and is generally permanent4 ,it is said to turn dark1 and does lose some of its brilliancy with time and the effect of impure air4 ,but there are places where one needs it1 especially in sketching1 and it is well to use it sometimes4 ,but bear in mind that it is not absolutely permanent1 and as the quality that it gives1 brilliant light green1 is the very one it will lose should it change1 don't expect too much of it4 ,terre verte is a very weak color4 ,but it is most tender in its quality1 and is permanent to all intents and purposes4 ,it may get slightly darker in time1 but will not lose the qualities for which it will be used4 ,it is very useful to use with ivory black or elsewhere1 to slightly modify a reddish tendency1 and is a fine glazing color4 ,the chrome greens1 by whatever name1 ,brunswick green1 or the better-known ,cinnabar or ,zinnober greens1 are all bad4 ,they are useful colors as color1 but they will not stand1 and you will even get better color by mixing certain yellows and blues than these will give you1 so you had better lay them aside1 tempting as they are4 ,other ,colors4--,you will notice that ,i have said nothing about the various browns and olives and purples4 ,it is simply because it is better for you to make all these colors than to get them in the tubes4 ,the earths and the browns of madder are all good1 and the mixing of madders and good blues will make all the shades of violet and purple you can possibly want in their purity4 ,palettes4--,we have1 then1 a number of pigments which are solid and safe1 of each of the primary colors1 and of such variety of qualities that the whole range of possible color is practicable with them in combination4 ,to recapitulate1 let us make a list of them4 ,,the ,,permanent ,,colors4 ,,zinc ,,white4 7,,lead ,,white ,,enough ,,so47 ,,cadmium ,,yellow4 ,,cadmium ,,orange4 ,,cadmium ,,yellow1 ,,pale4 ,,strontian ,,yellow4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,roman ,,ochre4 ,,transparent ,,gold ,,ochre4 ,,raw ,,sienna4 ,,burnt ,,sienna4 ,,raw ,,umber4 ,,aureolin4 ,,chinese ,,vermilion4 ,,scarlet ,,vermilion4 ,,orange ,,vermilion4 ,,light ,,red4 ,,rose ,,madder4 ,,pink ,,madder4 ,,purple ,,madder4 ,,madder ,,carmine4 ,,rubens ,,madder4 ,,ultramarine ,,blue ,,brilliant4 ,,ultramarine ,,blue ,,french4 ,,permanent ,,blue4 ,,cobalt4 ,,cerulean ,,blue4 ,,ivory ,,black4 ,,blue ,,black4 ,,veridian4 ,,emerald ,,green4 ,,terre ,,verte4 ,here is a list of colors which will work well together1 and with which you can do as much as is possible with colors as far as our present materials go4 ,most of these colors1 ,i am aware1 are among the more expensive ones4 ,this ,i am sorry for1 but cannot help4 ,the good colors are at times the expensive ones1 but as there are no cheaper ones which are permanent to take their places1 it would be the falsest of economy to use others4 ,palette ,principles4--,in making up your palette1 you must so arrange it that you can get pure color when you want it4 ,there is never any trouble to get the color negative2 to get richness and balance is another matter4 ,if you will refer to the color plates1 you will see that in each of the three primary colors there are pigments which lean towards one or the other of the other two4 ,the scarlet red is a yellow red4 ,the ,chinese vermilion and the rose madder are blue reds4 ,the same holds with yellows and blues1 as orange cadmium is a red yellow1 and strontian yellow is a greenish yellow4 ,this is1 in practice1 of the utmost importance in the absence of the ideal color1 for when we deal with the practical side of pigment1 we deal with very imperfect materials which will not follow in the lines of the scientific theory of color4 ,if we would have the purest and richest secondary color1 we must take two primaries1 each of which partakes of the quality of the other4 ,to make a pure orange1 for instance1 we must use a yellow red and a red yellow4 ,if we used a bluish red and a bluish 7greenish7 yellow1 the blue in both would give us a sort of tertiary in the form of a negative secondary instead of the pure rich orange we wanted4 ,this latter fact is quite as useful in keeping colors gray without too much mixing when we want them so1 but nevertheless we must know how to get pure color also4 ,these characteristics have a bearing on the setting of our palette1 for we must have at least two of each of the three primary colors--red1 yellow1 and blue--and white4 ,there may be as many more as you want1 but there must be at least that number4 ,but the character of the work you are doing will also have an influence on the colors you use4 ,you may not need the same palette for one sort of picture that is essential to another4 ,you can have a palette which will do all sorts of work1 but a change in the combinations may often be called for in accordance with the different color characteristics of your picture4 ,i will suggest several palettes of different combinations which will give you an idea of how you may compose a palette to suit an occasion4 ,i do not say that you should confine yourself to any or all of these palettes1 nor that they are the best possible4 ,but they are safe and practical1 and you may use them until you can find or compose one better suited to your purposes4 ,they will all be made up from the colors we have in our list1 and will all have the arrangement ,i called your attention to as to the use of two of each primary4 ,it would be well if you were to compare each of the colors with the corresponding one in the plates at the end of the book1 and get acquainted with its characteristic look4 ,illustration3 ,no4 #a4 ,no4 #b4 ,no4 #c4 ,expense4--,i have several times referred to the relative expense of colors1 and stated that when the good color was of greater cost than others1 there was nothing for it but to get the best4 ,i cannot modify that statement1 but it is well to say that as a rule the expensive colors are not those that you use the most of1 although some are used constantly4 ,vermilion is so strong a color that the cost hardly matters4 ,of the deep blues the same is true4 ,but the light yellows1 and the madders and cobalt1 will often make you groan at the rapidity of their disappearance4 ,but you can get more tubes of them1 and their work remains1 while were you to use the cheaper paints1 the flight of the color from the canvas would make you groan more1 and that disappearance could never be made good except by doing the work all over4 ,sizes4--,the cheapest colors come in the largest tubes4 ,in the illustration1 ,no4 #c represents the full size of the ordinary tube of the average cost4 ,some of the most commonly used colors come in larger tubes at corresponding price4 ,only professionals get these large sizes except in the case of white4 ,you use so much of this color that it hardly pays to bother at all with the ordinary tube of it4 ,get the quadruple tube1 which is nominally four times as large1 but contains nearly five times as much4 ,no4 #b represents the actual size of the second size of tubes in which a few regular-priced colors come2 while the smallest tube is the size of ,no4 #a4 ,in this sized tube all the high-priced colors are put up2 the cadmiums1 the madders1 vermilions1 and ultramarines and cobalts4 ,the cheap colors are the ordinary earths1 such as the ochres1 umbers1 siennas1 the blacks and whites1 and all sorts of greens and blues and lakes1 which you had better have nothing to do with4 ,arrangement4--,in the following palettes ,i shall give the names of the colors1 as you would look down upon them on your palette4 ,the arrangement is that of a good many painters1 and is a convenient one4 ,it is as well to arrange them with white at the right1 then the yellows1 then the reds1 the browns1 blues1 blacks1 and greens4 ,but ,i have found this as ,i give it1 to be the best for use1 simply because it keeps the proper colors together1 and the white1 which you use most1 where it is most easily got at1 and ,i think you will find it a good arrangement4 ,a ,cheap ,palette4--,this palette ,i give so that you may see the range possible with absolutely sound colors which are all of the least price4 ,you can get no high key with it4 ,all the colors are low in tone4 ,you could not paint the bright pitch of landscape with it1 yet it is practically what they tried to paint landscape with a hundred years ago1 and it accounts largely for the lack of bright greens in the landscapes of that date4 ,but for all sorts of indoor work and for portraits you will find it possible to get most beautiful results4 ,you will notice there is no bright yellow4 ,that is because cadmium is expensive and chrome is not permanent4 ,vermilion is left out for the same reason4 ,add orange vermilion and cadmium yellow and orange cadmium1 and you have a powerful palette of great range and absolute permanency4 ,,white4 ,,naples ,,yellow4 ,,venetian ,,red4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,light ,,red4 ,,roman ,,ochre4 ,,indian ,,red4 ,,transparent ,,gold ,,ochre4 ,,burnt ,,sienna4 ,,raw ,,umber4 ,,permanent ,,blue4 ,,ivory ,,black4 ,,terre ,,verte4 ,an ,all-,round ,palette3-- ,,white4 ,,strontian ,,yellow4 ,,orange ,,vermilion4 ,,cadmium ,,yellow4 ,,rose ,,madder4 ,,orange ,,cadmium4 ,,burnt ,,sienna4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,raw ,,umber4 ,,cobalt4 ,,ultramarine4 ,,ivory ,,black4 ,,terre ,,verte4 ,this palette is a pretty large one1 and you can do almost anything with it4 ,but for many things it is better to have more of certain kinds of colors and less of others4 ,this is a good palette for all sorts of in-the-house work1 and if you call it a still-life palette1 it will name it very well4 ,for a student it will do anything he is apt to be capable of for a good while4 ,a ,rich ,low-,keyed ,portrait and ,figure ,palette3-- ,,white4 ,,cadmium4 ,,chinese ,,vermilion4 ,,orange ,,cadmium4 ,,light ,,red4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,rose ,,madder4 ,,transparent ,,gold ,,ochre4 ,,raw ,,umber4 ,,cobalt4 ,,blue ,,black4 ,,terre ,,verte4 ,a ,landscape ,palette4--,landscape calls for pitch and vibration4 ,you must have pure color and great luminosity1 yet a range of color which will permit of all sorts of effects4 ,the following will serve for everything out-of-doors1 and ,i have seen it with practically no change in the hands of very powerful and exquisite painters4 ,there are no browns and blacks in it because the colors which they would give are to be made by mixing the purer pigments1 so as to give more life and vibration to the color4 ,the blackest note may be gotten with ultramarine and rose madder with a little veridian if too purple2 the result will be blacker than black1 and have daylight in it4 ,the ochre is needed more particularly to warm the veridian4 ,,white4 ,,strontian ,,yellow4 ,,orange ,,vermilion4 ,,cadmium ,,yellow4 ,,pink ,,madder4 ,,orange ,,cadmium4 ,,rose ,,madder4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,cobalt4 ,,ultramarine4 ,,veridian4 ,,emerald ,,green4 ,if you paint figures out-of-doors you will need this same palette4 ,madder carmine or purple madder1 and cerulean blue may also usefully added to this list4 ,a ,flower ,palette4--,for painting flowers the colors should be capable of the most exquisite and delicate of tints4 ,there should be no color on the palette which cannot be used in any part of the picture4 ,the range need not be so great in some respects as in others1 but the richness should be unlimited4 ,in the matter of greens1 it is true though hard to convince the amateur of1 that if there were no green tube in your box1 and you mixed all your greens from the yellows and blues1 the picture would be the better4 ,as to the browns1 they will put your whole picture out of key4 ,in this palette ,i am sure you will find every color which is needed4 ,there are few greens1 but those given can be used to gray a petal as well as to paint a leaf2 therefore there is no likelihood of your using a color in a leaf which is not in tone with the flower4 ,i am calculating on your using all your ability in studying the influence of color on color1 and in mixing pure colors to make gray4 ,here as elsewhere in these palettes ,i have in mind their use according to the principles of color and light and effect as laid down in the other parts of the book1 which deal specially with those principles4 ,if you do not understand just why ,i arrange these palettes as ,i do1 turn to the chapters on color1 and on the different kinds of painting1 and ,i think you will see what ,i mean1 and understand better what ,i say1 about these combinations4 ,of course you do not need all of these colors on your palette at the same time4 ,some are necessary to certain flowers whose richness and depth you could hardly get without them4 ,the colors you should have as a rule on your palette are these3-- ,,white4 ,,strontian ,,yellow4 ,,orange ,,vermilion4 ,,cadmium ,,yellow4 ,,pink ,,madder4 ,,yellow ,,ochre4 ,,rose ,,madder4 ,,cobalt4 ,,ultramarine4 ,,veridian4 ,,emerald ,,green4 ,to add to these when needed1 you should have in your box1 pale and deep cadmium1 ,chinese vermilion1 madder carmine1 and purple madder4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,vehicles ,,and ,,varnishes ,a vehicle is any liquid which is mixed with the color to make it fluent4 ,the vehicle may be ground with the pigment or mixed with it on the palette1 or both4 ,oil colors are of course ground in oil as a vehicle2 but it is often necessary or convenient to add to them1 in working1 such a vehicle as will thin them1 or make them dry better4 ,those which thin or render more fluent the paint are oils and spirits2 those which make them dry more quickly are dryers or siccatives4 ,all vehicles must of necessity have an effect on the permanency of the pigments4 ,bad vehicles tend to deteriorate them2 good ones preserve them4 ,oils4--,the most commonly used oils are linseed and poppy oil4 ,they are neither of them quick dryers1 and are usually mixed with sugar of lead1 manganese1 etc41 to hasten the drying4 ,these have a tendency to affect the colors2 but if one will have recourse to none but the pure oils1 he must be patient with the drying of his picture4 ,for this reason it would be well to use vehicles with the colors on the palette as little as possible--and that is against thin and smooth painting4 ,oil has the tendency to turn dark with time1 thus turning the color dark also4 ,the only way to reduce this tendency is to clarify the oil by long exposure to the sunlight4 ,the early ,german painters used oil so clarified1 and their pictures are the best preserved as to color of any that we have4 ,but the drying is even slower with purified oil than with the ordinary oil4 ,it would be best1 then1 to use oil as little as may be in painting1 and if you need a dryer1 use it only as you actually need it in bad drying colors1 and then very little of it4 ,the essences of turpentine and of petroleum may be used to thin the paint1 and are preferable to oil1 because they have less darkening tendency4 ,they do not1 however1 bind the color so well1 and the paint should not be put on too thinly with them4 ,usually there is enough oil ground with the pigment as it comes in the tubes to overcome any probability of the paint scaling or rubbing when thinned with turpentine1 but in the slow-drying1 transparent colors there will be a liability to crack4 ,moderation in the use of any and all vehicles is the best means of avoiding difficulty4 ,use vehicles only when you need them1 not habitually1 and then only as much as there is real need of4 ,if you use oil1 use the lighter oils1 and expect some darkening in time4 ,prefer turpentine to oil1 and expect your color to dry rather dead1 or without gloss1 by its use4 ,if you intend to varnish1 this is all right4 ,if you do not intend to varnish the picture1 keep the color as near the pure tones as you can4 ,the grayer the color1 the more the dead or flat drying will make it look colorless4 ,varnishes4--,when the picture is done1 after it is dry1 varnishes are used to bring out the freshness of color1 and to preserve the surface from outside influences of all sorts4 ,a picture must be well dried before it is varnished1 or it is likely to crack2 six months is not too long to be safe4 ,if you are in a hurry to varnish1 use a temporary or retouching varnish4 ,the best varnish is necessary for use on pictures4 ,never use any except a varnish especially made for the purpose by a reliable colorman4 ,those made by ,winsor and ,newton may all be depended upon4 ,pay a good price for it1 and don't use too much4 ,mastic varnish is that which is most favorably known4 ,be sure you get a good and pure quality4 ,varnishes are made from various gums or resins dissolved in a solvent such as alcohol1 turpentine1 or oil1 as the case may be4 ,the lighter gums are the best for pictures1 because they do not affect the color of the picture4 ,much care should be used in putting on the varnish--that it is even and as thinly distributed as will serve the purpose4 ,it should not be flowed on1 but carefully worked out with a clean brush1 and then kept from dirt and dust until dry4 ,the finer varnishes in oil or turpentine are best for ordinary use4 ,those in alcohol do not hold their freshness so well4 ,varnishes are sometimes used as siccatives1 and to mix with colors which are liable to affect other colors1 or to lack consistency4 ,usually1 however1 they are not needed4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,palettes ,the most important qualities in a palette are that it should be large enough1 and that it should balance well on the thumb4 ,whether it is round or square is a slight matter4 ,the oval palette is usually best for the studio because the corners are seldom of use1 and add weight4 ,but for sketching1 the square palette fits the box best4 ,illustration3 ,oval ,palette4 ,get a palette much larger than you think you want4 ,when you get it on your thumb the mixing-surface is much less than there seemed to be before it was set1 for all the actual surface is between the row of colors and the thumb4 ,if the palette is polished it is not essentially better2 it is easier to keep clean1 as far as looks go1 but of no greater real service4 ,if the choice is between a larger unpolished and a smaller polished one1 the price being the consideration1 get the larger one4 ,get a light wood in preference to a dark wood for a choice of color1 but not if there is better grain or lighter weight in the darker palette4 ,it is an assistance in painting not to have to compare the tint you are mixing with too dark a surface1 for the color looks lighter than it is2 so the light wood will help you to judge justly of the color while the palette is new4 ,when it has been worked on a while it will come to have a sympathetic color anyway4 ,this bears on the cleanliness of your palette4 ,it is a mistake to consider that cleanliness demands that the palette should be cleaned to the wood and polished after every painting4 ,on the contrary1 if a little of the paint is rubbed out over the palette every time it is cleaned1 after a few weeks there will come a fine smooth polish of paint1 which will have a delicate light gray color1 which is a most friendly mixing surface4 ,adapting4--,when you get a new palette1 before you use it take a little trouble to carve out the thumb-hole to fit your thumb4 ,make it large enough to go over the ball of the thumb1 and set easily on the top of the hand4 ,when the hole is too small the thumb gets numb after working a little while1 which this will obviate4 ,cleanliness4--,the cleanliness of a palette consists in its being always in such a condition that you can handle it without getting dirty2 that the mixing-surface will not foul the freshly mixed paint2 and that the paint around the edge is always so that you can pick up a fresh1 clean brushful4 ,if you try to clean off all your color every day and polish your palette nicely1 you will not only take up more time with your palette than you do with your painting1 but the fact that some left-over paint may be wasted will make you a little stingy in putting on fresh paint1 which is one of the worst habits a beginner can fall into4 ,you cannot paint well unless you have paint enough on your palette to use freely when you need it4 ,it is all well enough to put on more1 but nothing is more vexing than to have to squeeze out new paint at almost every brushful4 ,you must have paint enough when you begin1 to work with1 or you waste too much time with these details4 ,illustration3 ,arm ,palette4 ,if you are painting every day1 leave the good paint where it is at the end of your work1 and scrape off all the muddy or half-used piles1 and clean carefully all the palette except those places where the paint is still fresh and pure4 ,then1 when you have to add more to that1 clean that place with the palette-knife before squeezing out the new color4 ,in this way the palette will not look like a centre-table1 but it will be practically clean1 have a good clear mixing-surface1 and you will neither waste paint nor be stingy with it4 ,the ,arm ,palette4--,for painting large canvases1 where the largest-sized brushes are used and paint must be mixed in greater quantities1 the arm palette is a most convenient thing if it is well balanced4 ,it is in the way rather than otherwise for small pictures1 and is useful only as it is particularly called for4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,other ,,tools ,it remains to speak of those tools which are not essentials1 but conveniences1 to painting4 ,even as conveniences1 however1 they are of importance enough to have an influence on your work4 ,you can paint without them1 but you will work more easily for the having of them2 and something of the sort1 although not necessarily of the same kind1 you must have4 ,you may improvise something1 in other words1 to take the place of these1 but you would be wiser to get those which are made for the purpose4 ,the ,box4--,first1 the box4 ,you must keep your things together somehow1 and it would be as well that you keep them in a box which is portable and suited to the purpose4 ,when you sketch you must have a proper box1 and why not have one which is equally serviceable in the house8 ,those most commonly sold to amateurs are of tin1 and they are various in size and construction1 and not too expensive4 ,the only thing against them is the difficulty of adapting them to service different from that they were designed for2 that is1 if you want to put in a different sort of panel1 or if you want to fix it in the cover for convenience1 or anything like that1 you cannot readily do it1 because you cannot use tacks in them4 ,this counts for more than would seem on a sketching trip4 ,but the tin box is light1 and is not easily broken1 and while it is in shape is practical4 ,illustration3 ,the ,color ,box4 ,the box to be most recommended is the wooden one4 ,it costs more than the tin one1--about twice as much2 but you can always arrange it for an emergency very readily1 and if it gets broken you can fix it yourself1 or get any carpenter to do it for you1 while you may be a good many miles from a tinner1 who would be necessary to mend your tin box4 ,you had better not get too large a box4 ,get one long enough for the brushes2 but if you are going to use it out-of-doors much1 get a narrow one with a folding palette1 so as to save weight4 ,in this way you will get a larger palette than you could get in a smaller and wider box1 which is an important consideration4 ,illustration3 ,palette ,knife4 ,the ,palette-,knife4--,of more immediate necessity to your painting is the palette-knife4 ,you cannot keep the palette clean without it4 ,now and again you may want to mix colors1 or even paint with it4 ,but you constantly get rid of the too much mixed color on your palette with it1 and this is essential to good painting4 ,take some care to select a good knife2 have the blade long enough to be springy and flexible1 but not too long4 ,about five inches from the wood of the handle to the end of the blade is a good length4 ,and see that it bends in a true curve from one end to the other1 and is not stiff at the end and weak in the middle4 ,it should have the same even elasticity that a brush should have4 ,for painting you need a trowel palette-knife1 which has a bent shank1 making the blade and the handle on different levels1 so that as you press the blade to the canvas1 the fingers are kept away from the painted surface4 ,the shank should be round1 and the blade very fine and flexible4 ,the knife should balance nicely in the hand1 and turn freely in the fingers1 so that you can paint with either face of the blade with equal balance4 ,it takes some care to pick out a good trowel-knife1 as a poor one is worse than none4 ,the ,scraper4--,you frequently need to scrape rough paint from a canvas or a picture1 and you need to scrape strongly to get a dirty palette clean4 ,you can use an old razor for the first purpose1 or a piece of broken glass1 if you use it carefully1 and any old knife can be used to clean your palette4 ,but a regular tool is better than either4 ,the scraper here shown is the best4 ,illustration3 ,the ,scraper4 ,the ,oil-,cup4--,do not use oils and vehicles very much4 ,but when you need them you must have something to keep them in1 convenient to the brush when working4 ,it should have a spring to hold it on to the palette1 and of such form that the contents are not easily spilled by the movement of the hand or the body when painting4 ,the form here illustrated is the best that has been brought out so far4 ,illustration3 ,the ,oil-,cup4 ,the ,mahl-,stick4--,sometimes you want to rest the hand when painting1 for steadiness4 ,the mahl- or rest-stick has a ball on the end1 which one usually covers with a wad of rag1 so that it can be placed against the canvas without injury1 and the hand rested on it4 ,it is so light that it can be held with the brushes in the palette hand1 and stiff enough to support the brush-hand4 ,illustration3 ,mahl-,sticks4 ,sketching ,adjuncts4--,out-of-doors you must have a seat1 and you should have an umbrella4 ,the best seat for a man1 because it can be folded into so small a space1 is the three-legged stool4 ,this is not usually satisfactory for a woman1 whose skirts tip it over4 ,the better seat for her is shown below4 ,the back is not very firm1 but it does give support1 and the whole is light and strong4 ,illustration ,illustration ,the umbrella should be large and light1 and one such as the illustration1 with a valve in the top to let the wind and hot air through1 will be found cooler and less easily blown over4 ,you should have some strong rings sewed on to it1 so that you can fasten it from four sides by strings1 to keep it steady if the wind blows hard4 ,the umbrella should be of light-colored material1 preferably white2 but if it is lined with black1 the shade will be better1 and give no false glow to the color4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,ix ,,studios ,a painting-room is always a matter of serious consideration1 and to the beginner one of difficulty4 ,the arrangement of light is not easy1 and a special window is almost always out of the question2 yet in some way the light must be so managed that the canvas is not covered with reflected lights which prevent one from seeing what the paint is really like4 ,the ,north ,light4--,the first thing to be looked for is a steady light which will be always about the same1 and not be sunny part of the time and in the shade the rest4 ,a window looking to the north for this reason is generally selected4 ,the sun does not come into it1 and the light is diffused and regular4 ,the effect of the light in the studio is cool1 but colors are justly seen in it1 and the light that falls on any object or model in it will be always the same4 ,if there is to be a skylight1 this should be arranged in the same way4 ,the sash must not be flat1 but must be nearly enough to the vertical to prevent the sun's direct rays from entering1 and it must for that purpose face to the north4 ,this makes the skylight practically a high north light in the roof or ceiling1 and that is what it should be4 ,whether the sash is above the ceiling or just below it1 in the roof or in the wall1 is of no particular importance4 ,the thing to be seen to is that it is high enough for the light to enter above the head of the painter1 and that it be so directed that only north light can come in4 ,the size of the window is also to be carefully considered4 ,it should not be too large4 ,too much light will be sure to interfere with the proper control of light and shade on your model1 and too little will make your painting too dark4 ,the position of the window with reference to the shape of the room has to do with this4 ,the most probable form of a room is long and narrow4 ,for painting it is better that the window be in the middle of the end wall1 high up1 rather than in the middle of the side wall4 ,you will find that you can more easily get distance from your model1 and at the same time get the light both on him and on your canvas4 ,but a painting-room should not be too narrow4 ,about one-third longer than it is wide1 with the window in one end1 will give you a good light1 and the further end of the room will not be too dark1 as it would be apt to be if the room were longer4 ,preferably1 too1 the window should be to the left of the centre of the wall rather than to the right1 as you face it2 so that when you are as near the side wall as you can get1 with the light over your left shoulder 7as it should be71 the light will strike on the canvas well1 and not too directly on the front of the model4 ,it will give you a better lateral position to the window1 in other words4 ,if you have to accept a window in a side wall1 this is even more to be looked for4 ,if the window is to the right of the centre1 you will have a strong side-light on your model2 but you will either have no light on your canvas1 or you will have to turn so that the light falls on your canvas from the right1 which is awkward1 as the paint is in the shadow of the hand and brush which puts it on4 ,the height of the lower part of the window should be at least six feet from the floor1 and for ordinary purposes the proportion of window space to floor space should be about one-tenth4 ,it is impossible to give a rule2 but if the floor is about twelve feet by sixteen1 say1 a window about five feet by four will be enough1 or six and a half by three if it is placed horizontally4 ,if you want intense light with strong contrast of light and shade on your model1 have the window smaller and squarer1 and place your easel just under it1 where the light is good4 ,the rest of the room will be dark4 ,better have the window large enough1 and have it so curtained that you can cut off as much light as you need to4 ,all this is if you are going to make yourself a window2 in which case you will think well before you commit yourself4 ,more probably you will have to get along as best you can with the ordinary room and the ordinary window4 ,in which case get a high room with the window running up as close to the ceiling as possible1 and facing north1 then you can curtain it so as to control the light4 ,arrangement of ,ordinary ,windows4--,for a good working light you should have only one window in your room2 for the light coming in from two openings will make a crossing of rays which will not only interfere with the simplicity of the effect of light and shade on your model1 but will make a glare on your canvas4 ,you can either close the light out of the right-hand window1 or1 better1 arrange a curtain so the light from one window will not fall on the same place as that from the other4 ,when you are working from still life or from a model this is often an advantage1 for you can have a strong side-light on the model1 and a second light on the canvas4 ,to arrange this1 have a sort of crane made of iron1 shaped like a carpenter's square1 which will swing at right angles with the wall1 the arm reaching1 say1 six feet into the room4 ,swing this by means of staples well up to the ceiling1 so that the light cannot get over it1 and near to the right-hand window4 ,from this arm you can hang a thick1 dark curtain1 which will cover and shut out the light from the right-hand window when swung back over it4 ,if you want to pose your model in the light of that window1 while you paint in that of the other1 swing the curtain out into the room at right angles to the wall1 and it will prevent a cross light from the two windows2 so that when the model is posed back of the curtain the light from that window will not fall on the canvas1 nor the light from the other fall on the model4 ,the light will be best on your picture coming from well above you as you work4 ,there will then be no reflections on the paint4 ,you may find it necessary to cover entirely the lower half of the window which gives your painting-light4 ,you will find it useful to have a shade of good solid holland1 arranged with the roller at the bottom1 and a string running up through a pulley at the top2 so that you may pull the shade up from the bottom instead of down from the top1 and so cut off as much of the lower part of the window as is necessary4 ,if you need the light from the lower part of the window1 you may make a thin curtain of muslin to cover the lower sash1 which will let the light through1 but diffuse the rays and prevent reflection4 ,the ,size of the ,studio4--,of course a large studio is a good thing1 but it is not always at one's command4 ,but you should try to have the room large enough to let you work freely1 and have distance enough from the model4 ,the size that ,i have mentioned1 twelve feet by sixteen1 is as small as one should have1 and one that you can almost always get4 ,if the room is smaller than that1 you cannot do much in it1 and fifteen by twenty will give ample space4 ,,part ,,ii ,,general ,,principles ,,chapter ,x ,,mental ,,attitude ,there is a theoretical and a practical side to art4 ,the business of the student is with the practical4 ,theories are not a part of his work4 ,before any theoretical work is done there is the bald work of learning to see facts justly1 in their proper degree of relative importance2 and how to convey these facts visibly1 so that they shall be recognizable to another person4 ,the ideals of art are for the artist2 not for the student4 ,the student's ideal should be only to see quickly and justly1 and to render directly and frankly4 ,technique is a word which includes all the material and educational resources of representation4 ,the beginner need bother himself little with what is good and what is bad technique4 ,let him study facts and their representation only4 ,choice of means and materials implies a knowledge by which he can choose4 ,the beginner can have no such knowledge4 ,choice1 then1 is not for him2 but to work quite simply with whatever comes to hand1 intent only on training the eye to see1 the brain to judge1 and the hand to execute4 ,later1 with the gaining of experience and of knowledge1 for both will surely come1 the determination of what is best suited for the individual temperament or purpose will work itself out naturally4 ,the student should not allow the theoretical basis of art to interfere with the directness of his study of the material and the actual4 ,nevertheless1 he should know the fact that there is something back of the material and the actual1 as well as in a general way what that something is4 ,because the student's business is with the practical is no reason why he should remain ignorant of everything else4 ,it is important that he should think as a painter as well as work as a painter4 ,if he has no thought of what all this practical is for1 he will get a false idea of his craft4 ,he will see1 and think of1 and believe in1 nothing but the craftsmanship3 that which every good workman respects as good and necessary1 but which the wise workman knows is but the perfect means for the expression of thought4 ,some consideration1 then1 of the theoretical side of art is necessary in a book of this kind4 ,a number of considerations arise at the outset1 about which you must make up your mind3-- ,is judgment of a picture based on individual liking8 ,can you hope to paint well by following your own liking only8 ,is it worth your while to try to do good work8 ,can you hope to do good work at all8 ,you must decide these questions for yourself1 but you must remember that it depends upon how you decide them whether your work will be good or bad4 ,to take the last consideration first1 you may be sure that it is worth while to try to do good work1 and mainly because you may hope to do as good work as you want to do4 ,that is1 precisely as good work as you are willing to take the trouble to learn to do4 ,talent is only another name for love of a thing4 ,if you love a thing enough to try to find out what is good1 to train your judgment2 and to train your abilities up to what that judgment tells you is good1 the good work is only a matter of time4 ,you will notice that you must train your judgment as well as your ability2 not all at once1 of course4 ,but how can you hope to do good work if you do not know what good work is when you see it8 ,if you have no point of view1 how can you tell what you are working for1 what you are aiming at8 ,and if you do not know what you are aiming at1 are you likely to hit anything8 ,train ,your ,judgment4--,let us say1 then1 that you must train your critical judgment4 ,how are you to set about it8 ,in the first place1 don't set up your own liking as a criterion4 ,make up your mind that when it comes to a choice between your personal taste and that of some one who may be supposed to know1 between what you think and what has been consented to by all the men who have ever had an opinion worthy of respect1 you may rest assured that you are wrong4 ,and when you have made up your mind to that1 when you have reached that mental attitude1 you have taken a long step towards training your judgment2 for you have admitted a standard outside of mere opinion4 ,another attitude that you should place your mind in is one of catholicity--one of openness to the possibility of there being many ways of being right4 ,don't allow yourself to take it for granted that any one school or way of painting or looking at things is the only right one1 and that all the other ways are wrong4 ,that point of view may do for a man who has studied and thought1 and finally arrived at that conclusion which suits his mind and his nature1--but it will not do for a student4 ,such an attitude is a sure bar to progress4 ,it results in narrowness of idea1 narrowness of perception1 and narrowness of appreciation4 ,you should try all things1 and hold fast to that which is good4 ,and having found what is good1 and even while holding fast to it1 you should remember that what is good and true for you is not necessarily the only good and true for some one else4 ,you must not only hold to your own liberty of choice1 but recognize the same right for others4 ,if this is not recognized1 what room has originality to work in8 ,the range of subject1 of style1 and of technical methods among acknowledged masters1 should alone be proof of the fact that there is no one way which is the only good way2 and if you would know how to judge and like a good picture1 the study of really great pictures1 without regard to school1 is the way to learn4 ,how to ,look at ,pictures4--,the study of pictures means something more than merely looking at them and counting the figures in them4 ,it implies the study of the treatment of the subject in every way4 ,the management of light and shade2 the color2 the composition and drawing2 and finally those technical processes of brush-work by means of which the canvas gets covered1 and the idea of the artist becomes visible4 ,all these things are important in some degree2 they all go to the making of the complete work of art3 and you do not understand the picture1 you do not really and fully judge it1 unless you know how to appreciate the bearing on the result1 of all the means which were used to bring it about4 ,all this adds to your own technical knowledge as well as to your critical judgment1 both of which ends are important to your becoming a good painter4 ,why ,paint ,well4--,you see ,i am assuming that you wish to be a good painter4 ,there is no reason why you should be a bad painter because you are not a professional one4 ,the better you paint the better your appreciation will be of all good work1 the keener your appreciation of what is beautiful in nature1 and the greater your satisfaction and pleasure in your own work4 ,there are better reasons for painting than the desire to make a picture4 ,painting implies making a picture1 it is true2 but it means also seeing and representing charming things1 and working out problems of beauty in the expression of color and form3 and this is something more than what is commonly meant by a picture4 ,the picture comes1 and is the result2 but the making of it carries with it a pleasure and joy which are in exact proportion to the power of appreciation1 perception1 and expression of the painter4 ,this is the real reason for painting1 and it makes the desire and the attempt to paint well a matter of course4 ,craftsmanship4--,the mechanical side of painting naturally is an important part of your problem4 ,you cannot be too catholic in your opinion with regard to it4 ,it is vital that you be not narrowed by any prejudices as to the surface effect of paint4 ,whether the canvas be smooth or rough1 the paint thick or thin1 the details few or many1--the goodness or badness of the picture does not depend on any of these4 ,they are or should be the result1 the natural outcome because the natural means of expression1 of the manner in which the picture is conceived4 ,one picture may demand one way of painting and another demand a quite different way2 and each way be the best possible for the thing expressed4 ,it all depends on the man2 the make-up of his mind2 the way he sees things2 the results he aims to attain1--all of them controlled more or less by temperament and idiosyncrasy4 ,what would produce a perfect work for one man would not do at all for another4 ,the works of the great masters offer the most marked contrasts of ideal and of treatment1 and painters have varied greatly in their manner of some painting at different periods of their lives4 ,rembrandt1 for instance1 painted very thinly in his early years1 with transparent shadows and carefully modelled1 solidly loaded lights4 ,later in life he painted most roughly2 and ,the ,syndics was so heavily and roughly loaded that even now1 after two hundred years1 the paint stands out in lumps--and this is one of his masterpieces4 ,so again1 if you will compare the manipulation in the work of ,raphael with that of ,tintoretto1 that of ,rubens with that of ,velasquez1 or most markedly1 the work of ,frans ,hals with that of ,gerard ,dou1 you will see that the greatest extremes of handling are consistent with equal greatness of result4 ,finish4--,from this you may conclude that what is generally understood by the word finish is not necessarily a thing to be sought for4 ,the tendency of great painters is rather away from excessive smoothness and detail than towards it4 ,while a picture may be a good one and be very minute and smooth1 it by no means follows that a picture is bad because it is rough4 ,the truth is that the test of a picture does not lie in the character of the pigment surface in itself at all1 nor in whether it be full of detail or the reverse1 but in the conception and in the harmonious relation of the technique to the manner in which the whole is conceived4 ,the true finish is whatever surface the picture happens to have when the idea which is the purpose of the picture is fully expressed1 with nothing lacking to make that expression more complete1 nor with anything present which is not needed to that completeness4 ,this too is the truth about breadth1 that much misunderstood word4 ,breadth is not merely breadth of brush stroke4 ,it is breadth of idea1 breadth of perception2 the power of conceiving the picture as a whole1 and the power of not putting in any details which will interfere with the unity of effect4 ,intent4--,in this connection it would be well to bear in mind the purpose of the work on which the painter may be engaged4 ,a man would1 and should1 work very differently on canvases intended for a study1 a sketch1 and a picture4 ,the study would contain many things which the other two would not need4 ,it is the work in which and by which the painter informs himself4 ,it is his way of acquiring facts1 or of assuring himself of what he wants and how he wants it4 ,and he may put into it all sorts of things for their value as facts which he may never care to use1 but which he wishes to have at command in case he should want them4 ,the sketch1 on the other hand1 is a note of an effect merely1 or of a general idea1 and calls for only those qualities which most successfully show the central idea1 which might sometime become a picture1 or which suggests a scheme4 ,a carefully worked-up sketch is a contradiction in terms1 just as a careless study would be4 ,a picture might have more or less of the character of either of these two types1 and yet belong to neither4 ,it might have the sketch as its motive1 and would use as much or as little of the material of the study as should be needed to make the result express exactly the idea the painter wished to impart1 and no more and no less4 ,all these things should be borne in mind1 as you study the characteristics of paintings to learn what they can mean to you beyond the surface which is obvious to any one2 or as you work on your own canvas to attain such power or proficiency1 such cleverness or facility1 as you may conclude it is worth your while to try for4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,tradition ,,and ,,individuality ,a picture is made up of many elements4 ,certain of them are essentially abstract4 ,they must be thought out by a sort of mental vision without words4 ,this is the most subtle and intimate part of the picture4 ,these are the means by which the ideal is brought into the picture4 ,line1 ,mass1 and ,color4--,such are the qualities of line1 dissociated from representation2 of mass1 not as representing external forms2 and color1 considered as a quality1 not as yet expressed visibly in pigment1 nor representing the color of any thing4 ,when these elements are combined they may make up such conceptions as proportion1 rhythm1 repetition1 and balance1 with all the modifications that may come from still further combination4 ,it is because these elements are qualities in themselves beautiful that actual objects not beautiful may be made so in a painting1 by being treated as color or line or mass1 and so given place on the canvas1 rather than as being of themselves interesting4 ,a face1 for instance1 may be ugly as a face1 yet be beautiful as color or light and shade in the picture4 ,these qualities1 ,i say1 do not represent--they do not necessarily even exist1 except in the mind to which they are the terms of its thought4 ,nevertheless1 they are the soul of the picture4 ,for whatever the subject1 or the objects chosen for representation1 it is by working out combinations of these elements1 through and by means of those objects1 that the picture really is made4 ,the picture1 as a work of art1 is not the representation of objects making up a subject1 but a fabric woven of color1 line1 and mass2 of form1 proportion1 balance1 rhythm1 and movement1 expressed through those actual objects in the picture which give it visible form4 ,i do not purpose to go deeply into these matters here4 ,elsewhere1 as they bear practically on the subject in hand1 as in the chapters on ,composition and on ,color1 ,i shall speak of them more fully4 ,but ,i wish here to call attention to this abstract side of painting in order to show the relation between the two classes of things1 the one abstract and the other concrete1 which together are needed to make up a picture4 ,the concrete1 or material1 part of a picture includes all those things which you can look at or feel on the canvas2 and by seeing which you can also see the abstract qualities1 which do not visibly exist until made visible through the disposition of these tangible things1 on the canvas4 ,beyond this is included all the technical qualities of expression2 form1 as drawing2 all representations of objects2 the pigment by means of which color is seen2 and all those technical processes which produce the various kinds of surface in the putting on of paint1 and bring about the different effects of light and shade and color1 form or accent4 ,in learning to paint1 it is with these concrete things that you should concern yourself mainly4 ,the science of painting consists in the knowledge of how to be the master of all the practical means of the craft4 ,for it is with these that you must work1 with these you must express yourself4 ,these are the tools of your trade4 ,they are the words of your art language--the language itself being the abstract elements--and the thoughts1 the combinations which you may conceive in your brain by means of these abstract elements4 ,you must have absolute command of these materials of painting4 ,no matter how ideal your thought may be1 no matter how fine your feeling for line and color and composition1 if you do not know how to handle the gross material which is the only medium by which this can all be made visible and recognizable to another person1 you will fail of either expressing yourself1 or of representing anything else4 ,now you will see what ,i have been driving at all this time2 why ,i have been talking in terms which may well be called not practical4 ,i want to fix your attention on the fact that there are two qualities in a picture3 that one will be always within you1 mainly1 and will control the character of your picture1 because it will be the expression of your mental self2 and the other the practical part1 which any one may1 and all painters must learn1 because it is the only means of getting the first into existence4 ,the one1 the abstract part1 no one can tell you how to cultivate nor how to use4 ,if ,i tried to do so1 it would be my idea and not yours which would result4 ,i can only tell you that it is the thought of art1 and you must think your own thoughts4 ,but the other1 the material1 the concrete1 the practical1 it is the purpose of this whole book to help you to understand and to acquire the mastery of1 so far as may be done by words4 ,teaching by words is difficult1 and never completely satisfactory4 ,but much may be done4 ,if you will use your own brains1 so that what does not seem clear at first may come to have a meaning because of your thinking about it1 we may accomplish a great deal4 ,i cannot make you paint4 ,i cannot make you understand4 ,i can give you the principles1 but you must apply them and think them out4 ,everything ,i say must be in a measure general2 for the needs of every one are individual1 and the requirement of each technical problem is individual4 ,i must speak for all1 and not to any one4 ,yet ,i shall state principles which can always be made to apply to each single need1 and ,i will try to show how the application may be made4 ,technique4--,the science of painting consists of a variety of processes by means of which a canvas is covered with pigment1 and various objects are represented thereon4 ,the whole body of method and means is called technique2 the several parts of technique are called by names of their own4 ,that part which applies to the putting on of the paint may be generally called handling1 although the word painting is sometimes restricted to this sense1 and brush-work is often used for the same thing4 ,the other technical means will be spoken of in their proper place4 ,let me say now a few words as to handling in general4 ,where did all this technique come from8 ,from experiment4 ,ever since art began1 men have been searching for means of fixing ideas upon surfaces4 ,but it is only within the last four hundred years that the processes of oil painting have been in existence--simply because they are peculiar to the use of pigments ground in oil as a vehicle1 and the oil medium was not invented until the middle of the fifteenth century4 ,with the invention of this medium new possibilities came into the world1 and a continual succession of painters have been inventing ways of putting on paint1 the result being the stock of methods and processes of handling which are the groundwork of the art of painting to-day4 ,from time to time there have been groups of artists who have used common methods1 and who have developed expression through those methods which became characteristic of their epoch2 and because the resulting pictures were of a high degree of perfection1 their methods of handling acquired an authority which had a very determining effect on different periods of painting4 ,in this way have come those ideas as to what kind of painting or what ways of putting paint on canvas should be accepted as legitimate4 ,and the methods accepted as legitimate or condemned as illegitimate have been varied from time to time--those condemned by one period being advocated by another2 and the processes themselves have been almost as varied as the periods or groups of men using them4 ,in the long run1 methods and processes have received such authoritative sanction from having been each and all used by undoubted masters1 that they have become the traditional property of all art1 which any one is free to use as he finds need of them4 ,they have become the stock in trade of the craft4 ,the artist may use them as he will1 provided only he will take the trouble to understand them4 ,he must understand them1 because the manipulations which make up these different processes accomplish different effects and different qualities2 and as the painter aims at results1 if he does not understand the result of a process when he uses it1 he will get a different one from that which he intended4 ,the painter should not be hampered by process2 he should not be controlled in the expression of himself by tradition4 ,he should feel free to use any or all means to bring about the result he aims at1 and he should allow no tradition or point of view to prevent him from selecting whichever means will most surely or satisfactorily bring about his true purpose4 ,of course there are many ways of using paint which are unsafe4 ,some pigments are unsafe to use because they either do not hold their own color1 or tend to destroy the color of others4 ,you should always bear this in mind2 and if you care for the permanence of your work1 you should not use such materials or such processes as work against it4 ,but beyond this1 the whole range of the experience and experiment of the workers who have gone before you are at your command1 to help you to express yourself most perfectly or completely2 to represent whatever of visible beauty you may conceive or perceive4 ,and this is the whole aim of the painter2 to stand for this is the whole purpose of the picture4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,originality ,originality is not a thing to strive for4 ,if it comes1 it is not through striving4 ,the search for originality seldom results in anything worth having4 ,it is a quality inherent in the man2 and the best way of being original in your work is to be natural4 ,perhaps the most useful advice which you could receive is that you be always natural4 ,never be artificial nor insincere2 never copy another person's subject1 manner1 or method1 with the intention of doing as he does4 ,the most original things are often the most simple1 because they have come naturally from a sincere desire to express what has been seen or felt1 in the most direct way4 ,if every one were content to be himself1 there would be no dearth of originality4 ,no two people are alike1 neither are any two painters alike2 they could not be4 ,they do not look alike1 nor see alike1 nor feel alike1 nor think alike4 ,how1 then1 should they paint alike8 ,the attempt to do a thing because another has made a success of that sort of thing is the most fruitful source of the commonplace in painting4 ,paint that which appeals to you most fully4 ,don't try to paint what appeals to some one else4 ,if you like it1 then do it2 and do it in the most direct way you can find2 only do it so as to fully and completely convey just what it is that you like1 unaffected by anything else4 ,and because you have seen or felt for yourself in your own way1 and expressed that2 and because you are not another1 nor like any other that ever was1 what you have done will not be like anything else that ever was--and that is originality4 ,but never imitate yourself1 either4 ,be open4 ,be ready to receive impressions and emotions4 ,and if you have done one thing well1 accept that in itself as a reason for not doing it again4 ,there are always plenty of things--ideas1 impressions1 conceptions1 appreciations--waiting to be painted2 and if you try to paint one twice1 you fail once of freshness1 and lose a chance of doing a new thing4 ,that is what a painter is for1 not to cover a canvas with paint1 hang it on a wall1 and call it by a name4 ,the painter is the eye of the people4 ,he sees things which they have no time to look for1 or looking1 have not learned to see4 ,the painter serves his purpose best when he recognizes the beautiful where it was not perceived before1 and so sets it forth that it is recognized to be beautiful through his having seen it4 ,there is the difference between the artist and the photograph1 which sees only facts as facts2 which while often distorting them does so mindlessly1 and at best1 when accurate1 gives the bad with the good in unconscious impartiality4 ,but back of the painter's eye which sees and distinguishes is the painter's brain which selects and arranges1 using facts as material for the expression of beauties more important than the facts4 ,but what is a picture8 ,i have met some strange though positive notions as to what is and what is not a picture4 ,some persons think that a certain 7or uncertain7 proportion of definite forms and objects are necessary to make canvas a picture2 that it must contain some definite and tangible facts of the more obvious kind4 ,i remember one man who asserted that a canvas in an exhibition was not a picture1 but only a sketch1 because it had nothing in it but an expanse of sea and sky4 ,to make a picture of it there was needed at least a moon1 and some birds1 or better1 a ship and some reflections4 ,all this sort of thing is idle4 ,a picture is not a picture because it has more of this or less of that2 it is a picture because it is complete in the expression of the idea which is the cause of its existence4 ,and that idea may be tangible or not4 ,it may include many details or none4 ,it is an idea which is best or only expressed by being made visible1 and which is worthy of being expressed because of its beauty2 and when that idea is wholly and fully visible on canvas or other surface1 that surface is a picture4 ,what the contents of a picture shall be is a matter personal to the painter of it4 ,the manner in which it is conceived and produced is determined by his temperament and idiosyncrasy4 ,a picture is a visible idea expressed in terms of color1 form1 and line4 ,it is the product of perception plus feeling1 plus intent1 plus knowledge1 plus temperament1 plus pigment4 ,and as all these are differently proportioned in all persons1 it is only a matter of being natural on the part of the painter that his picture should be original4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,artist ,,and ,,the ,,student ,it is a mistake to make pictures too soon4 ,the nearest a student is likely to get to a picture is a careful study1 and he will be as successful with this1 if he makes it for the study of it1 as if he made it for the sake of making a picture--better probably4 ,the making of a picture for the picture's sake is dangerous to the student4 ,his is less likely to be sincere4 ,he is apt to idealize1 to make up something according to some notion of how a picture should be1 rather than from knowledge of how nature is4 ,real pictures grow from study of nature4 ,they are the outcome of maturity1 not of the student stage4 ,this implies something deeper than superficial facts1 and a power of selection1--of choice and of purpose which must rest on a very broad and deep knowledge4 ,the artist is always a student1 of course2 but he is not a student only4 ,he is a student who knows what and why he wants to study2 not one who is in process of finding out these things4 ,aims4--,it should be noted that the aim of the student and the aim of the artist are essentially different4 ,the student's first aim is to learn to see and represent nature's facts2 to distinguish justly between relations4 ,it is the training of the eye and the judgment4 ,imitation is not the highest art2 but the highest art requires the ability to imitate as a mere power of representation4 ,the mind must not be hampered in its expression by lack of knowledge and control of materials1 and the painter who is constantly occupied with the problems he should have worked out in his student days1 is just so far from being a master4 ,he must have all his means perfectly at his command before he can freely express himself4 ,the acquirement of this mastery of means is the student's business4 ,everything he does which aids him in this makes him so much nearer to being a painter4 ,but he must remember that he is still a student1 and as he hopes to be a painter1 must have patience with himself2 must not hurry himself1 must work as a student for the ends of a student4 ,all the facts of nature art uses4 ,but she uses them as she needs them1 simplifying1 emphasizing1 suppressing1 combining as will best meet the necessities of the case in hand4 ,all this requires the utmost knowledge1 for it must be done in accordance not only with laws of art1 but with the laws of nature4 ,there are changes which can be made1 and be right--made as nature might make them4 ,other changes which would be false to nature's ways1 and so false to art also4 ,for art works through nature always1 and in accordance with her4 ,this is the aim of the painter1 to express ideas through nature1 not to express notions about nature4 ,the facts of nature are the material of art2 the words of the language in which the ideas of art are to be conveyed4 ,but there are truths more important than these facts4 ,the underlying sentiment of which they are the external manifestation1 and which is the vivifying spirit of them4 ,this is the true fact of the picture4 ,it is more important to give the sentiment of the thing than to give the fact of it2 not merely because it is more truly represented so1 but because the beauty is shown in showing the character4 ,for the character of the fact is the beauty of the fact4 ,to bring out the beauty which may lie in the fact is the aim of the artist2 to acquire the ability to do this is the aim of the student4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,how ,,to ,,study ,there is a right and a wrong way to study1 and it all centres around the fact that what you aim to learn is perception and expression4 ,what you are to express you do not learn2 you grow to that4 ,but you must learn how to use all possible means2 all the facts of visible nature1 and all the characteristics of pigments4 ,all qualities1 color and form and texture1 are but the means of your expression1 and you must know how they may be used4 ,your perception and appreciation must be trained1 and your mind stored with facts and relativities4 ,then you are ready to recognize and to convey the true inwardness you find in conditions commonplace to others4 ,you are to see where others see not2 for it is marvellous how little the average eye sees of the really interesting things1 how little of the visual facts1 and how rarely it sees the picture before it is painted4 ,all is material to the painter4 ,it is not that everything that is1 is beautiful1 but that everything that is has qualities and possibilities of beauty2 and these1 when expressed1 make the picture1 in spite of the superficial or obvious ugliness4 ,in one sense nothing is commonplace1 for everything exists visibly by means of light and color1 and light and color are of the fundamental beauties4 ,so arrange or look upon the commonplace that light and color are the most obvious qualities1 and the commonplace sinks into the background--is lost4 ,there is nothing like painting to make life fascinating2 for there is nothing which brings so many charming combinations into your perception1 as the habit of looking to find the possibilities of beauty in everything that comes within your view4 ,you must form the habit of looking always from the painter's point of view4 ,the painter deals primarily with pigment1 and what can be represented with pigment2 chiefly color and light in the broadest sense1 including form and composition1 as things which give bodily presence and action to the possibilities of pigment4 ,shade1 or shadow1 of course1 is an actuality in painting1 because it is the foil of light and color1 and furnishes the element of relation4 ,methods4--,two general methods are at the command of the student from the first1--to study at once from nature1 or to copy4 ,i think ,i may safely claim to speak for the great body of teachers who are also professional artists1 in saying that copying is a means of study rather for the advanced student than for the beginner4 ,you cannot begin too soon to study nature with your own eyes1 and to accumulate your own facts and observations and deductions4 ,the use of copying is not to find out how to paint1 but to see how many ways there are of painting4 ,the great end of all study in painting is to train the eyes to see relations1 to see them in nature4 ,it is not to see that there are relations1 but to see where they are2 to recognize and to measure and to judge them4 ,painting is the art of perception before everything1 and when you copy you only see1 accept1 what some one else has already perceived4 ,copying does not help you to perceive1 it can only help to show you how something can be expressed after it has been perceived1 and that is not the vital thing in the study of painting4 ,handling1 composition1 management of color1 technique of the brush generally1 may be studied by copying4 ,these only--and for these things it is useful and wise4 ,but the beginner is not ready for these1 for they are not the alphabet1 but the grammar of painting4 ,danger4--,the danger of too early copying is that the student learns to set too much value on surface qualities rather than those to which the surface is merely incidental4 ,with this is the danger 7a serious one1 and one hard to overcome the results of7 that the student becomes clever as a producer of pictures before he has trained his power to see4 ,he becomes a student of pictures rather than a student of nature1 and when in doubt will go to art rather than to nature for help and suggestion4 ,could anything be more fatal8 ,consider the things that student will have to unlearn before he can think a picture in terms of nature--the only healthy1 the only prolific way of thinking4 ,he sees always through other people's eyes1 and thinks with other people's brains1 and feels other people's emotions2 that is not creation2 that is the attitude for the spectator1 not for the painter4 ,these things are all useful and good1 but not for the beginner4 ,later1 when you have found out something for yourself1 when you have ground of your own to stand on1 then you may not only without danger1 but with benefit1 go to the work of other men to see the range of possible point of view and expression1 to see the scope of technical material and individual adaptation2 and so broaden your own mental view and sympathy1 possibly reform or educate your taste1 and perhaps get some hints which will help you in the solving of some future problem4 ,but rather than the undue sophistication which can result from unwise copying1--the over-knowledge of process and surface1 and under-knowledge of nature1--is to be preferred a frank crudeness of work which is the result of an honest going to nature for study4 ,you should not expect a perfect eye for color and form too soon4 ,better a healthily youthful crudity of perception based on nature1 and standing for what you have yourself studied and worked out1 which represents your own attainment1 than a greater show of knowledge which is insincere and superficial because it represents a mere acceptance of the facts set down by others2 and not only that1 but even with it an acceptance also of the actual terms used by those others4 ,often copying is the most convenient way in which you can get help4 ,there is really much to be learned from it1 and you can make a picture serve as a criticism on your own work4 ,particularly in the matter of color or tone1 as something to recognize the achievement of for its own sake4 ,if you can recognize good color as such1 aside from what it represents1 if you can appreciate tone in a picture which is the work of some one else1 you are so much the more likely to notice the lack of those qualities in your own work4 ,so1 too1 there are qualities of brush-work which are always good1 and some which are always bad4 ,you can study the former positively1 and the latter negatively1 in studying and copying other pictures4 ,i have mentioned the training of your critical judgment as a necessity in your education4 ,you can do it slowly in learning to paint1 but you can facilitate that training by copying and studying really good pictures1 if you do it in the right way4 ,the ,right ,way4--,so if you do copy1 do it in the right way1 so as to get all the real help out of it1 and not so as to have to unlearn the greater part of it4 ,don't copy to get a picture4 ,don't make a copy which at a distance has a resemblance to the original1 but which on a more careful study shows none of the qualities which make the original what it is4 ,not only see to it that the same subtleties of perception and representation are preserved in your copy1 but that they are attained in the same way4 ,use the same brush-work or other execution4 ,use the same pigments in the same places1 with the same vehicles2 study the original with your brain as well as with your eyes and hands2 try to see not only how the painter did a certain thing but why4 ,so that as you work1 you follow him in the working out of his problem1 and make it your problem also4 ,in this way you will get some real good from his picture1 and not a mere canvas which has been of no use to you1 nor can be of any satisfaction to any one else who knows a good picture 7copy or original7 when he sees it4 ,why ,copy4--,there are only two good reasons for making a copy1--to study the original as a problem1 and to have something to serve as an example of the master on a work which you like4 ,and in either case such a sincere manner of copying as ,i urge is the only possible way to get what you want4 ,to get a picture1 regardless of whether it really does justice to the original1 is the wrong way1 and this leads always through bad copying to bad painting1 and you are fortunate if you escape an entire perversion of your point of view4 ,you may be able to make some money now and again by doing this sort of thing1 but you will never learn anything from it4 ,on the contrary1 it is the surest way you could find of closing your eyes to all that is worth seeing4 ,get to ,nature4--,if you would really learn to paint1 to see for yourself1 to represent what you see in your own way1 you cannot get to nature too soon4 ,don't bother about what the thing is1 so long as it is nature herself4 ,by nature ,i mean anything1 absolutely anything which exists of itself1 not painted4 ,whether it be the living figure1 or a cast1 or a bit of landscape1 or a room interior--all things which actually exist must show themselves by the facts of light falling upon them3 the relation of color1 and the contrasts of light and dark4 ,whatever you see is useful to you in this way1 for these bring about all the qualities and conditions which you most need to study4 ,but models are not always at command1 interiors do not easily stay a long time at your disposal1 and bits of landscape which interest you are not always easy to get at2 for a student is apt to be either far advanced or unusually ardent who will find interest in the first combination which falls under his eye4 ,therefore the most practically useful material for study1 which is always nature1 is what we call still life1--morte nature1 dead nature is the better or more descriptive name the ,french give to it4 ,by this is meant any and all combinations of objects and backgrounds grouped arbitrarily for representation4 ,bottles and jugs and fruits1 books and bric-a-brac2 all sorts of things lend themselves readily and interestingly to this use4 ,the great value of still life for the student lies in the variety of combinations of color and form1 of light and shade and texture1 that he can always command4 ,there is practically no problem possible to in-the-house light which may not be worked out by means of still life4 ,the training in perception and representation1 in composition and arrangement1 and in technique1 which it will give you is invaluable2 and most important of all1 while you can always make such arrangements as will interest you1 because you need place only such things or colors as you like1 you are really studying nature herself1 you are looking at the things themselves1 and the result you get is the product of your own eyes and brain4 ,the problem is entirely your own1 both in the stating and the solving1 and what you learn is well learned1 and represents a definite progress along the right line4 ,you have worked for the sake of the working1 and there is nothing which you have got from it that may not be applicable to any future work you may do1 that does not directly lead to the great object you have in view1--to learn how to paint well4 ,be ,sincere4--,but1 above all1 be sincere with yourself2 don't do anything to be clever1 nor because it pleases some one else4 ,painting is difficult enough at best4 ,you need all the interest and fascination that the most charming thing can have for you to help you to do it so that it is worth the trouble4 ,don't take away the whole life of it by insincerity4 ,a very thoughtful painter said to me once that he believed that all really good pictures could be shown to be good by the sole criterion of conviction4 ,can you think of any painting being good without it8 ,can you think of any amount of cleverness and ability making a picture good without that4 ,and it is quite as important in study as elsewhere4 ,never do anything except seriously2 take yourself and your work seriously2 only by serious work can serious results come4 ,joy in ,your ,work4--,do it because you like to4 ,but like good work and hate bad work2 and1 above all1 hate half-way work4 ,understand yourself3 what you want to do and why you want to do it1 and then be honest enough with yourself to work till you have honestly done what you wanted to do1 and as you wanted to do it4 ,,part ,,iii ,,technical ,,principles ,,chapter ,,xv ,,technical ,,preliminaries ,reasons4--,painting is something more than laying on paint4 ,it implies a certain amount of knowledge of necessary preliminaries--technical matters which are not strictly painting1 but without which good painting is impossible4 ,it is all well enough to put paint on canvas1 but there must be a knowledge on which to base the where and the why of laying it on1 as well as the knowledge of how to lay it on4 ,if anything1 the where and why are more important than the how4 ,there are almost infinite methods and processes of getting the paint onto the surface4 ,every painter may select or invent his own way1 and provided it accomplishes the main purpose--the bringing about of combinations of form1 relative color and pitch1 the expression of an idea--it is all right4 ,but there are laws which govern the positions of the different spots of paint1 and the reasons for placing them in certain relations4 ,these laws are back of personal idiosyncrasy4 ,they are a part of the laws which control all material things4 ,the painter may no more go contrary to them in painting than he may go contrary to physical laws in any of the practical matters of life4 ,if pigments are not used in accordance with the laws governing their chemical composition1 they will not stand4 ,if the laws of proportion are not observed in composition1 the picture will not balance4 ,the laws of color harmony are as mathematically fixed as the law of gravity4 ,so1 too1 the relations of size1 which give the impression of nearness or distance to objects1 rest on the laws of optics4 ,you have infinite scope for individual expression inside of those laws1 but you cannot go outside of them4 ,scientific ,knowledge not ,necessary4--,it is not necessary that you should have any special knowledge of all these laws nor even of the application of them2 but you must recognize their existence1 and have some practical notions about them and their effect on your work4 ,you can of course carry the study as far as you are interested to go4 ,the farther the better4 ,the more you study them the more you will find them interesting1 and the easier will it be for you to work freely within their limitations4 ,but this is not the place for special study4 ,there are books which treat particularly of these things1 and you must go to them4 ,but a superficial consideration of these subjects cannot be left out of any book which would be really helpful to the student of painting4 ,i can go into the theory of things only so far as to give you that amount of practical knowledge which is absolutely necessary to you as a painter4 ,what ,i shall give is given only because it cannot be wisely left out1 and the form of it as well as the substance and quantity are determined by the same reason4 ,as you hope to become a painter1 then1 do not neglect to study and think of this part of the book1 not merely as a preliminary to the process of painting1 but as containing matter which is continually essential to it--which is part and parcel of it4 ,another reason for the careful reading of these chapters is that any discussion of the art of painting necessarily demands the use of words or phrases which must be understood4 ,to speak of technical things presupposes the use of technical phrases1 and without a knowledge of the words there can be no comprehension of the thought4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,drawing ,drawing is basic to painting4 ,good painting cannot exist without it4 ,i do not mean that there must be always the outline felt or seen1 but that the understanding of relative position1 size1 and form must be felt2 and that is drawing4 ,drawing is not merely form1 but implies these other things1 and painting is not legible without them4 ,they go to the completeness of expression4 ,movement1 and action1 as well as composition and all that it implies or includes1 depend upon drawing1 and they are vital to a painting4 ,importance of ,drawing4--,much has been said and written of drawing as being the most important thing in a picture2 so much so1 as to excuse all sorts of shortcomings in other directions4 ,this is a mistake4 ,drawing is essential because you cannot lay on color to express anything without the colors taking shape1 and this is drawing4 ,but still the color itself1 and other characteristics which are not strictly a part of drawing1 are quite as important to painting1 simply because the thing without them could not be a painting at all3 it would be a drawing4 ,all painters fall into two classes1--those who are most sensitive to the refinements of form1 and those most sensitive to refinements of color and tone4 ,but the great colorists1 the painters par excellence1 the workers in pigment before everything else1 those who find their sentiment mainly there1 these are the men who have made painting what it is1 and who have brought out its possibilities4 ,and looking at painting from their point of view1 drawing cannot be more important than other qualities4 ,neglect of ,drawing4--,great artists have sometimes not been perfect draughtsmen4 ,they have been careless of exactness of form4 ,but they have always been strong in the great essentials of drawing1 and they have made up for such deficiencies as they showed1 by their greatness in other directions4 ,delacroix1 for instance1 sometimes let his temperament run him into carelessness of form in his hurry to express his temperamental richness of color4 ,these things are superficial to the greater ends he had in view1 but we have to distinctly forgive it in accepting the picture4 ,and a great colorist may be so forgiven2 he makes up for his fault by other things4 ,but there is no forgiveness for the student or the painter who is simply a poor draughtsman4 ,the effect of neglect of drawing is to make a weak picture4 ,a painter1 who was also an exceptionally fine draughtsman1 once spoke of work weak in drawing as resembling boned turkey4 ,lack of firmness1 indecision1 characterize the painter who cannot draw4 ,those firm1 simple1 but effective touches which are evident somewhere in the work of all good painters1 are impossible without draughtsmanship4 ,they mean precision4 ,precision means position4 ,position means drawing4 ,proportions4--,all good work is from the general to the particular1 from the mass to the detail4 ,keep that in mind as a fundamental principle in good work1 whatever the kind4 ,you should never place a detail till you have placed your larger masses4 ,the relative importance of things depends on the consideration of those most important first4 ,let this be your first rule in drawing4 ,proportions next4 ,largest proportions1 then exactness of relative proportions4 ,study first in masses4 ,see nothing at first but the large planes4 ,as ,hunt said1 ,hang the nose on to the head1 not the head on to the nose4 ,in getting proportions of the great masses1 let no small variations of line or form break into your study of the whole4 ,therefore1 see outlines first in straight lines and angles4 ,if you cannot see them at first1 study to find them2 look at the long lines of movement2 mass several curves into one line representing the general direction of them4 ,train yourself to look at things in this way4 ,there is nothing which will not fall into position so4 ,this will not be easy at first4 ,the training of a quick perception of these things is a part of your training in drawing--the first essential4 ,it is not that the straight lines are to be sought for themselves1 but that they simplify the first breaking up of the whole into its parts1 and so makes more easy the study of proportion4 ,the accuracy of the general masses makes possible a greater accuracy of the lesser proportions which come within them4 ,you see form more truly also1 when the perception of it is founded on a mass or a line indicating the larger character of it4 ,it saves time for you1 too4 ,you do not have to rub out so much4 ,the great lines and planes once established1 everything else falls naturally into place4 ,spend much time over this part of a drawing4 ,cut the time you give to a drawing into parts1 and let the part given to the laying in of larger proportions be from a third to a half of the whole time1 and study and correct these until they are right4 ,once these are right a very slight accent tells for twice what it would otherwise1 and so you need much less detail to give the effect4 ,modelling4--,in the same way that you have laid out the proportions in mass1 lay out your proportions of light and shade4 ,model your drawing by avoiding the small until the large variations of shade are in place4 ,avoid seeing curves in relief as you have avoided curves of outline4 ,try to analyze the modelling into flat planes1 each one large enough to give a definite mass of relief4 ,don't be afraid of an edge in doing this4 ,let your flat tone come frankly up to the next tone and stop4 ,this again is not for any effect in itself1 but only for facility and exactness4 ,later you can loose it as much as you see fit in breaking up the drawing into the more delicate planes1 and these again into the most subtle4 ,study first the outline and then the planes4 ,constantly compare them as to relation2 you will find it suggestive4 ,remember that your aim is to produce a whole1 not a lot of parts1 and although a whole includes the parts1 the parts are incidental4 ,measurements4--,you will always have to use measurements for the sake of accuracy4 ,probably you will never be able to dispense with them4 ,the best way would be to take them as a matter of course1 and get so that you make them almost mechanically1 without thinking of it4 ,you will save yourself an immense deal of time and trouble by accepting this at once2 for accuracy is impossible without measurements1 and the habit of accuracy is the greatest time-saver4 ,hold your charcoal in your hand freely1 so that your thumb can slip along it and mark off parts of the object when you sight at them across the coal4 ,measure horizontal and vertical proportions into themselves and into each other4 ,height and breadth are checks to each other4 ,if the height is a certain proportion of the breadth1 then the smaller proportions of height must have equivalent proportions to each other as well as to breadth4 ,measure these and you are sure of being right4 ,steps4--,divide your drawing into steps or stages of work4 ,you will find it a helpful thing in studying4 ,you will do it quite naturally later4 ,do it deliberately at first1 as a matter of training4 ,first step4--,measure the extreme height and breadth of the whole group or object of your drawing1 with accuracy1 and mark each extreme4 ,second step4--,outline the great mass of it with the simplest lines possible4 ,give the general shape of the whole4 ,this blocks it in4 ,third step4--,measure each of the objects in the group1 or the parts most prominent1 if it be a single object4 ,measure its height and breadth1 both in its own proportion and in proportion to the dimensions of the other parts and of the whole4 ,enclose it in straight lines as you did with the whole mass4 ,fourth step4--,find the more important of the lesser proportions in each object1 and block them out also4 ,this should map out your drawing exactly and with some completeness4 ,fifth step4--,lay in simple flat tones to fill in these outlines1 and keep the relations of light and dark very carefully as you do so4 ,sixth step4--,this should leave your paper with a few large masses of dark and light1 which can now be cut into again with the next smaller masses1 giving more refinement to the whole4 ,this also should so break up the edges as to get rid of any feeling of squareness or edginess4 ,seventh step4--,put in such accents of dark1 or take out such of light1 as will give necessary character and force to the drawing4 ,i do not say that this method produces the most finished drawing2 but it is a most excellent way to study drawing1 and1 more or less modified1 is practically the basis of all methods4 ,in practised hands it allows of any amount of exactness or freedom of execution4 ,i have seen most beautiful work done in this way4 ,home ,study4--,it is not necessary to have a teacher in order to draw well2 but it is necessary to find out what are the essentials of good drawing1 and to work definitely and acquire them4 ,good drawing is a combination of exactness and freedom2 and the exactness must come first4 ,the structure of the thing must be shown without unnecessary detail4 ,you should always look at any really good drawing you can come at1 and try to see what there may be in it of helpful suggestion to you4 ,illustration3 ,drawing of ,hands4 ,drer4 ,study the ,masters4--,get photographs of drawings by the masters of drawing1 and study them4 ,see how they searched their model for form and character4 ,do not make so much of the actual stroke as the manner in which it is made to express and lend itself to the meaning4 ,in this drawing by ,albrecht ,drer you have a splendid example of exactness and feeling for character4 ,you could have no better type of what to look for and how to express it4 ,although it is not important that you should lay on the lines of shading just as this is done1 it is important to notice how naturally they follow1 and conform to1 the character of the surface--which is one of the ways in which the point helps to search out the modelling4 ,this drawing is made with a black and a white chalk on a gray ground2 a very good way to study4 ,a good hint is also offered in this drawing1 of the modesty of the old masters1 in subject4 ,a hand or part of any object is enough to study from4 ,there is no need to always demand a picture in everything you do4 ,materials4--,for all purposes which come in the range of the painter you should use charcoal4 ,for purposes of study it is the most satisfactory of materials2 it is sensitive1 easily controlled1 and easily corrected4 ,for sketching or preliminary drawing on the canvas it is equally good4 ,you should have also a plumb-line with which to test vertical positions of parts in relation to each other1 and this1 with the pencil held horizontally for other relative positions1 gives you all you need in that direction4 ,in drawing on the canvas it is not often necessary to do more than place the various objects and draw their outlines carefully and accurately4 ,sometimes1 however1 as in faces1 or in pictures which include important figures1 you will need a shaded drawing1 and this can be done perfectly with charcoal1 and fixed with fixative afterwards4 ,imitation4--,perfect drawing1 in the sense of exact drawing1 is not the most important thing4 ,a drawing may be exact1 and yet not be the truer for it4 ,it may be inexact1 and yet be true to the greater character4 ,so1 too1 the drawing may have to change an accidental fact which is not worth the trouble of expression or which will injure the whole4 ,there is something more important than detail1 and the essential characteristics can be expressed sometimes only by a drawing which is deliberately false in certain things in order to be the more true to the larger fact4 ,then1 too1 there is an individuality which the artist has to express through his representation of the external2 and he is justified in altering or slighting facts in order to bring about that more important self-expression4 ,of course the self must be worth expressing4 ,there is no excuse for mere falsification nor for mere inability4 ,but a good workman will not be guilty of that1 and the complete picture in its unity will be his justification for whatever means he has taken4 ,feeling4--,drawing must be a matter of feeling4 ,a perception of essential truth of a thing1 as much as of trained observation of the facts4 ,the good draughtsman becomes so by training his observation of facts first1 always searching for those most important1 and emphasizing those2 and with the power which will come in time to his eye and hand easily and quickly to grasp and express facts1 will come also the power of mind to grasp the essential characteristics4 ,and the trained hand and eye will permit the most perfect freedom of expression4 ,this is the desideratum of the student2 this is the end to be aimed at1--the perfect union of the trained eye and hand to see and do1 and the trained mind to feel and select1 and the freedom of expression which comes of that perfect union4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,values ,the ,term4--,the word values is seldom understood by the average individual1 yet it should not be difficult to take in4 ,it means simply the relation between degrees of strength of light and dark1 and of color considered as light and dark4 ,translate the word into importance1 and think what it means4 ,the relative importance1 strength1 force1 power1 value1 of a touch of color to make itself felt in the whole--that is its value4 ,a weak value is a note which does not make itself felt2 a strong value is one which does4 ,a false value is a touch of color which has not its proper relation to the other spots or masses of color in the picture1 considered as light and dark--not as color per se4 ,importance4--,as soon as you grasp this idea you see at once how important values must be to the whole picture4 ,it is not possible to do any good work1 either in black and white or color1 without it4 ,in one sense it is incidental to drawing4 ,when you consider drawing as the expression of modelling1 the relative roundness of parts1 and of relief1 as well as outline1 values come into play to give the relations of planes of light and dark in black and white4 ,in this it becomes part of drawing4 ,values and ,color4--,as soon1 however1 as color becomes a part of the picture1 values become the basis of modern painting as distinguished from the painting of previous centuries4 ,values1 of course1 always existed wherever good painting existed1 because you cannot paint without recognizing the relations1 the relative pitch and relative strength of tones4 ,but the word is never heard in relation to old masters4 ,it is apparently of quite modern coinage and use1 and it probably was coined because of a new and greater importance of the fact which it represents4 ,the older painters in painting a picture kept parts of a whole object--a head or a figure1 say--in relation to itself2 and that was values--but restricted values4 ,the whole picture was arranged on the basis of arbitrary lighting1 which entered into the scheme of composition of that picture4 ,this is not values1 but what is generally understood by the older writers when they speak of chiaroscuro4 ,the modern painter deals little with chiaroscuro4 ,it is almost obsolete as a technical word4 ,arbitrary arrangement of light and shade in a picture is not usual nowadays1 and consequently the word which expressed it has dropped somewhat into disuse4 ,basis of ,modern ,painting4--,instead of the old composition in arbitrary light and shade1 the modern painter accepts the actual arrangement of light as the basis of his picture1 and spreads the values over the whole canvas4 ,in this way the quality of value becomes the very foundation of the modern picture4 ,for you cannot accept the ordinary or actual condition of light1 as governing the light and shade of your picture1 without extending the same scheme of relations over the whole canvas4 ,every most insignificant spot of light and shade and color1 as well as the most significant1 must keep its place1 must hold its true relation to every other spot and to all the rest4 ,each value must keep its place according to the laws of fact1 or it is out of touch with the whole4 ,the whole picture must be either on a scheme of general fact1 or a scheme of general arbitrary arrangement4 ,any one piece of arbitrary arrangement in this connection must be backed up by other pieces of arbitrary arrangement1 or else there must be no arbitrary arrangement at all4 ,the modern painter accepts the former2 and the importance of values is the result4 ,absolute and ,relative ,values4--,we may speak of values as absolute or relative4 ,this relates to the key or pitch of a painting4 ,it is the contribution to the art of painting which was made by the ,french painter1 ,manet4 ,you may paint a picture in the same pitch as nature1 or you may transpose it to a higher or a lower pitch4 ,the relations of the different values of the picture will hold the same relation to each other as the values of nature do to each other4 ,but the actual pitch of each1 the relation of each to an absolute light or an absolute dark1 will be higher or lower than in nature4 ,this would be relative values4 ,or the pitch1 relation to absolute light and dark1 of each value may be the same1 value for value1 as in nature4 ,this would be absolute values4 ,the attempt at absolute values was not made at all before ,manet's time4 ,a landscape was frankly painted down1 or darker1 from the pitch of nature1 and an interior as frankly painted up1 or lighter4 ,in both cases the values had to be condensed1--telescoped1 so to speak1--because pigment would not express the highest light nor the lowest dark in nature2 and to have the same number of gradations between the highest and lowest notes in the picture1 the amount of difference between each value had to be diminished--but relatively they were the same4 ,the degree of variation from the actual was the same all through4 ,with absolute values the painter aims at giving the just note1--the exact equivalent in value that he finds in nature4 ,he tries to paint up to out-door light or paint down to in-door light4 ,close ,values4--,this naturally calls for a fine distinction of tones--the utmost subtlety of perception of values4 ,to paint a picture in which the highest light may not be white nor the lowest dark black1 and yet give a great range and variety to the values all through the picture1 the values must be close2 must be studied so closely as to take cognizance of the slightest possible distinction1 and to justly express it4 ,this sort of thing was not thought of by the older painters4 ,it is the distinguishing characteristic of modern painting4 ,it is a substitution of the study of relation for the study of contrast4 ,study of ,values4--,you see at once how important1 how vital1 the study of values is to painting4 ,even if you paint with arbitrary lighting1 as is still done by many painters1 especially in portraits1 you have to consider and study them as they apply to parts of your picture4 ,you will find no good painter of old time who did not study relations4 ,if you look at a ,velasquez1 you will find that he knew values1 even though he did not use the word4 ,but if you are in touch with your century1 if you would paint to express the suggestion you receive from the nature you study1 or if you would convey the idea of truth to the world around you1 as that world exists1 frankly accepting the conditions of it1 you will have to make the study of values fundamental to your work4 ,the ,fourth ,dimension4--,you study values with your eyes only1 but you cannot measure values4 ,length1 breadth1 and thickness you can measure2 but values constitute what might be called a ,fourth ,dimension1 and you must measure it by your eye1 and without any mechanical aid4 ,your eye must be trained to distinguish and judge differences of value4 ,helps4--,there are1 however1 several things which you can use to help you in training your eye to distinguish values4 ,when you look for values you do not wish to see details nor things1 you wish to see only masses and relations4 ,you must unfocus your eye4 ,the focussed eye sees the fact1 and not the relation4 ,anything which will help you to see outlines and details less distinctly will help you to see the values more distinctly4 ,half-closed ,eyes4--,the most common way is to half close the eyes1 which shuts out details1 but permits you to see the values4 ,some painters think this falsifies pitch1 and prefer to keep the eyes wide open1 but to focus them on some point beyond the values they are studying4 ,this is not so easy to do as to half close the eyes1 but becomes less difficult with practice4 ,the ,blur ,glass4--,an ordinary magnifying-glass of about #ae-;inch focus1 which you can get at an optician's for fifteen or twenty cents1 will blur the details1 and help you to see the values1 because it makes everything vague except the masses4 ,you can frame it for use by putting it between two pieces of cardboard with a hole in them1 or you can do the same with two pieces of leather sewed around the edge4 ,of course the glass itself is all you need1 but it will be easily broken if unprotected4 ,do not try to look through the glass at your subject1 but at the glass and the image on it4 ,the ,claude ,loraine ,mirror4--,this is a curved mirror with a black reflecting surface4 ,the object is reflected on it1 reduced both in size and pitch4 ,it concentrates the masses and the color1 and so helps to distinguish the relative values4 ,you can make a mirror of this sort for yourself by painting the back of a piece of plate glass black4 ,the real ,claude ,loraine mirror is expensive4 ,the ,common ,mirror is also very helpful in distinguishing values4 ,it reduces the size of things1 and reverses the drawing so that you see your subject under different conditions1 and a fresh eye is the result4 ,place the group and your painting side by side1 if you are painting still life1 and look at both at the same time in the mirror4 ,do the same with a portrait and the sitter4 ,diminishing ,glass4--,much the same effect can be had by using a double concave lens4 ,the picture is not reversed1 but it is reduced1 and the details eliminated4 ,in using any of these means you must remember that it is always the relations and not the things you are studying2 and the most useful of these aids is the blur glass1 because you cannot possibly see anything in it but the values and color masses1 everything else being blurred4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,perspective ,there are two kinds of perspective1 linear and arial4 ,the former has to do with the manner in which horizontal lines appear to converge as they recede from the foreground1 and so produce the effect of distance4 ,the latter has to do with the effect of distance1 which is due to the successive gradations of gray in color noticeable in objects farther and farther away from the observer4 ,arial ,perspective4--,to the student1 arial is color perspective1 because of the modifications which colors undergo when removed to a distance4 ,modifications of tone are largely due to varying distance1 and so arial perspective is largely a matter of values4 ,that they are due to the greater or less thickness of the atmosphere is only a matter of interest1 not of importance1 to the artist2 the important thing to him is that the careful study of values is necessary to relief1 perspective1 and particularly1 atmosphere and envelopment in a picture4 ,to the student1 arial perspective should be only a matter of observation and of the study of relations of color and value4 ,there are no rules4 ,the effect depends on greater or less density of atmosphere4 ,near objects are seen through a thin stratum of air1 and farther objects through a thicker one4 ,all you have to do to express it is to recognize the relative tones of color4 ,paint the colors as they are1 as you see them in nature1 and you need have no trouble with arial perspective4 ,but though ,i say this is all you have to do1 don't imagine that ,i mean that it is always easy1 or that it can be done without thought and study4 ,you will have to use all your powers of perception if you wish to do good work in this direction4 ,especially on clear days1 or in those climates where the air is so rare that objects at great distances seem near1 you will find that atmospheric perspective is simply another name for close values4 ,and close values1 you remember1 are the most subtle of relations of light and shade and color4 ,the only rule for arial perspective is to use your eyes1 and do nothing without a previous careful study of nature4 ,linear ,perspective4--,for most kinds of painting1 a technical knowledge of linear perspective is not necessary1 although every painter should understand the general principles of it4 ,in most cases all the exactness needed can be obtained by comparing all lines carefully with the pencil or brush handle held horizontally or vertically1 and studying the angle any line makes with it4 ,apply to all objects in perspective the same observation that you do in any other kind of drawing1 and you will have little trouble1 as long as you are drawing from an object before you4 ,but if you go into perspective at all1 go into it thoroughly4 ,a little perspective is a dangerous thing1 and more likely to mix you up by suggesting all sorts of half-understood things than to be of any real help4 ,there are some kinds of subjects1 however1 which require a complete knowledge of all the rules and processes of perspective4 ,whenever you have to construct a picture from details stated but not seen2 when you have a complicated architectural interior or exterior2 when figures are to be placed at certain distances or in definite positions1 and they are too numerous or the conditions are otherwise such that you cannot pose your models for this purpose2 then you may have to make most elaborate perspective plans1 and lay out your picture with great exactness1 or the drawing which is fundamental to such a picture will not be true4 ,such men as ,grme and ,alma-,tadema plan their pictures most carefully1 and so did ,paul ,veronese1 and it requires a thorough and practical knowledge of perspective4 ,but this is not the place to teach you perspective4 ,it is a subject which requires special study1 and whole volumes are given to the elucidation of it4 ,in a work of this kind anything more than a mention of the bearings of perspective on painting would be out of place4 ,if you do not care to take up seriously the study of perspective1 avoid attempting to paint any subjects which call for it2 or1 if you do care to study it1 get a special work on that subject1 give plenty of time to it1 and study it thoroughly4 ,foreshortening4--,in this connection ,i may speak of something which is akin to perspective1 yet the very reverse of it4 ,as its name implies1 foreshortening means the way in which anything seems shortened or in modified drawing as it projects towards you2 while perspective is the manner in which lines appear as they recede from you4 ,like arial perspective1 the best way to study foreshortening is to study nature1 not rules4 ,perspective can be worked out by rule1 foreshortening cannot4 ,pose your model1 or if it be a branch of a tree1 or anything of that sort1 place yourself in the proper position with reference to it1 and then study the drawing as it appears1 thinking nothing of how it is2 make your measurements1 and place your lines as if there were no problem of foreshortening at all1 but study the relations of lines1 of size1 and of values1 and the foreshortening will take care of itself4 ,after all1 foreshortening is only good drawing1 and a good draughtsman will foreshorten well1 while a bad draughtsman will not4 ,therefore1 learn to draw1 and don't worry about the foreshortening4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,light ,,and ,,shade ,chiaroscuro4--,a few words about chiaroscuro will be useful4 ,this is a term of great importance and frequent use with artists and writers up to within the last thirty or forty years4 ,it has of late become almost unused4 ,the reason for this was explained in the chapter on ,values4 ,nevertheless1 it is well that the student should know what the word meant1 and still means4 ,although he may hear and use it less frequently than if he had lived earlier in the century1 the pictures1 certain qualities of which no other word expresses1 still exist1 and are probably as immortal as anything in this world can be4 ,he should know what those qualities are1 and he should understand their relation to the work of to-day4 ,chiaroscuro is described by an old writer as suggesting a theme which is the most interesting1 perhaps1 in the whole range of the art of painting4 ,of vast importance1 great extent1 and extreme intricacy4 ,chiaroscuro is an ,italian compound word whose two parts1 chiar and oscuro1 signify simply bright and obscure1 or light and dark4 ,hence the art or branch of art that bears the name regards all the relations of light and shade1 and this independently of coloring1 notwithstanding that in painting1 coloring and the clair-obscure are of their very nature inseparable4 ,the art of clair-obscure1 therefore1 teaches the painter the disposition and arrangement in general of his lights and darks1 with all their degrees1 extreme and intermediate1 of tint and shade1 both in single objects1 as the parts of a picture1 and in combination as one whole1 so as to produce the best representation possible in the best manner possible2 that is1 so as to produce the most desirable effect upon the senses and spirit of the observers4 ,in a word1 its end and aim are fidelity and beauty of imitation2 its means1 every effect of light2 chromatic harmonies and contrasts2 chromatic values1 reflections2 the degradations of atmospheric perspective1 etc4 ,the italics are mine4 ,you see at once that this covers a pretty wide field4 ,but it is to be again noted that the use of chiaroscuro by the old painters meant not only the expression of the light and shade of nature1 but the so arranging of the objects and the way that the light was permitted to fall on them1 that certain parts of the picture became shadow1 while the light was concentrated in some other part or parts4 ,in this way the arrangement of the light and shade of a picture became a distinct element of composition1 and a very important one4 ,the quality of light was something to be emphasized by contrast4 ,it is stated 7whether truly or not7 that the proportion of light to dark was according to a definite rule or principle with certain painters1 some permitting more1 and some less1 space of canvas to be proportioned to light and to dark4 ,the gradations of light and dark were studied of course2 but the quantity of light spread over the canvas was calculated upon1 so that the less space of light and the greater the space of dark1 the more brilliant would be the main spot of light in the picture4 ,they wrought with the quality of light and shade as an element1 just as they would with the quality of line or of color1 considered apart from objects or facts they might represent4 ,arbitrary ,lighting4--,this is the arbitrary light and shade spoken of in the chapter on ,values2 and although the older painters included what we now call values in their word chiaroscuro1 it is this fact of arbitrary lighting as opposed to accepting the light as it does fall1 or selecting those places or times where it does naturally fall as we would like it to1 that makes the difference between modern painting generally and the older method1 and has made chiaroscuro as a word and as a quality of painting so much a thing of the past4 ,light and ,shade4--,but we may use the old word with a more restricted meaning4 ,if we use it to mean literally light and shade1 the way light falls on objects and the relief due to the light side and the shadow side of them1 we get a use which implies a very important and practical matter for present study4 ,illustration3 ,eggs4 ,white against ,white4 ,objects ,visible by ,light and ,shadow4--,if you will put a white egg on a piece of white paper1 with another white paper back of it1 you will see that it is only because the egg obstructs the light1 the side of it towards the light preventing the light rays from touching the other side1 and so casting a shadow on itself and on the paper1 that the egg is visible4 ,you will also see1 if you manipulate the egg1 that according as the light is concentrated or diffused1 or according to the sharpness of the shadow and light1 is the egg more or less distinct4 ,contrast4--,apply these facts to other objects1 and you will see how important the principle of contrast is to the representation of nature4 ,not only contrast of light and shade1 but contrast of color4 ,and you should make a study1 both by setting up groups of objects in different lights1 and by studying effects of lights wherever you are1 of the possibilities and combinations of light and shadow4 ,constant ,observation4--,the painter is constantly studying with his eyes4 ,it is not necessary always to have the brush in your hand in order to be always studying4 ,keep your brain active in making observations and considering the relations in nature around you4 ,the amount of material you can store up in this way is immense1 to say nothing of the training it gives you in the use of your eyes1 and in the practice of selection of motives for work4 ,schemes of color or composition are not usually deliberately invented within the painter's brain4 ,they are in most cases the result of some suggestion from a chance effect noticed and remembered or jotted down1 and afterwards worked out4 ,nature is the great suggester4 ,it is the artist's business to catch the suggestion and make it his own4 ,for nature seldom works out her own suggestions4 ,the effect as nature gives it is either not complete1 or is so evanescent as to be uncopyable4 ,but the habit of constant receptivity on the part of the artist makes nature an infinite mine of possibilities to him4 ,illustration3 ,the ,canal4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,effect of diffused out-door light to be compared with effect of studio light in ,bohemian ,woman1 and artificial light in ,woman ,sewing by ,lamplight4 ,perception4--,only by continually observing and judging of contrasts and relations can the eye be trained to perceive subtle distinctions2 yet it must be so trained1 for all good work is dependent on these distinctions4 ,effects of ,light4--,it is important to study the different qualities of light4 ,take1 for instance1 the difference of character on a sunny day and on a gray day4 ,on the former1 fine distinctions of color are less pronounced2 they are lost in the contrasts of sunlight and shadow4 ,on a gray day the light is diffused2 contrast is less1 but the finer distinctions are more marked4 ,for the study of the subtleties of color choose a gray day4 ,so1 too1 is the difference marked between the general light of out-doors and the more concentrated light of the house4 ,the pitch is different4 ,outside1 even in a dark day1 the general character of light is clearer1 more full1 than in-doors4 ,there is nothing possible under the open sky like the strong contrasts you get from a single window in an otherwise unlighted room4 ,compare1 for instance1 the character of the light and shade as shown in the illustrations on pages #aef and #aei4 ,the one is the diffused1 out-of-door light1 the other that from a studio window4 ,the character of the subject has nothing to do with this quality4 ,the head would have less of sharpness and contrast in the open air1 and more reflected light4 ,other differences to be studied as to quality of the light in the manner of its contrast1 and also for its color quality1 are to be seen in moonlight or nightlight as compared with daylight4 ,artificial light1 such as lamp- and candle-light1 gives marked effects also1 which may be compared with daylight both as it is out-of-doors and in its more concentrated effects in the studio4 ,compare the picture of the ,woman ,sewing by ,lamplight1 by ,millet1 with the ,canal and the ,bohemian ,woman given above4 ,the effects of gas and electric light also should be studied4 ,their characteristics both of contrast and1 particularly1 of color are worth your attention as a student1 inasmuch as the essence of some pictures lies in these qualities4 ,another matter of great importance to the student1 and one which the same three illustrations just referred to may serve to show1 is the effect on objects of the position of the point of entrance of the light with reference to them and to the observer4 ,the simplest light is the side-light from a single window4 ,this gives broad1 sharp masses of light and shade1 and makes the study of drawing and painting more simple4 ,with the observer in the same relative position to the subject1 as the light swings round towards a point back of him the contrasts become less1 the relations more subtle and difficult of recognition1 and naturally the study of them more difficult4 ,in this position of light the values become close4 ,to make the object seen at all1 it is necessary that the finest distinctions shall be observed4 ,illustration3 ,bohemian ,woman4 ,frans ,hals4 ,effect of contrast of light and shade in studio to be compared with diffused light of open air in the ,canal1 and artificial light in ,woman ,sewing by ,lamplight4 ,illustration3 ,sewing by ,lamplight4 ,millet4 ,effect of artificial light contrast to be compared with natural light in illustrations of ,canal and ,bohemian ,woman4 ,illustration3 ,descent from the ,cross4 ,portrait painters have always been fond of a top light1 which gives a direct concentrated light descending on the sitter1 very similar in character to the side-light1 but more favorable to the expression and drawing of the face4 ,cross ,lights4--,the most confusing and difficult of study and representation are the cross lights4 ,if there are several windows or other points for the admission of light1 and the sitter or object painted is between them1 the light comes from all sides1 so that the rays cross each other and there is no single scheme of light and shade4 ,the rays from one side modify the shadows cast from the other side1 and a perplexing and involved arrangement of values is the result4 ,this is a favorite technical problem with painters1 and its solution is splendid training2 but the student who can successfully solve it is not far from the end of his student days4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,composition ,importance4--,composition is of the utmost importance4 ,it is impossible that a picture should be good without it4 ,you may define it as that study by means of which the balance of the picture comes about4 ,but you must understand the word balance in its broadest sense4 ,there is nothing in the planning of the picture which has not to be considered in making the picture balance4 ,the arrangement of the lines1 of the forms1 of the masses1 and of the colors must all be right if the composition be right4 ,composition is the planning of the picture2 and it is more or less complicated1 more or less to be carefully studied beforehand in exact accordance with the simplicity or complication of the scheme of the picture4 ,you may not need more than the consideration of a few main facts4 ,it may almost be done by a few moments' deliberation in some simple studies or even pictures4 ,but even then there is possible the most subtle discrimination of selection1 and a perfect gem of composition may be found in the arrangement of a picture having the simplest and fewest elements4 ,the more complicated the materials which are to be worked into a picture1 the more careful must be the previous planning2 but1 for all that1 the genius will find scope for his utmost powers in a simple figure1 just because the fewer the means1 the more each single thing can interfere with the balance of the whole1 and the more a fine choice will tell4 ,the sthetic4--,i have already mentioned briefly the sthetic elements of a picture4 ,i have called to your attention that back of the obvious facts of a subject and the objects in the picture1 and the theme which the painter makes his picture represent2 back of the technical processes and management of concrete material which make painting possible1 is the sthetic purpose of the work of art2 without this it could not be a work of art at all3 it would be merely a more or less exact representation of something1 a mere prosaic description1 the interest in which would lie wholly in the fact1 and would perish whenever interest in the fact should cease4 ,it is not the fact1 nor even the able expression of the fact1 which makes a work of art a thing of interest and delight centuries after the bearing of the fact has been forgotten4 ,the perennial interest of a work of art lies in the way in which the artist has used his ostensible theme1 and all the facts and objects appertaining to it1 as a part of the material with which he expresses those ideas which are purely sthetic2 which do not rest on material things4 ,these have to do with material things only by rendering them beautiful1 giving to them an interest which they themselves could not otherwise have4 ,theory4--,does this sound unpractical8 ,well1 it is unpractical4 ,does it seem mere theory8 ,it is theory4 ,i want to impress it on you that it is theory4 ,for it is the theory which underlies art1 and if you do not understand it1 you only understand art from the outside4 ,consciously or unconsciously every artist works to express these purely sthetic qualities1 and to a greater or less extent he expresses himself through them4 ,art for ,art's ,sake4--,this is the real meaning of the much-debated phrase1 ,art for art's sake4 ,the mistake which leads to the misconception and most of the discussion about it1 is in confounding art for art's sake with technique for technique's sake1 which is a very different thing4 ,certainly every painter will work to attain the most perfect technique he is capable of4 ,but not for the sake of the technique1 but for what it will do4 ,the better the technique the better the control of all the means to expression4 ,if you take technique to mean only the understanding and knowledge of all the manipulations of art1 technique is only a means1 and it is so that ,i mean it to be understood here4 ,if you broaden its meaning to include all the mental conceptions and means1 that is another thing1 and one likely to lead to confusion of idea4 ,so ,i use the word technique in its strictest sense4 ,the sthetic ,elements4--,what1 then1 are these sthetic qualities ,i have spoken of8 ,will you consider the quality of line8 ,not a line1 but line as an element1 excluding all the possible things which may be done with lines in different relations to themselves and to other elements4 ,now will you consider also the other elements1 mass and color8 ,do you see that here are three terms which suggest possibilities of combination of infinite scope8 and they are purely intellectual4 ,what may be done with them may be done1 primarily1 without taking into consideration the representation of any material fact whatsoever4 ,take as the type1 conventional ornament4 ,you can make the most exquisite combinations1 in which the only interest and charm lies in the fact of those combinations in line and mass and color4 ,take architecture4 ,quite aside from the use of the building is the sthetic resultant from combinations of line and mass and color4 ,and so in the picture the question of art1 the question of sthetic entity1 lies in the intellectual qualities of combinations of line and mass and color which permeate through and through the technical and material structure that you call the picture1 and give it whatever universal and permanent value it has1 and which make it immortal1 if immortal it ever can be4 ,composition4--,the bearing of all this on composition should be obvious1 for composition is the technique of combination4 ,in the composition of a picture all the elements come into play4 ,it is in composition that the management of the abstract results in the concrete4 ,let us look at it from a more practical side4 ,frankly1 there are qualities1 which you always look for in a picture1--good drawing1 of course1 and good color4 ,but there are such things as these3 ,harmony1 ,balance1 ,rhythm1 ,grace1 ,impressiveness1 ,force1 ,dignity4 ,where do they come from8 ,must not every good picture have them1 or some of them1 to some extent8 ,how are you going to get them8 ,if you have fifteen or twenty square feet or square yards of surface1 you will not get them onto it by unaided inspiration4 ,inspiration is1 like any other intellectual quality1 quite logical1 only it acts more quickly and takes longer steps between conclusions perhaps4 ,you will get these qualities onto your canvas only by so arranging all the objects which make up the body of your picture that these qualities shall be the result4 ,it is arrangement then4 ,arrangement4--,but arrangement of what8 how8 ,the objects4 ,but on some principle back of them4 ,consider another set of qualities3 proportion1 i4e41 relative size2 arrangement1 relative position2 contrast2 accent1--these are what you manipulate your objects with1 and your objects themselves are only line and mass and color in the concrete4 ,objects1 figures1 bric-a-brac1 draperies1 houses and trees1 skies and mountains1 and every and any other natural fact1 you may consider as so many bits of form and color with which you may work out a scheme on canvas2 and how you do it is to consider them as pawns in your game of sthetics4 ,with these as materials1 what you really do is to combine mass and line and color by means of proportion1 arrangement1 contrast1 and accent1 that a beautiful entity of harmony1 balance1 rhythm1 grace1 dignity1 and force may result4 ,and this is composition4 ,no ,rules4--,naturally in dealing with a thing like this1 which is the very essence of art1 rules are of very little use4 ,ability in composition may be acquired when it is not natural1 but it calls for a continuous training of the sense of proportion and arrangement1 just as the development of any other ability calls for training4 ,the best thing that you can do is to study good examples and try to appreciate1 not only their beauty1 but how and why they are beautiful4 ,cultivate your taste in that direction2 and with the taste to like good and dislike bad composition will come the feeling which tells you when it is good and when it is bad1 and this feeling you can apply to your own work1 and by experiment you will gain knowledge and skill4 ,rules are not possible simply because they are limitations1 and the true composer will always overstep a limitation of that kind1 and with a successful result4 ,principles of composition1 too1 must be variously adapted1 according to the kind of picture you have in hand4 ,the principles are the same1 of course2 but as the materials differ in a figure painting and a landscape1 for instance1 you must apply them to meet that difference4 ,suggestions4--,the first suggestion that might be made as a help to the study of composition is to consider your picture as a whole always4 ,no matter how many figures1 no matter how many groups1 they must all be considered as parts of a whole1 which must have no effect of being too much broken up4 ,if the figures are scattered1 they must be scattered in such a way that they suggest a logical connection between them as individuals in each group1 and groups in a whole4 ,there should usually be a main mass1 and the others subsidiary masses4 ,there should be a centre of interest of some sort1 whether it be a color1 a mass1 or a thing2 and this centre should be the point to which all the other parts balance4 ,simplicity is a good word to have in mind4 ,however complicated the composition may seem superficially1 you may treat it simply4 ,you will control it by not considering any part as of any importance in itself1 but only as it helps the whole2 and you may strengthen or weaken that part as you need to4 ,don't cut the thing up too much4 ,let a half a dozen objects count as one in the whole4 ,mass things1 simplify the masses1 and make the elements of the masses hold as only parts of those masses4 ,study placing of things in different sizes relative to the size of the canvas4 ,make sketches which take no note of anything but the largest masses or the most important lines1 and change them about till they seem right2 then break them up in the same way into their details4 ,apply the steps suggested for drawing to the study of composition1 searching for balance chiefly1 or for some other quality which is proper to composition4 ,line4--,each of the main elements of composition can be used as a problem of arrangement4 ,you can study composition in line1 in mass1 or in color4 ,the ,golden ,stairs1 by ,burne-,jones1 is almost purely an arrangement in line1 and beautifully illustrates the use of this element as the main sthetic motive in a picture4 ,illustration ,compare this composition in line with the ,descent from the ,cross1 in which the line is equally marked1 but more complicated1 and used in connection with mass to a much greater extent1 and involved with interrelations of chiaroscuro and color4 ,consider the effect which each picture derives as a whole from this management of these elements4 ,the one emphasizing that of line1 with the resultant of rhythm and grace2 the other balancing the elements1 and so gaining power and impressiveness4 ,illustration3 ,the ,sower4 ,millet4 ,to show arrangement in mass and line1 in which the mass gives weight and dignity without weakening the emphasis of rhythm in the line4 ,often the whole composition should be a balancing of the elements1 as in this case4 ,but the emphasizing of one element will always emphasize the characteristics to which those elements tend as the main characteristic of the picture4 ,grace1 rhythm1 movement1 come most naturally from arrangement chiefly in line4 ,if mass comes into the picture1 the masses may be arranged to help the line1 or to modify it4 ,in ,the ,sower the management of mass is such as to give great dignity1 and almost solemnity1 to the picture1 yet not to take away from the rhythmic swing and action of the figure which comes from line1 but even to emphasize it4 ,compare this in these respects with the lighter grace of ,the ,golden ,stairs and the less unified movement1 but greater activity1 of the ,descent from the ,cross4 ,of course masses will come into the picture2 but either the masses themselves can be arranged into line1 or there can be emphasis given to lines which break up or modify the masses1 so that the character of the picture is governed by them4 ,mass4--,in the arrangement of mass1 light and shade and color are effective4 ,smaller groups may be made into a larger one1 and individual objects also brought together1 by grouping them in light or in shade1 or by giving them a common color4 ,illustration3 ,return to the ,farm4 ,millet4 ,to show the effect of mass in giving qualities of scale and the statuesque4 ,weight1 dignity1 the statuesque1 scale1 are characteristics of mass4 ,line in this connection only takes from the brusqueness that mass alone would have1 or helps to break up any tendency to monotony4 ,the ,return to the ,farm1 by ,millet1 shows this combination1 the reverse of ,the ,sower4 ,in this1 the line is used to enrich the repose and weight1 the statuesque of the mass4 ,in the other1 the mass gives dignity and impressiveness to the grace and rhythm of the line4 ,the color scheme of course will have an equal effect in the emphasizing or modifying of the motive of line or mass4 ,color will not only have an effect on it1 but must be in sympathy with it1 or the balance will be lost4 ,color4--,this is mainly where composition in color will come in4 ,light and shade or chiaroscuro1 as ,i explained in the last chapter1 are necessarily intimately connected with composition here4 ,and you never work in color or mass without working in light and shade also4 ,of color itself ,i shall speak in the next chapter4 ,it is only necessary to point out the fact of connection here4 ,of course in painting1 all the elements are most closely related4 ,although it is necessary to speak of them separately in the actual working out1 you keep them all in mind together1 and so make them continually help and modify each other4 ,a ,principle4--,there is a well-established principle in architecture1 that you must never try to emphasize two proportions in one structure4 ,a hall may be long and narrow1 but not both long and wide2 in which case the proportions would neutralize each other--you would have a simple square1 characterless4 ,you may emphasize height or breadth--not both1 or you get the same negative character4 ,so you may apply this principle more or less exactly to the composition of a picture4 ,don't try to express too many things in one picture1 or if you do1 let some one be the main thing1 and all the rest be subordinate to it4 ,there is perhaps no law more rigid than the one which denies success to any attempt to scatter force1 effect1 and purpose4 ,one main idea in each picture1 and everything subordinated to lend itself to the strengthening of that4 ,to a certain extent this will apply to line and mass1 though not absolutely4 ,as a rule1 line or mass1 one or the other1 must be the main element4 ,leverage4--,i have often thought that much insight into the principles of balance of masses1 and of mass and line1 could be gained by thinking of it analogously to equilibrium in leverage4 ,a small mass1 or a simple line or accent1 may be made to balance a very much greater mass4 ,the greater part of a canvas may be one mass1 and be balanced by quite a small spot4 ,but leverage must come in to help4 ,somewhere in the picture will be the point of support1 the fulcrum4 ,and the large mass and the small one will have an obvious relation with reference to that point4 ,or the element of apparent density will come in4 ,the large mass will be the least dense1 the small one the most dense1 and the equilibrium is established4 ,for composition is but the equilibrium of the picture1 and equilibrium the picture must have4 ,there are many rules as to placing of mass and arrangement of line1 but they are all more or less arbitrary and limiting in influence4 ,individuality must and will ignore such rules1 just because composition deals chiefly with the abstract qualities rules will not help4 ,a fine feeling or perception of what is right is the only law1 and the trained eye is the only measure4 ,as in values1 so in composition you must study relations in nature1 and results in the work of the masters1 to train your eye to see2 and you must sketch and block in all sorts of combinations with your own hand1 to give you practical experience4 ,scale4--,one point of great importance should be noticed4 ,that is the effect on the observer of the size of any main mass or object with reference to the size of the canvas4 ,this is analogous to what is called scale in architecture4 ,if the mass or object is justly proportioned to the whole surface of the canvas1 and is treated in accordance with it1 it will impose its own scale on all other objects4 ,you can make a figure impress the observer as being life size1 although it may really be only a few inches long4 ,a house or castle coming into the picture may be made to give its scale to the surroundings1 and make them seem small instead of itself seeming merely an object in a picture4 ,this will be due to the placing of it on the canvas1 largely1 and more in this than in anything else4 ,the manner of painting will also lend importantly to it2 for an object to appear big must not be drawn nor painted in a little manner4 ,the placing of objects of a known size near1 to give scale1 is a useless expedient in such a case4 ,at times it may be successful1 often of use2 but if the scale of the main object is false1 the other object of known size1 instead of giving size to the main one1 as it is intended to do1 will be itself dwarfed by it4 ,placing4--,this matter of placing is one which you should constantly practise4 ,make it a regular study when you are sketching from nature4 ,try to concentrate in your sketches so as to help your study of composition4 ,in making a sketch1 look for one main effect1 and often have that effect the importance of some object1 studying to give it scale by the placing and the treatment of it1 and its relation to the things surrounding it in nature and on the canvas4 ,in this way you will be studying composition in a most practical way4 ,still ,life4--,for practical study of composition1 the most useful materials you can have are to be found in still life4 ,nowhere can you have so great freedom of arrangement in the concrete4 ,you can take as many actual objects as you please1 and place them in all sorts of relations to each other1 studying their effect as to grouping2 and so study most tangibly the principles as well as the practice of bringing together line and mass and color as elements1 through the means of actual objects4 ,this you should constantly do1 till composition is no more an abstract thing1 but a practical study in which you may work out freely and visibly intellectual sthetic ideas almost unconsciously1 and train your eye to see instinctively the possibilities of all sorts of compositions1 and to correct the falsities of accidental combinations4 ,don't ,attempt too much4--,don't be too ambitious4 ,begin with simple arrangements1 and add to them1 studying the structure of each new combination and grouping4 ,when you are going to paint1 remember that too much of an undertaking will not give you any more beauty in the picture1 and may lead to discouragement4 ,in the ,chapter on ,still ,life ,i will explain more practically the means you may take1 and how you may take them1 to the end of making composition a practical study to you4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,color ,the subject of color naturally divides1 for the painter1 into two branches1--color as a quality1 and color as material4 ,considered in the former class1 it divides into an abstract a theoretical and a scientific subject2 considered in the latter1 it is a material and technical one4 ,the material and technical side has been treated of in the ,chapter on ,pigments4 ,in this chapter we will have to do with color considered as an sthetic element4 ,the ,abstract4--,the quality of color is the third of the great elements or qualities1 through the management of which the painter works sthetically4 ,just as he uses all the material elements of his picture as the means of making concrete and visible those combinations of line and mass which go to the making of the sthetic structure1 so he uses these in the expression of the ideal in combinations of color4 ,in this relation nothing stands to him for what it is1 but for what it may be made to do for the color-scheme of his picture4 ,if he wants a certain red in a certain place1 he wants it because it is red1 and it makes little difference to him1 thinking in color1 whether that red note is actually made by a file of red-coated soldiers1 by a scarlet ribbon1 or by a lobster4 ,the scarlet spot is what he is thinking of1 and what object most naturally and rightly gives it to him is a matter to be decided by the demands of the subject of the picture2 and its fitness as to that is the only thing which has any influence beyond the main fact that red color is needed at that point4 ,if he were a designer of conventional ornament1 the color problem would be the same4 ,at that point a spot of red would be needed1 and a spot of paint would do it4 ,the painter thinks in color the same way1 but he expresses himself in different materials4 ,the ,ideal4--,this is the reason that a still-life painting is as interesting to a painter as a subject which to another finds its great interest in the telling of a story4 ,to the painter the story1 or the objects which tell it1 are of minor importance4 ,that the picture is beautiful in color is what moves him4 ,as composition and color the thing is an admirable piece of sthetic thinking and sthetic expression1 and so gives him a purely sthetic delight2 and the technical process is secondary with him1 interesting only because he is a technician4 ,the representation of the objects incidental to the subject is as incidental to his interest1 as it is to the picture considered as an sthetic thought4 ,this is what the layman finds it so impossible to take into his mental consciousness4 ,and it is probable that many painters do not so distinguish their artistic point of view from their human point of view4 ,but consciously or unconsciously the painter does think in these terms of color1 line1 and mass when he is working out his picture2 and whether he admits it to himself or not1 these characteristics are the great influencing facts in his judgment of pictures1 as well as in the growth and permanency of his own fame4 ,that is why a great popular reputation dies so rapidly in many instances4 ,the sthetic qualities of the man's work are the only ones which can insure a permanent reputation for that work2 for the art of painting is fundamentally sthetic1 and nothing external to that can give it an artistic value4 ,without that its popularity and fame are only matters of accidental coincidence with popular taste4 ,if a painter is really great in the power of conception and of expression of any of the great sthetic elements1 his work will be permanently great4 ,it will be acknowledged to be so by the consensus of the world's opinion in the long run2 nothing else can make it so1 and nothing but obliteration can prevent it4 ,i am explicit in stating these ideas1 not because ,i expect that you will learn from this book to be a great master of the sthetic1 but because ,i am assured that you can never be a painter unless you understand a painter's true problems4 ,you must be able to know a good picture in order to make a good picture1 and however little you try for1 your work will be the better for having a painter's way of looking at a painter's work4 ,the technical problems are the control of the materials of expression4 ,the painter must have that control4 ,the student's business is to attain that control1 and then he has the means to convey his ideas4 ,but those ideas1 if he be a true painter1 are not ideas of history or of fiction1 but ideas of line and mass and color1 and of their combinations4 ,the ,color ,sense4--,therefore color is a thing to be striven for for its own sake4 ,good color is a value in itself4 ,you may not have the genius to be a good colorist1 but you need not be a bad one2 for the color sense can be definitely acquired4 ,i will not say that color initiative can always be acquired2 but the power to perceive and to judge good color can be1 and it will go far towards the making of a good painter1 even of a great one4 ,i knew one painter who came near to greatness1 and near to greatness as a colorist1 who in twelve years trained his eye and feeling from a very inferior perception of color to the power which1 as ,i say1 came near to greatness4 ,he was an able painter and a well-trained one before that2 but in this direction he was deficient1 and he deliberately set about it to educate that side of himself1 with the result ,i have stated4 ,how did he do it8 ,simply by recognizing where he needed training1 and working constantly from nature to perceive fine distinctions of tone2 and by careful and severe self-criticism4 ,summer after summer he went out-doors and worked with colors and canvas to study out certain problems4 ,every year he set himself mainly one problem to solve4 ,this year it might be luminosity2 next it might be the domination of a certain color2 another year the just discrimination of tones--and he became a most exquisite colorist4 ,so1 as ,i knew his work before and after this self-training1 and as ,i know personally of the means he took to attain his purpose1 ,i think ,i can speak positively of the fact that such development of the color sense is possible4 ,taste4--,it is well to remember that taste in color is not dependent on personal judgment alone2 that what is good and what is bad in color does not rest on mere opinion4 ,that a good colorist's idea of color does not agree with your own is not a matter of mere whim or liking1 in which you have quite as good a right to your opinion as he has to his4 ,the colorist1 it is true1 does not produce or judge of color by rule4 ,he works from his feeling of what is right4 ,but there is a law back of his taste and feeling4 ,the laws of color harmony are definite1 and have been definitely studied and definitely calculated4 ,color depends for its existence on waves of vibration of rays of light1 just as sound is dependent on sound waves4 ,color ,waves4--,these waves of light give sensations of color which vary with the rapidity or length of the wave1 and certain combinations of wave lengths will be harmonious 7beautiful71 and others will not be4 ,this is a matter of scientific fact2 it is not a notion4 ,the mathematical relations of color waves have been calculated as accurately as the relations of sound waves have been4 ,it is possible to make combinations of mathematical figures which shall represent a series of harmonious color waves4 ,and it is possible to measure the waves radiated from a piece of bad coloring and prove them1 mathematically1 to be bad color4 ,it is a satisfaction to the artist to know that this is so2 because although he will never compose color-schemes by the aid of mathematics1 it gives him solid ground to stand on1 and it diminishes the assurance of the man who claims the right to assert his opinion on color because one man's taste is as good as another's4 ,it is also encouraging to the student to know it1 because he then knows that there is a definite knowledge1 and not a personal idiosyncrasy1 on which he can found his attempts to cultivate this side of his artistic life4 ,color ,composition4--,the artist's problem in color composition is analogous to that of line and mass1 but is of course governed by conditions peculiar to it4 ,the qualities which derive from line and mass are emphasized or modified by the management of color in relation to them4 ,the painter in this direction uses the three elements together4 ,contrast and accent are attributes of color4 ,dignity and weight1 as well as certain emotional qualities1 such as vivacity and sombreness1 may give the key to the picture in accordance with the arrangement of its color-scheme4 ,the mass may be simplified and strengthened1 or broken up and lightened1 by the color of the forms in it4 ,by massing groups of objects in the same color1 or by introducing different colors in the different forms in the same group1 the mass is emphasized or weakened4 ,so in line1 the same color in repetition will carry the line through a series of otherwise isolated forms1 and effect the emphasis of line4 ,masses can be strung into line1 like beads1 on a thread of color4 ,in the great compositions of the old ,venetian painters this marshalling of color groups constituted a principal element4 ,the decorative unity of these great canvases could have been possible in no other way4 ,as ,i have said1 the key of the color-scheme has a direct emotional effect1 so adding to the power and dignity or the grace and lightsomeness of the composition4 ,the analogy between color and imagination is marked4 ,certain temperaments instinctively express their ideals through color4 ,to the painter color may be an all-influencing power2 it is the glory of painting4 ,drawing appeals to the intellect1 but color speaks directly to the emotions1 and conveys at a glance the idea which is re-enforced through the slower intellectual perception of the meaning of forms4 ,in some unexplained way it expresses to the observer the temperamental mood2 the joyousness1 the severity or agitation which was the cause of its conception4 ,in this strange but direct manner the color note aids the expression by line and mass of the sthetic emotion which is the meaning of the painter's thought4 ,key4--,the key1 then1 is an important part of the picture4 ,the very terms warm and cold applied to colors suggest what may be done by color arrangement4 ,the pitch of the picture places it1 in the emotional scale4 ,tone4--,tone is harmony2 the perfect balance of color in all parts of the picture4 ,fine color always means the presence1 in all the color of the picture1 of all the three primaries in greater or less proportion4 ,leave one color out in some proportion1 and you have just so much less of a balance4 ,i do not mean that some touch may not be pure color4 ,on the contrary1 the whole picture may be built up of touches of pure color4 ,but the balance of color must be made then by touches of the different colors balancing each other1 not only all over the picture1 but in each part of it1 to avoid crudity or over-proportion of any color4 ,generally the color scheme is dominated by some one color3 which means that every touch of color on the canvas is modified to some extent by the presence of that color1 keeping the whole in key4 ,each color retains its personal quality1 but the quality of the dominant color is felt in it4 ,false ,tone4--,this is not to be attained by painting the picture regardless of color relations1 and then glazing or scumbling some color all over the whole4 ,this is the false tone of some of the older historical painters1 particularly of the ,english school of the earlier part of this century4 ,they painted the picture1 and then just before exhibiting it toned it by glazing it all over with a large brush and some transparent pigment1 generally bitumen4 ,this did1 in fact1 bring the picture in tone after a fashion4 ,but it is not a colorist's method4 ,it is the rule of thumb method of a false technique and a vicious color sense4 ,true tone is not something put onto the picture after it is painted4 ,it is an inherent part of its color conception1 and is worked into it while the picture is being painted1 and grows to perfection with the growth of the picture4 ,it is of the very essence of the picture4 ,it is the dominant balance of color qualities2 the result of a perfect appreciation of the value of every color spot which goes to the expression of the artist's thought4 ,in one sense it is the same as atmosphere in that the tonality of the picture is the atmosphere which pervades it4 ,it may perhaps be best described by saying that it is that combination of color which gives to the picture the effect of every object and part in it having been seen under the same conditions of atmosphere2 having been seen at the same time1 with the same modification1 and with the same degree and quality of light vibration4 ,tone is color value as distinguished from value as degree of power as light and shade2 and in this is the perfection of subtlety of color feeling4 ,tone ,painters and ,colorists4--,some painters have been called tone painters1 while others have been called colorists2 not that tone painters are not colorists1 but that there is a difference4 ,it is a difference of aim1 a difference of desire4 ,those painters who are usually called colorists1 like ,titian and ,rubens1 are in love with the richness and power of the color gamut4 ,they are full of the splendor of color4 ,they paint in full key1 however balanced the canvas4 ,each note of color tells for its full power4 ,their stop is the open diapason1 and their harmony is the harmony of large intervals and full chords4 ,the tone painter deals with close intervals4 ,he is in love with subtle harmonies4 ,what he loves is the essence of the color quality1 and not its splendor4 ,with the closest range he can give all possible half-tones and shades and modulations of color1 yet never exceed the gray note perhaps2 never once go to the full extent of his palette-power4 ,the utmost delicacy of perception and feeling1 and the most perfect command of materials and of values1 are necessary to such a painter4 ,above all1 is he the painter's painter1 for the infinite subtlety and the exquisiteness of power are his4 ,and yet this is the thing least appreciated by the lay mind1 the most difficult to encompass1 and requiring the most knowledge to appreciate4 ,scientific ,color4--,to the scientist color is simply the irritation of the nerves of the retina of the eye by the waves of light4 ,different wave lengths give different color sensations4 ,it is the generally accepted theory now that there are three primary sensations2 that is1 that the eye is sensitive to three kinds of color1 and that all other shades and varieties of color are the results of mingling or overlapping of the waves which produce those three colors1 and irritating more or less the nerves sensitive to each color simultaneously4 ,these three primary colors are now stated to be red1 blue1 and green4 ,the older idea was that they were red1 blue1 and yellow2 and was based on experiments with pigments4 ,pigments do give these results2 for a mixture of blue and yellow pigment will give green1 and a mixture of red and green pigment will not give yellow1 while the reverse is the fact with light4 ,white light is composed of all the colors4 ,and the white light may be broken up 7separated by refraction or the turning aside of light rays from their true course7 into the colors of the rainbow1 which is itself only this same decomposition of light by atmospheric refraction4 ,black is the absence of light1 and consequently of color4 ,this is not the case with pigment1 for pure pigment has never been produced4 ,the pigment simply reflects light rays which fall on it2 that is1 pigments have the power of absorbing1 and so rendering invisible1 certain of the rays which1 combined1 make up the white light which illumines them2 and of transmitting others to the eye by reflection4 ,we see1 that is1 our nerves of sight are irritated by1 those rays which are not absorbed1 but which are reflected4 ,all pigment is more or less absorbent of color rays1 and more or less reflective of them2 certain color rays being absorbed by a pigment1 and certain other rays being reflected by it4 ,the pigment is named according to those rays which it reflects4 ,as a color-producing substance1 then1 the pigment is practically a mirror reflecting color rays4 ,but a true mirror would reflect all rays unmodified4 ,if we could paint with mirrors1 each of which would reflect its own color unsullied1 we could do what the scientist does with light2 but the painter deals with an imperfect mirror which gives no color rays back unsullied by rays of another class1 and so our results cannot be the same as the scientist's4 ,so that just in accordance with the degree of purity of transmitting power of a pigment will be the purity of the color which we get by its use4 ,but absolute purity of pigment we cannot get1 so we cannot deal with it as we do with light1 and we deal with a practical fact rather than a scientific fact1 as painters4 ,primaries and ,secondaries4--,as all the other shades of color are produced by the combinations 7over-lappings7 of the waves or vibrations in the light rays from the primary colors1 we have a series of colors called secondaries1 because they are made up of the rays of any two of the three primaries3 as purple1 which is a combination of blue and red4 ,when dealing with light the secondaries are3 shades of violet and purple from red and blue2 shades of orange red1 orange1 orange yellow1 yellow1 and yellowish green from red and green2 and bluish green and greenish blue from blue and green--the character of the color being decided by the proportions of the primaries in the mixture4 ,these conclusions have been reached mainly through experiments in white light4 ,the primaries so obtained do not hold good with pigment1 as ,i have stated1 but the principles do4 ,it will avoid confusion if ,i speak hereafter of the combinations as they occur with pigment1 it being borne in mind that it is a practical fact that we are dealing with rather than a scientific one4 ,in dealing with pigment the primaries are red1 blue1 and yellow1 not green4 ,of course the secondaries are also changed2 and we have purple and violet shades from red and blue1 orange from red and yellow1 and green from blue and yellow--all of which vary in shade with the proportion of the mixture of the primaries1 as is the case with light4 ,tertiaries4--,another class of shades or colors is called tertiary1 or third2 for they are mixtures of all the three primaries1 or of a primary with a secondary which does not result from mixture with that primary4 ,tertiaries are all grays1 and grays are practically always tertiaries4 ,if you keep this in mind as a technical fact1 it will help you in management of color4 ,grays are1 to the painter1 always combinations of color which include the three primaries4 ,the usual idea is that gray is more or less of a negation of color4 ,this is not so4 ,gray is the balancing of all color1 so that any true harmony of color1 however rich it may be1 is always quiet in effect as a whole2 that is1 grayish--good color is never garish4 ,it is very important that the painter should understand this characteristic of color4 ,you cannot be too familiar with the management of grays4 ,if you try to make your grays with negative colors1 you will not produce harmonious color1 but negative color1 and negative color is only a shirking of the true problem4 ,grays made of mixtures of pure colors1 balancings of primaries and secondaries1 that is1 modifications of the tertiaries1 are quite as quiet in effect and quite as beautiful as any1 but they are also more luminous2 they are live color instead of dead color4 ,grays made by mixing black with everything are the reverse1 and should not be used except when you use black as a color 7which it is in pigment71 giving a certain color quality to the gray that results from it4 ,complementary ,colors4--,two colors are said to be complementary to each other when they together contain the three primaries in equal strength4 ,green1 for instance1 is the complementary of red1 for it contains yellow and blue2 orange 7yellow and red7 is complementary to blue2 and purple 7red and blue7 is complementary to yellow4 ,the knowledge of complements of colors is very important to the painter1 for all the effects of color contrast and color harmony are due to this4 ,complementary colors1 in mass1 side by side1 contrast4 ,the greatest possible contrast is that of the complementaries4 ,complementary colors mixed1 or so placed that small portions of them are side by side1 as in hatching or stippling1 give the tertiaries or grays by the mixing of the rays4 ,the ,law of ,color ,contrast4--,when two dissimilar colors are placed in contiguity1 they are always modified in such a manner as to increase their dissimilarity4 ,warm and ,cold ,colors4--,red and yellow are called warm colors1 and blue is called a cold color4 ,this is not that the color is really cold or warm1 of course1 but that they convey the impression of warmth and coldness4 ,it is mainly due to association probably1 for those things which are warm contain a large proportion of yellow or red1 and those which are cold contain more blue4 ,there is a predominance of cold color in winter and of the warm colors in summer4 ,from the primaries various degrees of warmth and coldness characterize the secondaries and tertiaries1 as they contain more or less proportionately of the warm or cold primaries4 ,in contrasting colors these qualities have great effect4 ,color ,juxtaposition4--,in studying the facts of color contrast and color juxtaposition you will find that two pigments1 if mixed in the ordinary way1 will have one effect2 and the same pigments in the same proportions1 mixed not by stirring them into one mass1 but by laying separate spots or lines of the pigment side by side1 produce quite another4 ,the gain in brilliancy by the latter mode of mixing is great1 because you have mixed the color rays1 which are really light rays1 instead of mixing the pigment as in the usual way4 ,you have really mixed the color by mixing light as far as it is possible to do it with pigment4 ,you have taken advantage of all the light reflecting power of the pigment on which the color effect depends4 ,each pigment1 being nearly pure1 reflects the rays of color peculiar to it1 unaffected by the neutralizing effect of another color mixed with it2 while the neutralizing power of the other color being side by side with it1 the waves or vibrations of the color rays blend by overlapping as they come side by side to the eye2 and so the color1 made up of the two waves as they blend1 is so much more vibrant and full of life4 ,yellow and ,purple4--,it is this principle which is the cause of the peculiarity in the technique of certain ,impressionist painters4 ,the yellow lights and purple shadows is only placing by the side of a color that color which will be most effective in forcing its note4 ,brilliancy is what these men are after1 and they get it by the study of the law of color contrast and color juxtaposition4 ,the effect of complementaries in color contrast is what you must study for this1 for the theory of it4 ,for the practice of it1 study carefully and faithfully the actual colors in nature1 and try to see what are the real notes1 what the really component colors1 of any color contrast or light contrast which you see4 ,purple shadows and yellow light re-enforcing each other you will find to exist constantly in nature4 ,refine your color perception1 and you will be able to get the result without the obviousness of the means which has brought down the condemnation on it4 ,closer study of the relations is the way to find the art of concealing art4 ,but yellow and purple are not the only complementaries4 ,all through the range of color1 the secondaries and tertiaries as well as the primaries1 this principle of complement plays a part4 ,there is no color effect you can use in painting which does not have to do1 more or less1 with the placing of the complementary color in mass1 to emphasize2 or mixed through to neutralize1 the force of it4 ,train your eyes to see what the color is which makes the effect4 ,analyze it1 see the parts in the thing1 so that you may get the thing in the same way1 if you would get it of the same force as in nature4 ,practical ,color4--,all these theoretical ideas as to color have their relation to the actual handling of pigment1 which is the craft of the painter4 ,the facts of contrasting and harmonizing color relation have a practical bearing on the painter's work1 both in what he is to express and how he is to do it2 as to his conception of a picture and his representation of facts4 ,in his conception he must deal with the possibilities of effect of color on color4 ,the power of one color to strengthen the personal hue of another1 or its power to modify that hue1 is a fact bearing on whether the color in the picture is the true image of the color he has seen in his mind4 ,in the same degree must this possibility affect his representation of actual objects4 ,the greatest possibilities of luminosity in sunlight or atmospheric effects come from the power to produce vibration by cool contrasted with warm color4 ,you will find that a red is not so rich in any position as when you place its complementary near it4 ,at times you will find it impossible to get the snap and sparkle to a scarlet--cannot make it carry1 cannot make it felt in your picture as you want it without placing a touch of purple1 perhaps1 just beside it2 to place near by a darker note will not have the same effect4 ,it is the contrast of color vibration1 not the contrast of light and shade1 which gives the life4 ,and at the same time that you enhance the brilliancy of the several notes of color in the picture1 you harmonize the whole4 ,for the mosaic of color spots all over the canvas brings about the balance of color in the composition1 and harmony is the result4 ,study ,relations4--,you must constantly study the actual relations of color in nature4 ,you will find1 if you look for it1 that always1 just where in art you would need a touch of the complementary for strength or for harmony1 nature has put it there4 ,she does it so subtly that only a close observer would suspect it4 ,but the thing is there1 and it is your business to be the close observer who sees it1 both for your training as a colorist1 and your use as an interpreter of nature's beauties4 ,it is your business to see subtly1 for nature uses colors subtly4 ,the note sparkles in nature1 but you do not notice the complementary color near it4 ,can you not also place the complementary color so that it is not seen1 but its influence on the important color is felt8 ,it is by searching out these finesses of nature that you train your eye4 ,you must actually see these colors4 ,at first you may only know that they must be there because the effect is there4 ,but your eye is capable of actually recognizing them themselves1 and you are no painter till it can4 ,the theoretical knowledge is and should be a help to you1 but the actual power of sight is most important4 ,a painter may use theoretical knowledge to help his self-training1 but power of eye he must have as the result of that training4 ,the instantaneous recognition of facts and relations1 the immediate and perfect union of eye and thought1 are what make that intuitive perception which is the true feeling of the artist4 ,work this out with eye and palette4 ,study the color and its relation in nature1 and study its analogy in the pigment touches on the canvas4 ,the ,palette4--,you try to attain nature's effects of light with pigment4 ,pigment is less pure than light4 ,you cannot have the same scale1 the same range1 but you must do the best you can1 and the arrangement of your palette will help you4 ,as you have not a perfect blue1 a perfect red1 and a perfect yellow1 you must have two colors for one4 ,your paints will always be more or less impurely primary4 ,no one red will make a pure purple with blue1 and an equally pure orange with yellow4 ,yet pure purple and pure orange you must be able to make4 ,have1 then1 both a yellowish or orange red and a bluish or purplish red on your palette4 ,do the same with blue and yellow4 ,in this way you can not only get approximately pure secondaries when you need them1 but the primaries themselves lean somewhat towards the secondaries1 so that you can make very delicate combinations with pure colors4 ,a bluish yellow and a yellowish blue1 for instance1 will make a rather positive green4 ,by using a reddish yellow and a bluish or purplish red1 you practically bring in the red note1 and make a grayer green while still using only two pigments4 ,so1 too1 you get similar control of effects by the use of opaque or transparent pigments1 the transparent ones tending to richness1 the opaque to dulness of color4 ,various processes in the manner of laying on paint bring about these different qualities1 and will be spoken of in the chapter on ,processes4 ,classify your pigments in your mind in accordance with these characteristics4 ,think of the ochres1 for instance1 as mainly opaque1 and as yellows tending to the reddish4 ,with any blue they make gray greens because of the latter quality1 and they make gray oranges with red because of the dulness of their opacity and body4 ,for richer greens think of the lighter chromes and cadmium yellows or citrons2 and for the richer oranges1 the deeper cadmiums and chromes4 ,with reds1 work the same way1 scarlet or orange vermilions for one side of the scale1 and the ,chinese or bluish vermilion on the other side4 ,the deeper and heavier reds fall in line the same way4 ,indian red is bluish1 light red and ,venetian red are yellowish4 ,,part ,,iv ,,practical ,,application ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,representation ,although much has been said about the theoretical and abstract side of painting1 and the importance of the sthetic elements in art have been insisted upon1 it is not to be supposed for a moment that painting does not deal with actual things4 ,all painting which is not purely conventional must deal with and represent nature and natural facts4 ,these are the body of the picture2 the sthetic elements are the heart of it4 ,i believe that it is important that you should know that there is that side to painting1 and should have some insight into it2 that you should see that there is something else to think of than the imitation of natural objects4 ,i would have you think more nobly of painting than to believe that the greatest imitation is the greatest art4 ,beneath the imitation of the obvious facts of nature are the deeper facts and truths1 and in and through these may you express those qualities of intellectual creation by means of which only1 painting is not a craft1 but an art4 ,but for all that1 painting does1 and always must1 deal with those obvious facts2 and however much you may give your mind to the problems of composition and color1 you must base it on a foundation of ability to represent what you see4 ,represent well the external objects1 and you are in a position to interpret the spirit of them4 ,for as nature only manifests her inner spirit through her outward forms and facts1 you must be able to paint these well before you can do anything else4 ,the intellectual action which perceives and constructs is the art1 the skill which represents and reproduces is the science1 of painting4 ,painting is the art of expression in color4 ,the fact of color rather than form is the fundamental characteristic of it4 ,the use of pigment rather than other materials is implied in its name4 ,therefore the science of painting deals with the materials with which to produce on canvas all manner of visible color combinations2 and those processes of manipulation which make possible the representation of all the facts of color and light1 of substance and texture1 through which nature manifests herself4 ,it is not enough to have the pigment1 nor even that it should get itself onto the canvas4 ,different characteristics call for different management of paint4 ,luminosity of light and sombreness of shadow will not be expressed by the same color1 put on in the same way4 ,different forms and surfaces and objects demand different treatment4 ,the science of painting must deal with all these4 ,it has been said that there are as many ways of painting as there are painters4 ,certainly there are as many ways as there are men of any originality4 ,for however a painter has been trained1 whatever the methods which he has been taught to use1 he will always change them1 more or less1 in adapting them to his own purposes4 ,and as the main intent of the art of an epoch or period differs from that of a previous one1 so the manner of laying on paint will change to meet the needs of that difference4 ,the manner of painting to-day is very different from that of other times4 ,some of the old processes are looked upon by the modern man as quite beneath his recognition4 ,yet these same methods are necessary to certain qualities1 and if the modern man does not use or approve of those methods1 it is because he is not especially interested in the qualities which they are necessary to4 ,there is probably no one statement which all fair-minded painters will more willingly acquiesce in1 than one which affirms that the method by which the result is attained is unimportant1 provided that the result is attained1 and that it is one worth attaining4 ,every man will1 whether it is right or not1 use those methods which most surely and completely bring about the expression of the thing he wishes to express4 ,in the face of this fact1 and of the many acknowledged masterpieces1 every one of which was painted in defiance of some rule some time or other alleged to be the only right one1 it is not possible to prescribe or proscribe anything in the direction of the manipulation of colors4 ,the result must be right1 and if it is1 it justifies the means4 ,if it be not right1 the thing is worthless1 no matter how perfectly according to rule the process may be4 ,as ,hunt said1 ,what do ,i care about the grammar if you've got something to say8 ,the important thing is to say something1 and if you do really say something1 and do really completely and precisely express it1 as far as a painter is concerned it will be grammatical4 ,if not to-day1 the grammar will come round to it to-morrow4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher is reported to have answered to a criticism on grammatical slips in the heat of eloquence1 ,young man1 if the ,english language gets in the way of the expression of my thought1 so much the worse for the ,english language6 ,in painting1 at any rate1 the complete expression of thought is grammatical1 and if not1 so much the worse for the grammarians4 ,try ,everything4--,know1 then1 all you can about all the ways of manipulating paint that have ever been used4 ,use any or all of those ways as you find them needful or helpful4 ,there is none which has not the authority of a master behind it1 and though another master may decry it1 it is because1 being a master1 he claims the very right he denies to you4 ,experiment with all2 but never use any method for the sake of the method1 but only for what it is capable of doing for you in helping expression4 ,safety4--,the only real rule as to what to use and what not1 applies to the effect on the permanence of your canvas4 ,never use pigments which will fade2 nor in such a way that they will cause others to fade4 ,avoid all such using of materials as you know will make your picture crack1 or in any other way bring about its deterioration4 ,good ,painting4--,but for all ,i have just said1 there is an acknowledged basis of what is good painting4 ,if any man or school lays on paint in a frank1 direct way1 getting the effect by sheer force of putting on the right color in just the right place1 with no tricks nor affectations1 that is good painting2 and the more simple1 direct1 and frank the manner of handling1 the better the painting4 ,let us understand what direct painting is first1 and then consider varieties of handling4 ,for whatever may be the subsequent manipulations1 the picture is generally laid in with the most direct possible manner of laying on paint1 and the other processes are mainly to modify or to further and strengthen the effect suggested in the first painting4 ,and generally1 also1 in all sketches and studies which are preliminary preparations for the picture1 the most direct painting is used1 and the various processes are reserved for working out more subtle effects on the final canvas4 ,old ,dutch ,painting4--,probably there are no better examples of frank painting than the works of the old ,dutchmen4 ,you should study them whenever you have a chance4 ,waiving all discussion as to the sthetic qualities of their work1--as painters1 as masters of the craft of laying on paint1 they are unexcelled4 ,and in most cases1 too1 they possessed the art of concealing their art4 ,you will have to use the closest observation to discover the exact means they used to get the subtle tones and atmospheric effects4 ,the only obvious quality is the perfect understanding and skill of their brush-work4 ,in the smoothest as well as in the roughest of their work1 you can note how perfectly the brush searches the modelling1 and with the most exquisite expressiveness and perfect frankness1 follows the structural lines4 ,no doubt there were often paintings1 glazings1 and scumblings2 but they always furthered the meaning of the first painting1 and never in the least interfered with or obscured the effect of navet1 of candor of workmanship4 ,it is1 however1 this simple and sincere brush-work that you should strive to attain as the basis of your painting4 ,learn to express drawing with your brush1 and to place at once and without indecision or timidity the exact tone and value of the color you see in nature at that point4 ,until you are enough of a master of your brush to get an effect in this way1 do not meddle with the more complex methods of after-painting4 ,you will never do good work by subsequent manipulation1 if you have a groundwork of feebleness and indecision4 ,direct painting is the fundamental process of all good painting4 ,let me take the type of old ,dutch painting to represent to you this quality of direct painting4 ,first of all notice a basis of perfect drawing1--a knowledge1 exactness1 and precision which admits of no fumbling1 no vagueness1 but only of a concise and direct recognition of structure4 ,note that this drawing is as characteristic of the brush-work as of the drawing which is under it4 ,observe that the handling of the whole school1 from the least to the greatest1 is founded on a similar and perfect craftsmanship1--the same use of materials2 the same deliberateness2 the same simple yet ample palette2 the same use of solid color candidly expressing the planes of modelling1 freely following the lines of structure2 the absence of affectation or invention of individual means4 ,whatever the individuality of the artist1 it rests on something else than difference of technique4 ,from the freest and most direct of painters1 ,frans ,hals1 to the most smooth and detailed1 ,gerard ,dou1 the directness and ingenuousness of means to ends is the same1 and founded on the same technical basis of color manipulation4 ,the one is more eager1 terse1 the other more deliberate and complete2 but both use the same pigments1 both use the same solid color1 are simple1 lucid1 both occupied solely with the thing to be expressed1 and the least degree in the world with the manner of it4 ,that manner comes from the same previous technical training which each uses in the most matter-of-course way1 with only such change from the type1 as his temperament unconsciously imposes on him4 ,there is nothing like it elsewhere4 ,study it2 notice the unaffectedness of brush-stroke in ,rembrandt4 ,see how it is the same as ,hals1 but less perfunctory4 ,see how the brush piles up paint again and again along the same ridge of flesh1 taking no notice of its revelation of the insistence of attempt at the right value1 nor of its roughness of surface4 ,to get that drawing and that color in the freest1 frankest1 most direct way3 that is the aim4 ,the absolute conviction of it3 that is the essence of this technique of the old ,dutch masters4 ,and whatever else it may have or may not have1 you will find in it all that you can find anywhere of suggestion of direct and frank and sincere painting1 and nothing ,i can say will give you any such clear idea of what you should strive for as the basis of all the different sorts of brush-work necessary or useful in the production of an oil painting4 ,illustration3 ,the ,fisher ,boy4 ,frans ,hals4 ,to show the directness and sureness of brush-stroke1 and candor and simplicity of means1 always present in ,dutch work1 though never so free as with ,hals4 ,detail4--,the question of detail may well come in here4 ,how far are you to carry detail in your painting8 ,the ,dutch painters went to both extremes4 ,gerard ,dou worked two weeks on a broom-handle1 and hoped to finish it in a few days more4 ,frans ,hals would paint a head in an hour4 ,the ,french painter ,meissonier paints the high light on every button of a trooper's coat1 and ,de ,neuville barely paints the button at all4 ,what way are you to turn8 ,which are you to choose8 ,we have a great deal said nowadays against detail in painting4 ,much is said of breadth and broad painting4 ,which is right8 ,true ,breadth4--,the answer lies in the central idea of the picture4 ,there are times when detail may be very minute1 and times when the greatest freedom is essential4 ,true breadth is compatible with much even minute detail in the same canvas4 ,for breadth does not mean merely a large brush4 ,it never means slap-dash4 ,it is the just conception of the amount of detail necessary 7and the amount necessary to be left out7 in order that the idea of the picture may be best expressed4 ,detail is out of place in a large canvas always1 and in proportion to its size it is allowable4 ,a decorative canvas1 a picture which is to be seen from a distance1 or is to fill a wall space1 wants effect1 much justness of composition and color4 ,largeness of conception and execution1 and only so much detail as shall be necessary to the best expression compatible with that largeness4 ,on the other hand1 a cabinet picture1 a small panel1 will admit of microscopic detail if it be not so painted that the detail is all you can see4 ,and just here is the heart of the whole matter4 ,whether you use much or little detail1 it is not for the sake of the detail1 not for any interest which lies in the detail itself1 but for what power of expression may lie in it4 ,if the picture1 large or small1 be largely conceived1 and its main idea as to subject and those qualities of sthetic meaning ,i have spoken of are always kept in view1 and never allowed to lose themselves in the search for minuteness1 then any amount of detail will take its place in true relation to the whole picture4 ,if it does not do this it is bad4 ,the relations of parts to the whole are the key to the situation always4 ,nothing is right which interferes with the true relations in the picture4 ,this is where the working for detail is most likely to lead you astray4 ,it takes great ability and power to keep detail where it belongs4 ,detail is always the search for small things1 and they are almost sure to obtrude themselves to the neglecting of the more important things4 ,details which do not stay in their places had better be left out of the picture4 ,there is such a thing as values in facts as well as other parts of your work4 ,and this applies to breadth as well as to detail4 ,illustration3 ,boar-,hunt4 ,snyders4 ,to show relation of detail to the whole picture4 ,the detail is carried far1 yet does not interfere with emphasis of action and life4 ,the picture is broad in spirit and effect if detailed in execution4 ,gerard ,dou remains a great painter1 and even a broad painter1 strange as it may sound1 in spite of his microscopic work4 ,but only because of his breadth of eye4 ,the detail is not the most important thing with him4 ,it is in the picture1 and you can see it when you look for it4 ,but as you look at the picture it is not peppered all over with pin-points of detail1 until the picture itself cannot be seen4 ,every detail stays back as it would in nature2 loses itself in the part to which it belongs2 modestly waits to be sought out2 is not seen until it is looked for4 ,this is broad painting1 because the main things are emphasized2 and if the details are painted they are seen in their true relations1 and the power of the whole is not sacrificed to them4 ,with much or little detail1 this is what is to be aimed at4 ,whether with big brushes or little ones1 the expression of the main idea1 of the important1 the vital things1--this is broad painting1 and this only4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,manipulation ,premier ,coup4--,something similar to what ,i have spoken of as direct painting has long been a much-advocated manner of painting in ,france1 under the name of ,premier ,coup2 which means1 translated literally1 first stroke4 ,it is taught that the painter should use no after or overworkings at all2 but that he should carefully and deliberately select the color for his brush-stroke1 and then lay it on the canvas at one stroke1 each after-stroke being laid beside some previous one1 until the canvas has been covered by a mosaic of color each shade representing a single first-stroke1 with no after-stroke laid over it to modify its effect4 ,such a process tends to great deliberation of work and exactness of study4 ,probably no better thing was ever devised for the training of the eye and hand4 ,but it has its limits1 and is not often rigidly adhered to in the painting of pictures2 although the fresh1 direct effect of this sort of work is preserved as far as possible in much modern ,french work1 and that quality is held in great esteem4 ,this manner of painting is especially useful in the making of sketches and studies1 and leads to a strong control of the brush and the resources of the palette4 ,in all painting of this character the color should have body4 ,transparent color should not be used alone1 but only to modify the tint of the more solid pigments2 for the transparent colors used indiscriminately are apt to crack1 which characteristic is avoided when the heavier color forms the body of the paint4 ,solid ,painting4--,in most cases solid painting is the safest1--the least likely to crack1 and the most safely cleaned from varnish and dirt without injury to the paint itself4 ,it is firmer in character too1 and gives more solidity of effect to the picture4 ,mixing4--,in mixing colors you should be careful not to over mix4 ,don't stir your paint4 ,too much mixing takes the life out of the color4 ,particles of the pure color not too much broken up by mixing are valuable to your work1 giving vibration and brilliancy to it4 ,the reverse is muddiness1 which is sure to come from too much fussing and overworking of wet paint4 ,don't use more than three pigments in one tint if you can help it1 and mix them loosely4 ,if you must use more colors1 mix still more loosely4 ,put all the colors together1 one beside the other1 drag them together with the brush1 scoop them up loosely on the end of it1 and lay the tint on freely and frankly4 ,never muddle the color on the canvas4 ,don't put one color over another more than you can help2 you will only get a thick mass of paint of one kind mixing with a mass of another1 and the result will be dirty color1 which of all things in painting is most useless4 ,keep the color clean and fresh1 and have your brush-strokes firm and free4 ,never tap1 tap1 tap1 your paint2 make up your mind what the color is1 and mix it as you want it4 ,decide just where the touch is to go1 and lay it on frankly and fairly1 and leave it4 ,if it isn't right1 daubing into it or pat-patting it won't help it4 ,either leave it1 or mix a new color1 and lay it on after having scraped this one off4 ,don't try to economize on your mixing4 ,a color mixed for one place will never do for another1 so don't try to paint another place with it4 ,have the patience to proceed slowly1 and mix the color specially for each brush-stroke4 ,on the other hand1 don't be niggardly with your paint4 ,don't use less paint than you need4 ,mix an ample brushful and put it on2 then mix another1 and use judgment as to how much you should use each time4 ,the variety of tone and value which comes of mixing new color for every touch of the brush is in itself a charm in a painting1 aside from the greater truth you are likely to get by it4 ,illustration3 ,good ,bock4 ,manet4 ,to illustrate direct and solid painting4 ,corrections4--,as far as you can1 make corrections by over-painting when the paint is dry1 or nearly so4 ,when ,i say don't work into wet color to correct1 ,i do not mean that you are never to do so1 but that to do it too much is likely to get your work muddy and pasty4 ,of course it is almost impossible to avoid doing so sometimes1 but when you do1 do it with deliberation4 ,don't lose your head and pile wet paint on wet paint in the vain hope of getting the color by force of piling it on4 ,you will only get it worse and worse4 ,get it as nearly right as you can4 ,if it is hopeless1 scrape it off clean1 and mix a fresh tint4 ,if it is as near right as you can see to mix it now1 go ahead2 and put a better color on that place to-morrow when it is dry1 if you can4 ,keep at it4--,but above all don't be permanently satisfied with the almost4 ,don't be afraid to put paint over dry paint till it is right4 ,work at it day after day4 ,let the paint get thick if it will1 if only you get the thing right4 ,the secret of getting it right is to keep at it1 and be satisfied with nothing less than the best you can do4 ,when you can see nothing wrong you can do no better4 ,but as long as your eye will recognize a difference between what is on the canvas and what ought to be there1 you have not done your best1 and you are shirking if you stop4 ,never call a thing done as long as you can see something wrong about it4 ,no matter what any one else says1 your work must come up at least to the standard of what you yourself can see4 ,loose ,painting4--,sometimes it is necessary to lay on paint very loosely in order to get vibration of warm and cool color or of pure pigment in the same brush-stroke1 or to let the under paint show somewhat through the loose texture of the paint over it4 ,too much of this sort of thing is not to be desired1 but its effect in the right place is not to be obtained in any other way4 ,the paint may be dragged over the canvas with a long brush charged with color more or less thoroughly mixed1 as seems most effectual1 or it may be flipped into its place1 or it may be hatched on with parallel strokes4 ,all these ways will be spoken of as they suggest themselves in other chapters4 ,solid color1 generally1 is used in this manner1 and the effect of body is rather strengthened by it than the reverse4 ,scumbling4--,another means of modifying the color and effect of a painting has perhaps always been more or less commonly in use4 ,this is called scumbling1 and may be considered under the head of solid painting1 as it is always done with body1 and never with transparent1 color4 ,the process consists of rubbing a mixture of body color1 without thinning1 over a surface previously painted and dried4 ,generally this scumble is of a lighter color than the under-painting1 and is rubbed on with a stubby brush slightly charged with the paint4 ,as much surface as is desired may be covered in this way1 and the result is to give a hazy effect to that part1 and to reduce any sharpness of color or of drawing4 ,often the effect is very successfully obtained4 ,distant effects may be painted solidly and rather frankly1 and then brought into a general indefiniteness by scumbling4 ,too much scumbling will make a picture vague and soft1 and after a scumble it is best to paint into it with firm color to avoid this4 ,the scumble may be used with the richer and darker colors1 too1 to modify towards richness the tone of parts of the picture1 or to darken the value4 ,most often1 however1 its value lies in its use to bring harsher and sharper parts together1 and to give the hazy effect when it is needed4 ,scumbling will not have a good effect when it is not intended to varnish the picture afterwards2 for the oil in the paint is absorbed immediately1 and the rubbing of color gives a dead look to the canvas which is very unpleasant1 and decidedly the reverse of artistic4 ,glazing4--,a very valuable process1 the reverse of scumbling1 is glazing4 ,it has always been in use since the invention of the oil medium4 ,all the ,italian painters used it2 it is an essential part of their system of coloring4 ,the rich1 deep color of ,titian1 the warm flesh of ,raphael1 and the jewel-like quality of the early ,german painters are impossible without some form of glaze4 ,the ,germans perhaps made glazes with white of egg before oil was used as a vehicle4 ,but to glaze is the only way to get the fullest effect of the quality characteristic of the transparent paints4 ,a glaze is a thin wash of transparent color flowed over an under-painting to modify its tone or to add to its effect4 ,it is not always transparent color1 but usually it is4 ,sometimes opaque or semi-opaque color may be used1 and it is a glaze by virtue of the fact that it is thinned with a vehicle either oil or varnish1 and flowed on4 ,a scumble is rubbed on1 and is never pure transparent color4 ,advantages of ,glazing4--,the advantages are the gain in harmony1 in force1 in brilliancy2 you may correct a color when it is wrong1 or perfect it when it is not possible to get the force or richness required without it4 ,these are the qualities which have made it used by all schools more or less4 ,disadvantages4--,there are1 however1 quite as evident and marked disadvantages4 ,the free use of oil as a thinning vehicle1 although it makes possible a greater degree of richness of color1 is very likely to turn the picture brown in time4 ,oil will always eventually have a browning effect on all paints1 even when mixed with them as little as is absolutely necessary4 ,if you make a tinted varnish of oil 7which is practically what a glaze is71 you add so much1 to the surely darkening action of the oil on the picture4 ,if1 again1 you depend upon a glaze for the richness of color for your picture1 and you use a color which is not permanent1 your glaze fades1 and your color is not there4 ,a glaze is particularly liable to be injured by the cleaner if it ever gets into his hands4 ,he works down to fresh color1 and what with the browning of the glaze and the fact that the cleaner is more anxious that the picture should be cleaned than that its color should be fine1 he will1 in nine cases out of ten1 clean off the glaze which may be the final and most expensive color the painter has put on it4 ,glazing is little used nowadays1 compared with what it once was4 ,but there are times when you cannot get what you want in any other way1 and when you are sure that glazing is the only thing which will give you your result1 the only law for the painter comes in1--get your result4 ,precautions4--,if you do glaze1 however1 there is a right and a wrong way4 ,you should not use a glaze as a last resort4 ,it is better to calculate on it beforehand2 for you always glaze with a darker tint upon a lighter one1 so that if you have not allowed for this1 you will get your picture too low in tone before you know it4 ,if you want to make your picture1 or a part of it1 brighter and lighter1 bring it up in pitch with body color first1 with solid painting1 and then glaze it4 ,do not glaze on color which is not well dried4 ,the drying of the under color and the drying of the glaze are apt to be different in point of time1 and the picture will crack4 ,if the vehicle is the same as was used in the under-painting1 and the drying qualities of both paintings are the same1 there is no danger4 ,but when color dries1 it shrinks and flattens1 and two kinds of colors shrinking differently are sure to pull apart1 and that causes cracking4 ,if the under-painting is well dry1 but not hard and glossy on the surface1 and is capable of still absorbing enough of the new color's vehicle to bind the coats together1 your glaze will stand4 ,but rather than have it too soft1 have the under-painting too hard1 and then before you glaze go over it with a little thin1 quick-drying varnish1 and glaze into that4 ,the varnish will hold the two coats of paint together4 ,glazing1 as well as scumbling1 implies the obligation to varnish your picture4 ,whenever you use oil freely you will have to varnish your picture to keep it bright and fresh in color4 ,it would be wise never to use a glaze as a final process4 ,glaze to get the tone or to modify it1 but paint into the glaze with body color1 and you keep the advantage of the glaze without many of the disadvantages of it1 and the picture has a more solid effect of painting4 ,frotte4--,closely akin to the glaze in manner1 but very different in use1 is the frotte1 or rubbing4 ,this is generally used on the fresh surface of the canvas1 to rub in the light and shade or the first coloring of the picture after the drawing is done4 ,it is one of the safest and wisest ways of beginning your picture4 ,you can either rub in the picture with a frotte of one color1 as sienna or umber1 or you can use all the colors in their proper places1 only using very little vehicle1 and making something very thin in tint1 somewhat between a glaze and a scumble4 ,you can make a complete drawing in monochrome in this way1 or you can lay in all the ground colors of the picture till it has much the effect of a complete painting4 ,then1 as you paint and carry the picture forward1 every color you put on will be surrounded with approximately the true relations1 instead of being contrasted by a glare of white canvas4 ,a frotte is a most sympathetic ground to paint over4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,copying ,copying may well be spoken of here1 as it is in a sense a kind of manipulation4 ,it is a means of study to the student1 and a useful1 sometimes necessary process to the painter4 ,in the transferring of the results of his sketches and studies to the final canvas1 the painter must be able to copy1 and to know all the conveniences of it4 ,before the painting begins on a picture1 the main figures in it must be placed and drawn on the canvas with reference to the plan of it1 and their relation to that plan4 ,this calls for some method of exact reproduction of the facts stored in the artist's studies for that purpose4 ,the process of copying is that method4 ,from the side of study1 the copy gives the student the most practical means of understanding the intent and the expression of the painter whose work he wishes to know4 ,there is no way of understanding the why and the how of technical expression so sure and complete as to study with the brush and paint1 following the same method and processes as the master you copy1 and trying to comprehend the meaning and the expression at the same time4 ,this is not the best means of study for a beginner1 as ,i have said before4 ,it trains the understanding of processes rather than the eye2 and the training of the power of perception rather than the understanding of methods is what the young student needs4 ,the processes with which he may put on canvas the effect he sees in nature are secondary matters to him4 ,let him really see the thing and find his own way of expressing it1 clumsily1 rudely most probably1 it is still the best thing for him4 ,he may take such help as he can find1 as he needs it2 get such suggestions as the work of good painters can give to him1 when he cannot see his own way4 ,but the searching of nature should come first4 ,the seeing of what is must precede the stating of it4 ,but when you do undertake to make a copy1 there is something more to be tried for than an approximation of the right colors in the right places4 ,certainly to get out of copying all there is to get1 one must try for something more than a recognizable picture4 ,when a serious student makes a copy1 he not only tries to get it like in color and drawing1 but also in manner of treatment1 peculiarities of technique1 and whatever there may be that goes to make up the manner of the original4 ,this is not only for the sake of the copy1 for the sake of really having a picture which is more than superficially like the original2 but in this way can be gained much real knowledge of technique which cannot be gotten so easily otherwise4 ,study your original carefully before and while working on your own canvas4 ,see how it was done if you can 7and you can71 and do it in the same way1 touch for touch1 stroke for stroke1 color for color4 ,use a large brush when he used a large brush2 if the original was done with a palette-knife1 use yours2 and particularly never use a smaller brush than the painter used on the picture you are copying4 ,the same thing holds as to processes4 ,if your original was painted solidly1 with full body of color1 do so on your copy4 ,never glaze nor scumble because you can't get the colors without4 ,your business is to try to get the same qualities in the same way4 ,and any other manipulation is not only getting a different thing1 but shirking the problem4 ,because1 if you can't get the effect in the way he did1 you certainly won't get the same one any other way4 ,you are not originating1 you are not painting a picture1 you are copying another man's work2 and common honesty to him1 as well as what you are trying to learn1 demands that you shall not belie him by stating on your canvas implicitly1 that he did the thing one way1 when as a matter of fact his canvas shows that he did it another way4 ,this may seem commonplace1 because one would think that as a matter of course any one would naturally make a copy this way4 ,but this is precisely what the average person does not do when copying1 and ,i have found it constantly necessary to insist upon these very points even to advanced students4 ,so in the pigments1 the vehicles1 the tools1 and even the canvas if you can1 as well as in the handling of the paint and the processes used1 follow absolutely and humbly1 but intelligently1 the workmanship of the picture you copy1 if it is worth your while to do it at all4 ,in making copies it is not usual to make the preliminary drawing freehand4 ,it takes time that may better be given to something else1 and often it is not exact enough4 ,when a painter has made careful studies which he wishes to transfer to his canvas1 they may have qualities of line or movement1 or of emphasis or character which the model may not have had4 ,these studies1 probably1 are much smaller than they will be in the picture4 ,the same things may be true of the characteristics of the sketches4 ,these are problems which have been worked out1 and to copy them freehand makes the work to be done over again on a larger scale on the canvas of the picture4 ,this would not only take too much time1 but the same result might not follow4 ,for this purpose a more mechanical process is commonly made use of1 which combines the qualities of exactness with a certain freedom of hand1 without which the work would be too rigid and hard4 ,squaring up4--,this process is called squaring-up1 and consists of making a network of squares which cut up the study1 and map out its lines and proportions1 and make it possible to be sure that any part of the original will come in the same relative place in the copy no matter what the size may be1 and at the same time leaves the actual laying out of the thing to freehand drawing4 ,the process is a very simple one4 ,you mark off a number of points horizontally and vertically on the study4 ,make as many as you think best--if there are too few1 you will have too much of the study in one part2 if too many1 it makes you more trouble4 ,it is not necessary that there be as many points one way as the other2 make the number to suit the lines of the study4 ,draw straight lines across the study from each of the points1 keeping them carefully parallel1 and seeing to it that the horizontal lines cross the vertical ones exactly at right angles4 ,these lines cut the study into right-angled parallelograms1 which may be squares or not according as the vertical lines are the same distance from each other that the horizontal ones are1 or not4 ,number the spaces between the lines at the top1 #a1 #b1 #c1 etc41 and at one side the same4 ,now if you square off a part of your canvas with the same number of spaces at the top and the same number at the side as you have done with the study1 and keep the relation of the spaces the same1 you can make it as large or as small as you please1 and you can draw the outlines within those squares as they fall in the study1 and they will be the same in proportion without your having the trouble of working to scale4 ,the squares furnish the scale for you1 and the proportion is not of the study to the picture1 but as the vertical spaces are to the horizontal1 in both the study and the picture4 ,by numbering the squares on the canvas to correspond with those on the study1 and noticing in which square1 and in what part of it1 any line or part of a line comes1 you can1 by drawing that line in the same part of the corresponding square on the canvas1 repeat the line in the same relation and with exactness1 while still leaving the hand free to modify it1 or correct it4 ,in this way the simplest or the most complex1 the largest or the smallest study sketch or drawing may be accurately transferred to any surface you please4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,kinds ,,of ,,painting ,why not recognize that conviction1 intense personal attraction to a certain sort of thing is the life of all art4 ,how else can life get into art than through the love of what you paint8 ,a man may understand what he does not love1 but he will never infuse with life that which he does not love4 ,understand it he should1 if he would express it2 but love it he must1 if he would have others love it4 ,you see it is not the thing1 but the manner2 not the fact1 but what you can find in it2 not the object1 but what you can express by it4 ,un chef d'oeuvre vaut un chef d'oeuvre because perfect delight in loveliness found in a small thing is as perfect as perfect delight in loveliness found in a great thing4 ,and still life uninteresting as a fact1 may be fascinating if seen through the medium of a temperament4 ,don't let the idea get into your head that one thing is easier to do than another thing4 ,perhaps it is1 but it is a bad mental attitude to think so4 ,and even then1 you may find that when you have worked out all that its easiness shows you1 some one with better knowledge or insight may come along and point out undreamed-of beauties and subtleties4 ,and are they easy8 ,to see and express the possibilities in easy things is the hardest of all4 ,classification4--,divide paintings into two classes1--those representing objects seen out-of-doors1 and those representing objects in-doors4 ,this is the most fundamental of all classifications1 and it is one which belongs practically to this century4 ,before this century it was hardly thought of to distinguish out-door light from in-door light4 ,some of the ,dutchmen did it4 ,but it is only in this century that the principle has made itself felt4 ,it is this which makes the difference of pitch or key so marked between the modern and the ancient pictures4 ,it has changed the whole color-scheme4 ,an out-door picture may be still painted in the studio1 but it must be painted from studies made out-doors4 ,it is no longer possible to pose a model in a studio-light and paint her so into a landscape4 ,it was right to do it when it was done frankly1 when the world had not waked up to the fact that things look different in diffused and in concentrated lights4 ,it is not right now4 ,you cannot go back of your century4 ,to be born too late is more fatal than to be born too soon4 ,whatever kind of picture you take in hand1 remember that what distinguishes the treatment of it from that of other pictures depends on the inherent character of it4 ,that the difficulties as well as the facilities in the working of it are due to the fact that it demands a different application of the universal principles4 ,don't think that landscape drawing is easier than that of the figure because smudges of green and blue and brown can be accepted as a landscape1 while a smudge of pink will not do duty for the nude figure4 ,it is only that the drawing of the figure is more obvious1 and variations from the more obvious right are more easily seen4 ,you must study the necessities1 the demands of treatment of the different sorts of subjects--see what is peculiar to each1 and what common to all4 ,you must find to what sthetic qualities each most readily lends itself1 what are the subtleties to be sought for1 and what are the problems they offer4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,the ,,sketch ,the sketch is the germ of the picture4 ,it contains the idea which may later become the finished work4 ,in your sketches you gather effects and suggestions of possibilities1 of all kinds4 ,you do not work long over a sketch1 nor do you work perfunctorily4 ,you do not make it because you ought to1 but because you see something in nature which charms you2 or because you have found an idea you wish to make a note of4 ,understand thoroughly the use and meaning of sketches1 and you will get more good from the making of them4 ,for your sketching is an important matter to your painting4 ,you do not learn how to paint by sketching2 but you can learn a great many things1 and some of them you can learn no other way4 ,a sketch is not a picture2 neither is it a study4 ,each of these things has its special purpose and function1 and its proper character4 ,a sketch is always a note of an idea--an idea seen or conceived4 ,everything is sacrificed in the sketch to the noting of that idea4 ,one idea only1 in one sketch2 more ideas1 more sketches4 ,there are two kinds of sketches3 those made from nature to seize an effect of some sort2 and those made to work out or express tersely some composition or scheme of color which you have in your mind4 ,both are of great use to the student as well as essential to the work of the artist4 ,illustration3 ,sketch of a ,hillside blocked in from ,nature1 ,first ,suggestion of ,composition1 etc4 ,the first conception of a picture is always embodied in the form of a sketch1 and the artist will make as many sketches as he thinks of changes in his original idea4 ,it is in this form that he works out his picture problem4 ,he is troubled here by nothing but the one thing he has in mind at this time4 ,it may be an arrangement of line or of mass4 ,he changes and rearranges it as he pleases1 not troubling himself in the least with exactness of drawing1 of modelling1 of color1 nor of anything but that one of composition4 ,it may be a scheme of color1 and here again the spots of pigment only vaguely resemble the things they will later represent2 now they are only composition of color to the painter1 and everything bends to that4 ,when this has been decided on1 has been successfully worked out1 then it is time enough to think of other things4 ,and think of other things he does1 before he makes his picture2 but not in this sketch2 in another sketch or other sketches1 each with its own problem1 or in studies which will furnish more material to be used later2 or in the picture itself1 where the problem is the unity of the various ideas within the great whole in the completed painting4 ,it is the sketch on which the picture rests for its singleness of purpose4 ,no picture but begins in this way1 whether it is afterwards built up on the same canvas or not4 ,the sketch points the way4 ,but all the preliminary sketches of a painting are not problems of composition or color2 are not conceptions of the brain4 ,there are suggestions received from nature which the painter perceives rather than conceives4 ,possibilities show themselves in these1 but it is in the sketch that they first become tangible and stable4 ,this is the sketch from nature1 always the record of an impression1 the note of an idea hinted by one fact or condition seen more sharply or clearly than any or all of the thousands which surrounded it at the moment4 ,the painter must always sketch from nature4 ,only by so doing can he be constantly in touch with her1 and receive her suggestions unaffected by multitudinous facts4 ,the sketch preserves for him the evanescent effects of nature1 which the study would not so entirely1 because not so simply1 grasp4 ,the sudden storm approaches2 the fleeting cloud shadow2 or the last gleam of afterglow2 these1 as well as the more permanent1 but equally charming effects of mass against mass of wood and sky1 or of meadow and hill1 he can only store up for future use or reference in his sketches4 ,main ,idea ,only4--,in the making of the sketch1 then1 no problem should come in but that of the expression of the main idea1--no problem of drawing or of manipulation of color4 ,to get the idea expressed in the most direct and immediate and convenient way1 anything will do to sketch on or with2 that which presents the least difficulty is the best4 ,the matter of temperament1 of course1 comes in largely1 and technical facility4 ,that which you can use most freely1 use in your sketching1 and keep for other occasions the new means or medium4 ,use freely1 if you can1 black and white for whatever black and white will express1 and pigment for all color effects4 ,oil for greatest certainty and facility of correction4 ,quick ,work4--,make your sketch at one sitting1 or you will have something which is not a sketch4 ,work long enough1 and it may be a study2 but more than one sitting makes it neither one thing nor the other4 ,to say nothing of the fact that the conditions are unlikely to be exactly the same again1 you are almost sure on the second working to have lost the first impression1--the freshness and directness of purpose which the first impress gives2 and this is the very heart of a sketch4 ,you must never lose sight of what was the original purpose of it2 never forget what it was which first made you want to paint it4 ,no matter what else you get or do not get1 if you lose this you lose all that can give it life or reality4 ,the very fact that you have limited yourself to one working makes you concentrate on that which first caught your attention1 and that is what you want to seize4 ,overworkings and after-paintings will only interfere with the directness and force with which this is expressed4 ,remember that nature is never at rest4 ,you must catch her on the wing1 and the more quickly you do it the more vivid will be the effect4 ,illustration3 ,the ,river ,bank4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,half-hour sunset sketch4 ,nature is economical4 ,she puts her lights and darks only where she needs them4 ,do the same1 and use no more effort than will suffice to express that which is most important4 ,the rest will come another time4 ,try to keep things simple4 ,keep the impression of unity2 have the sketch one thing only4 ,express things as they look4 ,as they look to you and at this time4 ,how they seem to some one else1 or seemed at some other time1 is not to the point4 ,what you know they are or may be will not help you1 but only hinder you in a sketch4 ,the more facts the worse1 in sketching4 ,remember always what a sketch is for4 ,don't be beguiled into trying to make a picture of it1 nor a study of it4 ,above all1 don't try to make a clever thing of it4 ,make something sincere and purposeful of it1 and have it as concise1 as terse1 as direct1 and as expressive of one thing as you can4 ,keep ,looking4--,always keep your eyes open and your mind receptive2 do not be always looking for reasons4 ,accept the charm as it presents itself2 note it1 if you have anything handy to express it with2 if not1 study it1 and get something into your mind and memory from it4 ,the simplest way of expressing it1 and the simplest elements which cause it1 you can study without the materials to preserve it1 and you so keep your receptivity and quicken your power of observation4 ,your sketch will be more quickly done1 directly and more forcefully1 if you map out the thing rather deliberately first with a few very exact lines and masses in some way3 then you have a free mind to concentrate on the effect4 ,a few values and masses well placed are the things you most want2 you can almost always spare time to ensure their exactness by a few measurements and two or three rubs of color first4 ,of course if the sketch is of a passing gleam you can do nothing but get a few smudges of color4 ,but get them true in value and in color relation2 get the glow of it1 or you will get nothing4 ,canvases of a ,size4--,in sketching from nature1 have the habit of using always the same sized canvases or panels4 ,they pack better1 and you learn to know your spaces1 and so you do quicker and better work4 ,make them big enough to do free work on1 yet small enough to cover easily1 so that you lose no time in mere covering of surface4 ,ten inches by fourteen is plenty small enough1 and fifteen by twenty large enough1 for most persons4 ,suit yourself as to the size1 but settle on a size1 and stick to it4 ,nothing is more awkward and inconvenient than to have stacks of canvases of all sizes and shapes4 ,always have plenty of sketching materials on hand4 ,you will lose many a good effect which will pass while you are getting your kit ready4 ,in sketching1 avoid details4 ,when you want them1 make a study of them4 ,in a sketch they only interfere with frankness of expression4 ,one or two details for the sake of accent only1 may be admitted4 ,make a frame with your hand1 or1 better1 cut a square hole in a card1 and look through it4 ,decide what is the essence of it1 what is vital to the effect1 and do that2 concentrate on that4 ,put in what you need for the conveying of that1 and leave out everything else4 ,work ,solidly4--,work in body color1 and lay on your paint fully and freely4 ,in getting an effect of light1 don't be afraid of contrast either of value or of color4 ,paint loosely2 get the vibration which results from half-mixed color4 ,don't flatten out the tone4 ,load the color if you want to4 ,in twenty years you will wonder to see how smooth it has become4 ,freedom and breadth give life to a sketch4 ,don't work close to your work4 ,don't bend over it4 ,use plenty of color1 large brushes1 and strike from the shoulder4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,the ,,study ,the qualities which make a good study are the reverse of those which make a good sketch4 ,in the sketch all is sacrificed to the effect1 or to the one thing which is its purpose4 ,the study is what its name implies1 and its purpose is not one thing1 but many4 ,in a study you put in everything which may be valuable4 ,you store it with facts4 ,you leave out nothing which you wish to put in4 ,it is all material4 ,you can take and leave in using it afterwards1 as you could from nature4 ,of course every study has some main intention1 but you must take the trouble to give everything that goes to the making of that4 ,a study is less of a picture than a sketch is4 ,for unity of effect is vital to both a sketch and a picture4 ,but this quality is of no essential value in a study--unless it be a study of unity4 ,for you can make a study of anything1 from a foreground weed to a detailed interior1 from a bit of pebble to a cavalry charge4 ,but in a study of one thing you concentrate on that thing1 you deliberately and carefully study everything in it1 while in a sketch you work only for general effect4 ,the study is the storehouse of facts to the painter4 ,by it he assures himself of the literal truths he needs1 collecting them as material in color or black and white1 and as mental material by his mental understanding of them1 only to be gained in this way4 ,in making a study you may work as long as you please1 timing yourself by the difficulty and size of the thing you are studying4 ,a study of an interior or a landscape may occupy a week or two2 one of a simple object for some detail in a picture may be a matter of only a few hours4 ,but in any work of this kind you should be deliberate1 and remember that what you are doing is neither a sketch nor a picture1 but the gathering of material which is to be useful1 but which can be useful only so far as it is accurate4 ,in making studies1 don't try for surface finish2 get the facts1 and leave all other qualities for the picture4 ,don't glaze and scumble1 but work as directly as you can4 ,study the structure and texture of whatever you are doing4 ,understand it thoroughly as you go on1 and search out whatever is not clear to you4 ,this is no place for effects2 nor for slighting or shirking4 ,if you do not do work of this kind thoroughly1 you might as well not do it at all--better2 for you are at least not training yourself to be careless4 ,there are places where you may be careless1 but the making of a study is not that place4 ,take plenty of trouble with preliminaries4 ,get all your foundation work true4 ,have a good drawing1 get the groundwork well laid in1 and then build your superstructure of careful study4 ,don't be afraid of over-exactness1 nor of hardness and edginess here4 ,all that is only an excess of precision1 and it is just as well to have it4 ,you can leave it out if you want to in your picture1 but a groundwork of exactness is not to be despised4 ,be exact also with your values4 ,if your study is not sure of its values1 it will weaken the results you should get from it later4 ,make your studies in the same light as that which the picture will represent4 ,you can paint a picture under any light you please if your studies give you the facts as to light and shade that the truth to nature requires2 but studies made in one light for a picture representing another are useless to that picture4 ,no good painting was ever made without preliminary studies4 ,when you are to make a picture1 therefore1 take plenty of time to prepare yourself with all the material in the form of facts that you may require4 ,don't trust to building up a picture from a sketch or two and your general knowledge4 ,that sort of thing is something which a painter of experience may do after storing his mind for years with all sorts of knowledge2 but it will not do for most people--least of all for a student4 ,and it is a dangerous way for any one to work4 ,even the experienced painter is apt to do the worse work for it1 and if he does so constantly1 his reputation may suffer for it4 ,take time to be right4 ,illustration3 ,study of a ,blooming-,mill4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,don't be afraid of taking measurements4 ,every one who did anything worth looking at took measurements4 ,leonardo laid down a complete system of proportions4 ,you can't get your proportions right without measurements1 and if your proportions are not right1 nothing will be right4 ,use a plumb-line3 use it frequently1 and measure horizontals and verticals4 ,if you are in doubt about anything1 stop a minute and measure4 ,it takes less time than correcting4 ,whatever you do1 get the character first1 then the details4 ,character is not a conglomeration of details4 ,the detail is the incident of character4 ,see what the vital things are first1 then search farther4 ,use your intelligence as well as your eye and hand4 ,think as you work4 ,don't for a moment let your hand get ahead of your brain4 ,don't work absent-mindedly1 nor without purpose4 ,if your mind is tired1 if your eye won't see1 stop and rest a while4 ,tired work runs your picture down hill4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,still ,,life ,the name of still life is used in ,english for all sorts of pictures which represent groupings of inanimate objects except flowers4 ,the ,french word for it is better than ours4 ,they call it nature morte or dead nature4 ,there is no kind of painting which is more universally useful--to the student as well as to the painter4 ,it furnishes the means for constant1 regular1 and convenient study and practice4 ,you need never lack for something interesting to paint1 nor for a model who will sit quietly and steadily without pay1 if you have some pieces of drapery1 and a few articles1 of whatever shape or form1 which you can group in a convenient light4 ,you can make the group as simple or as difficult as you wish1 and make it include any phase of study4 ,the advantage of its possible variety1 scope1 and particularly1 its convenience and cheapness and manageableness1 make it the fundamental work for the beginner4 ,materials4--,practically anything and everything is available for still life4 ,you should be constantly on the lookout for interesting objects of all kinds4 ,try to get a collection which has as much variety in form1 size1 and surface as you can4 ,old things are generally good1 but it is a mistake to suppose old and broken things the best4 ,an object is not intrinsically better because of its being more or less damaged1 although it sometimes has interesting qualities1 as of color or history1 because of its age4 ,what you should avoid is bad proportion1 line1 and color in the things you get4 ,the cost is not of any importance at all4 ,you can pick up things for a few cents which will be most useful4 ,have all sorts of things1 tall slim vases1 and short fat jugs4 ,have metals and glass1 and books and plaques4 ,they all come in1 and they add to the variety and interest of your compositions4 ,draperies4--,the study of drapery particularly is facilitated by still-life study4 ,you can arrange your draperies so that they are an essential part of your study1 and will stay as long as you care to paint from them1 and need not be moved at all4 ,this fact of staying power in still life is one of importance in its use1 as it reduces to the minimum the movement and change which add to the difficulties in any other kinds of work4 ,the value of the antique in drawing lies in its unvarying sameness of qualities from day to day4 ,in still life you have the same1 with color added4 ,you can give all your attention and time unhurriedly1 with the assurance that you can work day after day if you want to1 and find it just the same to-morrow morning as you left it to-day4 ,this as it applies to drapery is only the more useful4 ,you can hardly have a lay figure of full size1 because of its cost4 ,to study drapery on a model carefully and long1 is out of the question1 because it is disarranged every time the model moves1 and cannot be gotten into exactly the same lines again4 ,still life steps in and gives you the power to make the drapery into any form of study1 and to have it by itself or as a part of a picture4 ,in draperies you should try to have a considerable variety just as you have of the more massive objects1--variety of surface1 of color1 and of texture4 ,do not have all velvet and silk4 ,these are very useful and beautiful1 but you will not always paint a model in velvet and silk4 ,satins and laces are also worn by women1 and cloth of all kinds by men1 and so you should study them4 ,sometimes you want the drapery as a background1 to give color or line2 and yet to have also marked surface qualities 7texture71 would take from the effect of those qualities in the other objects of the group4 ,as to color1 in the same way you should have all sorts of colors2 but see to it that the colors are good1--in themselves good color1 not harsh nor crude4 ,it does you no good as a student to learn how to express bad color4 ,neither is it good training for you1 in studying how to represent what you see1 to have to change bad color in your group into good color in your picture4 ,good useful drapery does not mean either large pieces1 or pieces with much variety of color in one piece2 on the contrary1 you should avoid spotty or prominent design in it4 ,still1 the more kinds you have1 the more you can vary your work4 ,if your drapery is a little strong in color1 you can always make it more quiet by washing or fading it to any extent4 ,there is very little material which is absolutely fast color4 ,but when it is so1 and the color is too strong1 don't use it4 ,don't scorn old and faded cloth1 especially silk and velvet1 or plush4 ,the fact that it would look out of place on furniture or as a dress does not imply that it may not be beautiful as a background or as a foreground color4 ,these old and faded materials furnish some of the most useful things you can have2 a fact the reverse of what is true in general of other still-life things4 ,the ,use of ,still ,life4--,there is no way in which you can better study the principles of composition than by the use of still life4 ,the fact that you can bring together a large number of objects of any color and form1 and can arrange and rearrange them1 study the effect and result before painting1 and be working with actual objects and not by merely drawing them1 gives a positiveness and actuality to composition that is of the greatest service to you4 ,you can use 7and should at times7 the whole side or corner of a room1 and so practise composition on the large scale1 or you can make a small group on a table4 ,that you are using furniture and drapery or vases1 flowers1 and books1 instead of men and women1 does not affect the seriousness and usefulness of the problem2 for the principles of composition and color do not have to do with the materials which you use to bring about the effect1 but the effect itself4 ,it is practically impossible for the student and the amateur to make very advanced study of composition in line and mass with more than one or two living models2 but with still life he may and should get all the practical knowledge possible4 ,practical ,composition4--,suppose you were going to work with still life1 how would you begin8 ,in the first place1 get a good composition4 ,never work from a bad one4 ,you must learn composition some time1 so you might as well study it every time you have occasion to start a still-life study4 ,take any number of things and put them on a table1 get a simple background to group them against4 ,consider your things1 and eliminate those which are not necessary1 or will not tell in the composition4 ,it is a law that whatever does not help your picture 7or composition7 tells against it2 so get rid of anything which will not help the composition4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #a4 ,for instance1 here are a lot of things indiscriminately grouped on a table4 ,you might paint them1 but they are not arranged4 ,there is no composition4 ,they would lack one commanding characteristic of a good picture if you were to paint them so4 ,what do they lack as they are8 ,they have no logical connection with each other1 either in arrangement or in the placing1 to begin with4 ,they do not help each other either in line or mass4 ,they are crowded1 huddled together4 ,you could do with less of them2 or1 if you want them all1 you can place them better4 ,but suppose we take some of them away for simplicity1 and rearrange the rest4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #b4 ,here are some of the things1 with others taken away4 ,the combination is simpler1 but still it is not satisfactory4 ,there is some logical connection among the objects1 but none in the grouping4 ,they are still huddled2 there is no line2 it is too square2 no attempt at balance2 they are simply things4 ,if you change them about a little1 having regard to size1 proportion1 balance1 and line1 you can get something better out of these same objects4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #c4 ,here the coffee-pot is moved toward the centre1 to give height and mass1 and to break up the round of the plaque2 the handle turned around to give more looseness and freedom2 the pitcher is placed where it will break the line of the plaque1 yet not too obviously or awkwardly2 the handle is placed at a good angle with that of the coffee-pot1 and the relation of distance with the coffee-pot in balancing the whole is considered4 ,the drapery is spread out so as to have some probability4 ,it does not help much in line1 but it does in mass and in color 7in the original74 ,it could be bettered1 but it will do for the present4 ,the cup also has a reasonable position1 and helps to balance and to give weight to the main mass1 which is the coffee-pot4 ,there is not much light and shade in this composition1 nor much distinction4 ,but it does balance1 and would make a good study1 and is a very respectable piece of composition1--simple1 modest1 and dignified4 ,now if you wanted to add some of those things which were eliminated1 and make a more complicated composition1 you would look for the same things in it when completed4 ,we have simply the same group1 with the bottle and glass added4 ,the stout jug in the first group is left out because it is not needed1 and it will not mass with the rest easily4 ,the tall glass vase is left out because it is too transparent to count either as line1 mass1 or color1 and does not in any way help1 and therefore counts against1 because it does not count for1 our composition4 ,the things we have here are enough1 but they are not right as they are now4 ,they injure rather than help the last arrangement4 ,the bottle and glass are in the composition1 but not of it2 a composition must be one thing1 no matter how many objects go to the making of it4 ,this is two things4 ,draw a line down between the bottle and glass and the other things1 and you get two compositions1 both good1 instead of one1 which we must have for good arrangement4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #d4 ,let's change them again4 ,this is worse1 if anything4 ,we have now got two groups and a thing4 ,the coffee-pot and cup and saucer alone1 the bottle and glass alone1 and the pitcher2 the drapery tries to pull them together1 but can't4 ,the plaque has no connection with anything4 ,they are all pulled apart4 ,in the last group at least there was some chief mass1 the first complete composition4 ,now every one is for himself2 three up and down lines and a circle--that's about what it amounts to4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #e4 ,let's group them1--push them together4 ,place the bottle near the coffee-pot4 ,because they are about the same height1 one cannot dominate the other in height2 then make them pull together as a mass4 ,illustration3 ,still ,life1 ,no4 #f4 ,place the cup about as before1 and the mass pretty well towards the centre of the plaque4 ,put the pitcher where it will balance1 and the glass where it will count unobtrusively1 and help break the line of the bottoms of the objects4 ,the drapery now helps in line also1 and gives more unity1 as well as mass and weight and color1 to the whole4 ,this group is about as well placed as these objects will come4 ,there is balance1 mass1 proportion1 dignity1 unity4 ,of course you may make a paintable and interesting composition with only two things4 ,but you must give them some relation both as to fact and as to position4 ,the same elements of unity and balance and line come in1 no matter how many or how few are the objects which enter as elements in your group4 ,in this way study composition with still life4 ,move things about and see how they look2 use your eye and judgment4 ,get to see things together1 and apply the principles spoken of in the chapter on ,composition to all sorts of things in nature4 ,scope of ,study4--,drawing is always drawing1 whatever the objects to which it is applied1 and you can study all the problems of drawing and values with still life4 ,the drawing is not so severe as that of the antique1 nor so difficult as study from the life1 but you can learn to draw and then apply it to other things1 and advance as far as you please2 and as ,i said at first1 you need never lack an amiable model4 ,all sorts of effects of lighting you can study easily with still life2 and of color and texture also4 ,the study of surface and texture is most important to you4 ,if you were to undertake to paint a sheep or a cow the first time2 if you were to paint without previous experience a background which contained metal and glass1 or a model with a velvet or satin dress1 you would not succeed4 ,these all involve problems of skill and facility of representation4 ,when you paint a portrait or figure picture1 or a landscape with animals1 you should not have to deal with1 as new1 problems of this sort4 ,you should have arrived at some understanding of this sort of thing in studies which are not complicated by other problems of greater difficulty4 ,this is where still life comes in again to make the study of painting easier4 ,interest4--,but the use of this sort of painting is not only its practical use4 ,you need not feel that it is all drudgery--which is something that most students do not love6 ,you may make pictures with a much clearer conscience along this line2 for the better the picture1 and the more interesting and charming it is1 the more successful is your work as study4 ,you can be as interested in the beauty and the picture of it as you please1 and it will only make you work the better4 ,to see the picture in a group of bottles and books is to be the more able to see the picture in a tree and sky4 ,an artist's eye is sensitive to beauty of color and line and form wherever he sees it4 ,the student's should be also4 ,no artist but has found delight in painting still life4 ,no student should think it beneath his serious study4 ,procedure4--,study painting first in still-life compositions4 ,when you set up your canvas first1 and set your palette1 let it be in front of a few simple objects grouped interestingly2 or1 better1 set up a single jar or a book1 with a simply arranged background for color contrast4 ,all the problems of manipulation are there for you to study4 ,no processes of handling1 no manner of color effect1 which you cannot use in this study4 ,learn here what you will need in other lines of work4 ,beginning4--,the best way to make a study from still life is to begin with a careful charcoal drawing on the canvas4 ,you may shade it more or less as you please1 but be most careful about proportions and forms4 ,the shading means the modelling and the values in black and white2 and you can do this either in charcoal as you draw1 or it can be put in with monochrome when you begin with paint4 ,but you must have the drawing sure and true first2 for drawing is position1 locality4 ,you must know where a value is to go before you can justly place it4 ,the value is the how much4 ,you must have the where before the how much can mean anything in drawing4 ,it would be well to lay in some of the planes of light and shade1 because you feel proportion more naturally and truly so than with mere outline4 ,the outline encloses the form1 but with nothing but outline you are less apt to feel the reality of the form4 ,the planes of values fill in the outline and give substance to it4 ,they map it out so that it takes thickness and proportion2 it is more real4 ,and any fault of outline is more quickly seen1 because you cannot get your masses of shade of the right form and proportion if the outline enclosing them is not right4 ,the ,frotte4--,make1 then1 a careful light-and-shade drawing with charcoal directly on the canvas1 working in the background where it tells against the group1 but without carrying it out to the edges of the canvas4 ,be accurate with your modelling and values1 and keep the planes simple and well defined4 ,draw all characteristic details1 but only the most important1 nearly as if it were not to be painted1 but were to remain a drawing4 ,fix this drawing with fixative and an atomizer4 ,in beginning with paint go over the drawing with a thin frotte which shall re-enforce the drawing with color4 ,you may do this with one color1 making a monochrome painting very thin1 leaving the canvas bare for the lights4 ,many of the best painters lay in all pictures this way4 ,what color is to be used is a matter for consideration4 ,it should be one so sympathetic to the coloring of the whole picture that if it is left without any other paint over it in places it will still look all right4 ,raw umber is a good color1 or raw umber modified with burnt sienna and black4 ,you can make a mixture that seems right4 ,this establishes your larger values1 and gives you something better than a bare canvas1 and something with which you can have a more just idea of the effect of each touch of color you put on4 ,if there is much variety of color in the various objects of your composition1 it is better to make your frotte suggest the different colors4 ,instead of making a monochrome frotte1 rub in each object with a thin mixture1 approximating the color and value1 but not solid1 nor as strong as it will become when painted1 of course4 ,nevertheless1 you can get in this first rubbing in1 a strong effect1 which at a distance has a very solid look1 though the relations are not so carefully studied4 ,when you come to put on solid color with this sort of an under-painting1 it is easy to judge pretty closely of color as well as light-and-shade relations1 and you can work more frankly into it4 ,into this painting1 when it is dry1 you may begin to paint with body color1 beginning with the true color and value of the lights1 and working down through the half darks into the darks4 ,paint the background pretty carefully as to color and value1 but loosely as to handling4 ,paint slowly1 deliberately1 and thoughtfully4 ,there is no need to pile up masses of wrong color4 ,you should try to be sure of the color before you lay it on4 ,study the color in the group1 mix on the palette1 and compare them4 ,think at least two minutes for every one minute of actually laying on paint4 ,you save time in the end by being deliberate and by working thoughtfully4 ,put on color firmly and with a full brush1 but there is no need to load color for the sake of the body of it4 ,loaded ,lights4--,it was a principle with the older painters to paint the shadows thinly and with transparent color1 and to load the lights4 ,it gave a richness to the shadows and a solidity to the lights which was much valued4 ,but don't think about this2 don't let it influence the frankness of your painting4 ,the theory is in itself largely obsolete now1 and in fact has been disregarded by almost every able painter who ever lived1 in practice1 no matter what he said about it4 ,i only speak of it because almost all books on painting have laid it down as a rule1 and you had better know its true relation to painting4 ,like all other traditional methods of painting it has been used by the greatest of painters1 and has also been disregarded by the greatest of painters2 and as far as you are concerned1 you may use it or not as suits your purpose4 ,the main thing is to get the right color and value in the right place1 in the most direct and natural1 in the least affected1 manner possible4 ,you may work into your frotte1 then1 more or less solidly as you feel will give you the best representation of the color you see4 ,solid ,painting4--,don't paint always in the same way4 ,it is a mistake to get too accustomed to one manner of procedure4 ,different things require different handling4 ,let the thing suggest how you shall paint it4 ,if you want to paint directly1 paint solidly from first to last instead of rubbing in thinly first4 ,but always have an accurate drawing underneath4 ,in working solidly without previous laying in1 begin where each brush-stroke will have the greatest effect toward establishing the appearance of reality4 ,if the canvas is light1 begin by putting in the main darks1 and if the canvas is dark1 do the reverse4 ,you get the most immediate effect of reality by the relief2 the relief you get most directly by putting in first those values which contrast with what is already there4 ,establish your most telling values first1 then work from them towards less immediately effective things4 ,color and ,values4--,study the color at the same time you do the value4 ,put on no touch of paint as a value or a color alone4 ,if you do1 you will have to paint that spot twice1--once for the value1 and again for the color4 ,you might as well paint for the two qualities in one stroke4 ,it takes more thought1 but it gives you more command of your work4 ,it doesn't load your canvas with useless paint1 and it saves time in the long run4 ,relations and ,directness4--,study to give the true relations of things4 ,try to get the just color quality4 ,give it at once4 ,don't get it half way and trust to luck and a subsequent painting to correct it4 ,you will never learn to paint that way4 ,paint intensely while you paint4 ,use all the energy you have4 ,paint with your whole strength for a half or a whole hour1 and then rest4 ,you will accomplish more so than by painting all day in a languid1 half-hearted way4 ,directness4--,directness comes from making up your mind just what tint of color and value is needed1 and just where it is to go1 first1 then putting it there with no coaxing4 ,get the right color on your brush and plenty of it2 then put the brush deliberately and firmly down in the right place1 and take it directly away1 and look at the result without touching it again till you have made up your mind that it needs something else1 and what it is that it needs4 ,then do that and stop4 ,directness and justness of relation are the most important things in painting4 ,they tell for most1 result in most1 both to the picture and to the student4 ,whatever you do1 work for that4 ,try to have no vagueness in your mind as to what you will do or why you do it1 and the effect of it will show on your canvas4 ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,flowers ,flower painting is the refinement of still life4 ,you have the same control of combination1 but you have not the same control of time4 ,flowers will change1 and change more rapidly than any other models you can have2 and at the same time they are so subtle that the most exquisite truth and justness are necessary to paint them well4 ,people seem to think that any one can paint flowers4 ,on the contrary1 almost no one can paint them well4 ,there are not a dozen painters in the world who can really paint flowers as they ought to be painted4 ,why8 ,because while they are so exquisite in drawing and color1 and so infinitely delicate in value1 they are also even more infinitely subtle in substance and sentiment4 ,when you have got the drawing and the color and the value1 you have not got the quality4 ,what is the petal of a flower8 ,it is not paper1 and it is not wax1 neither is it flesh and blood1 of the most exquisite kind4 ,all these are gross as substance compared to the tender firmness of the flower petal2 and the whole bunch of flowers is made up of petals4 ,yet you cannot paint the petals either1 else you lose the flower4 ,you must paint the quality of the petal1 and the character of the flower4 ,all these things make the mere perception of facts most difficult1 and it must be done with full knowledge that in an hour it will be something else1 and you can never get it back to its original form again4 ,yet you cannot paint a bunch of flowers in an hour4 ,what will you do8 ,mass and ,value4--,there is something besides the flower and the petal2 there is the mass4 ,the mass is one thing1 and it is surrounded with air1 and air goes through the interstices of it4 ,you must make this visible4 ,the difference in value in flowers is something infinitely little1 as a great flower painter said to me once4 ,yet the difference is there4 ,the bunch has its nearer and its farther sides1 and the way the light falls on it is the most obvious expression of it4 ,when you begin a group of flowers1 get the whole first4 ,make up your mind that you cannot complete your work from the flower you have in front of you1 and that you must constantly change your models4 ,do not paint the little things1 the personal things first then4 ,paint what is common to all the flowers in the group first4 ,paint the mass and the rotundity of it1 and express most vaguely the forms of the accents1 and of the darks which fall between the flowers1 but get their values4 ,for you will have to change these1 and you should have nothing there which will influence you to shirk4 ,in this way only can you get the larger things without hampering your future work by what may be wrong4 ,illustration3 ,sweet ,peas4 ,get the large values1 and as little as possible of the expression of the individual flowers2 then as the flowers fade and change1 substitute one or two fresh ones at a time1 in this or that part of the partially wilted group1 using the same kind of flower as that which was in that place before2 then work more closely from these new flowers1 letting the whole bunch preserve for you the mass and general relation4 ,as you work1 the bunch will be gradually changing and constantly renewed from part to part1 and you can work slowly from general to particular4 ,finally1 from new flowers1 put in those more individual touches which give the personal flowers4 ,this is the only way you can work a long time1 and it is not easy4 ,but it should not discourage you4 ,nothing takes the place of the flower picture1 and the only way to learn to paint flowers is to paint flowers4 ,general ,principles ,hold ,always4--,still1 the principles of all painting hold here as elsewhere1 and what is said of painting in general will have its application to flowers4 ,paint flowers because you love them2 and if you love them1 love them enough to study patiently to express the qualities most worth painting1 even if there be difficulties4 ,details ,again4--,don't make too much of unimportant things4 ,the whole is more than the part2 the flower than the petal4 ,of course you can't paint a flower without painting the petals1 but you need not paint the petals so that you can't see anything else4 ,if the character of the flower as a whole is to be seen at a glance without the emphasis of any special petal1 suggest the petals only4 ,if the petal is important to the expression of character1 then paint it2 and if you do1 paint it well4 ,use your judgment2 make the less expressive of the greater1 or do not paint it at all4 ,colors4--,colors and tints in flowers are always more rather than less subtle than you think them4 ,if you have a doubt1 make it more delicate--give delicacy the benefit of the doubt4 ,still1 flowers are never weak in color4 ,subtle as they are1 it is the very subtlety of strength4 ,black will be the most useless color of your palette4 ,make your grays by mixing your richer colors4 ,a gray in a flower is shadow on rich color1 and it must not be painted by negation of color1 but by refinement of color4 ,sketches4--,make sketches of flowers constantly4 ,try to carry the painting of a single flower or of a group as far as you can in an hour4 ,practise getting as much of the effect of detail as possible with as little actual painting of it1 and then apply this to your picture4 ,get to know your work in studies and sketches1 and you will work better in more difficult combinations4 ,when you have1 as you generally will have1 still-life accessories to your flowers1 rub in quickly the color and values of the vase or what not first1 but leave the painting of it till the flowers are done4 ,it will be a more patient sitter than they4 ,apply the ways of painting spoken of with reference to still life to the sketching of flowers4 ,either rub in quickly a frotte and then paint solidly into that1 or work frankly and solidly but deliberately to render the characteristic qualities4 ,when you sketch flowers don't take too many at a time2 calculate to work not more than an hour and a half or two hours1 and have no more flowers in your sketch than you can complete in that time4 ,when you sketch1 quite as much as when you work at more ambitious canvases1 get the mass first1 especially if the group is large4 ,then put in the accents which do most to give the character or type of the flower4 ,make studies of single flowers and sketches of groups4 ,in the study search detail and modelling2 in the sketch search relations and relief1 effect and large accent4 ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,portraits ,don't look upon portraits as something any one can do4 ,a portrait is more than a likeness1 and the painting of it gives scope for all of the great qualities possible in art4 ,only a great painter can paint a great portrait4 ,some great painters rest their fame on work in this field1 and others have added by this to the fame derived from other kinds of work4 ,you must not think it easy to paint a portrait1 or rest satisfied with having got a likeness4 ,likeness is a very commonplace thing1 which almost any one can get4 ,if there were no other qualities to be tried for1 it would hardly be worth while to paint a portrait4 ,back of the likeness1 which a few superficial lines may give1 is the character1 which needs not only skill and power to express but great perception to see1 and judgment to make use of to the best advantage4 ,character4--,the first requisite in a good portrait is character1--more than likeness1 more than color or grace1 before everything else1 it needs this2 nothing can take the place of it and make a portrait in any real sense of the word4 ,everything else may be added to this1 and the picture be only so much the greater2 but this is the fundamental beauty of the portrait4 ,some of the greatest painters made pictures which were very beautiful1 yet the greatest beauty lay in the perception and expression of character4 ,holbein's wonderful work is the apotheosis of the direct1 simple1 sincere expression of character in the most frank and unaffected rectitude of drawing4 ,there are masterpieces of ,albrecht ,drer which rest on the same qualities1 as you can see in the ,portrait of ,himself by ,drer4 ,likeness is incidental to character2 get that1 and the likeness will be there in spite of you4 ,hubert ,herkomer said once that he did not try for likeness2 if only he got the right values in the right places1 the likeness had to be there4 ,the same can hardly be said of character1 for this depends on the selection from the phases of expression which are constantly passing on the face1 those which speak most of the personality of the man2 and the emphasis of these to the sacrifice of others4 ,the painting of character is interpretation of individuality through the painting of the features1 and1 like all interpretation1 depends more on insight and selection than on representation4 ,try for this always4 ,search for it in the manner1 in the pose and occupation1 of your sitter4 ,get likeness if you will1 of course2 but remember that there is a petty likeness1 which may be accident or not1 which you can always get by a little care in drawing2 and that there is a larger character which includes this1 and does not depend on exaggeration of feature or emphasis of accidental lines1 but on the large expressiveness of the individual4 ,you may find it elsewhere than in the face4 ,the character affects the whole movement of the man4 ,the set of the head and the great lines of the face1 the head and shoulders alone would give it to you even if the features were left out4 ,study to see this1 and to express it first1 and then put in as much detail as you see fit1 only taking care never to lose the main thing in getting those details4 ,qualities4--,there are other great qualities also which you can get in a portrait4 ,all the qualities of color and tone1 of course4 ,but the simplicity of a single figure does not preclude the qualities of line and mass4 ,the great things to be done with composition may as well be done in portrait as elsewhere4 ,if you would see what may be done with a single figure1 study the ,portrait of his ,mother1 by ,whistler4 ,you could not have a better example4 ,it is one of the greatest portraits of the world4 ,notice the character which is shown in every line and plane in the figure4 ,the very pose speaks of the individuality4 ,notice the grace and repose of line1 and the relations of mass to mass and space--the proportion4 ,see how quiet it is and simple1 yet how just and true4 ,of the color you cannot judge in a black and white1 but you can see the relations of tones1 the values and the drawing4 ,it is these things which make a picture2 not only a portrait1 but a great work of art as well4 ,illustration3 ,drer1 by ,himself4 ,to be studied as an example of directness and navet of painting4 ,illustration3 ,portrait of his ,mother4 ,whistler4 ,drawing4--,good work in portraiture depends on good drawing1 just as other work does4 ,don't think that because it is only a head you can make it more easily than anything else4 ,as in other kinds of work1 the drawing you should try for is the drawing of the proportions and characteristic lines4 ,get the masses and the more important planes1 and don't try for details4 ,you can get these afterwards1 or leave them out altogether1 and they will not be missed if your work has been well done4 ,don't undertake too much in your work4 ,make up your mind how much you can do well1 and don't be too ambitious2 the best painters who ever lived have been content to work on a head and shoulders1 and have made masterpieces of such paintings4 ,you may be content also4 ,see how little ,velasquez could make a picture of6 and notice also the placing of the head1 and the simplicity of mass1 and of light and shade4 ,painting4--,of course you can help your color with glazing and scumbling1 but work for simplicity first4 ,it is not necessary to use all sorts of processes2 you can get fine results and admirable training from portrait studies1 and the more directly you do it1 the better the training will be4 ,study the ,portrait of ,himself1 by ,albrecht ,drer4 ,you will find no affectation here2 the most simple and direct brush-work only4 ,you will not be able to do this sort of thing1 but that is no reason why you should not try for it4 ,it will depend on the brush-stroke4 ,it implies a precision of eye as well as of hand4 ,it means drawing quite as much as painting1--drawing in the painting4 ,you will not get this great precision2 nevertheless1 try for it1 and get as near it as you can4 ,don't try for too much cleverness2 be content with good sincere study1 and the most direct expression of planes that you can give4 ,illustration3 ,portrait of ,himself4 ,velasquez4 ,let your brush follow lines of structure4 ,don't lay on paint across a cheek1 for instance4 ,notice the direction of the muscle fibre4 ,it is the line of contraction of the muscle which gives the anatomical structure to a face4 ,if your brush follows those1 you will find that it takes the most natural course of direction4 ,do the same with the planes of the body and of the clothing4 ,note the lines of action1 and the brush-stroke will naturally follow them4 ,see that the whole form1 and particularly the head1 constructs4 ,the head is round1 more or less2 it is not flat4 ,the planes of it cross the plane of the canvas1 recede from it1 cross behind1 and return4 ,this in all directions4 ,you must make your painting express this4 ,it is not enough that there be features1 the features must be part of a whole which is surrounded1 behind as well as in front1 by the atmosphere4 ,the hair is not just hair1 it is the outer covering of the skull1 and of necessity follows the curves of the skull2 and there is a back part to the skull which you cannot see1 but which you can feel--can know the presence of1 because of the way it is connected with the front part by the sides4 ,all this you must make evident in your painting1 as well as the facts which are on the side of the skull turned toward you4 ,how make it evident8 ,by values and directness of brush-stroke4 ,background4--,never treat the background as something different from the head4 ,the whole thing must go together4 ,the slightest change in the background is equivalent to that much change of the head itself4 ,for the change means necessarily a different contrast1 either of color or light and shade1 and it will have its effect on the color or relief of the head4 ,paint the two together1 then4 ,make the head and all that goes with it or around it as equally parts of the picture1 which all tend to affect each other4 ,your background is not something which can be laid in after the head is finished4 ,true you can paint the background immediately around the head first1 and then1 after painting the head1 extend the background to the edge of the canvas2 but the color1 tone1 and character of the background must be decided upon at the time the head is painted1 and carried on in the same feeling4 ,it is never good work to paint the head and then paint a background behind it4 ,particularly is this true when there are windows or any objects whatever in the background4 ,it is most important that the whole thing shall be seen in the same kind of light1 and in the same relation of light4 ,this is hardly to be done when the head is one painting and the background another4 ,illustration3 ,portrait4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,this is not rigidly true1 however1 in cases when the whole thing is planned beforehand1 and studies made for each part1 as in elaborate portraits and compositions which include several figures or special surroundings4 ,but the principle holds good here also4 ,the relation must be kept of the head to the surroundings1 and the effect of the one upon the other always kept in mind4 ,complex ,portraits4--,it is often possible to pose your model so as to bring out some characteristic occupation4 ,this is often done in portraits of distinguished men4 ,such a treatment gives opportunity for composition both of the figure and of the various objects which may make up the background4 ,in such pictures you should study arrangement of line and mass1 to make the thing sthetically interesting as well as interesting as a portrait4 ,composition in mass1--the consideration of the head and shoulders in relation to the space of the canvas1--is necessary in the simplest head2 but as soon as the canvas takes in a representation of action on the part of the figure1 line and movement must be considered1 as was done so beautifully in ,whistler's portrait4 ,in this the study of composition is your problem4 ,you may study it all the time and in every picture you do1 but it should be worked out before you begin to paint4 ,plan your canvas carefully always4 ,know just where everything is coming4 ,when you leave things to chance1 you are pretty sure to have trouble later4 ,portraits ,good ,training4--,i would not have you undertake to paint a portrait rashly4 ,you should know what you are to expect4 ,if you are not pretty sure of your drawing1 and of the first principles of seeing color in nature1 and of representing it on canvas1 you are likely to get discouraged4 ,particularly if a friend poses for you1 you may expect disappointment on both sides4 ,drawing a head from the life is a very different thing from drawing an inanimate object which will stay in one position as long as you can pay the rent4 ,so in the painting of it1 too1 the color itself is alive4 ,flesh is something very elusive to see the color of4 ,and when you find that just as you begin to get things well under way1 or are in a particularly tight place1 just at that moment your model must rest1 you must stop while the position is changed and gotten back to again2 then you will begin to realize that la nature ne s'arrte pas4 ,i would have you know all this1 ,i say1 before you begin on your first portrait2 but1 nevertheless1 if you can get a start at it you will find it extremely good practice4 ,the very difficulties bring more definitely to you the real problems of painting4 ,the fact that it is really the representation of something which has life has an interest quite of its own4 ,the constant change of position on the part of the model will make you more observant1 and less regardful of details2 or if you do regard the details1 and forget the other things1 it will show you how inadequate those details are to real expression1 unless there is something larger to place them on4 ,don't undertake the painting of a head without considering well that you are likely to have trouble1 and that the trouble you will have is most likely to be of a kind that you don't expect4 ,but1 having begun1 keep your head and your grit1 and do the best you can4 ,remember that you learn by mistakes1 and failures are a part of every man's work1 and of every painter's experience1 and not only of your own4 ,you will save your self-esteem from considerable bruising if you make it a point never to let your sitter see your work till you are pretty well over the worst of it4 ,the knowledge that it is to be seen will make you work less unconsciously1 and you will find yourself trying for likeness1 and all that sort of thing1 when that is not what you should be thinking about2 and if1 after all1 the thing is a failure1 it is a great consolation to know that no one but yourself has seen it6 ,beginning a ,portrait4--,the ways of beginning portraits are innumerable4 ,there is no one right way4 ,some are right for one painter or subject1 and some for others2 but there are some methods which are more advisable for the beginner4 ,you can begin and carry through your painting entirely with body color1 or you can begin it with frottes1 and paint solidly into that4 ,take these two methods as types1 and work in one or the other1 according to what are the special qualities you want your work to have4 ,if you have never painted a head1 and have some knowledge of the use of paint and of drawing1 ,i would suggest that you make a few studies of the head and shoulders1 life size1 in solid color1 and on a not too large canvas1 say sixteen by twenty inches4 ,this will leave you no extra space1 and you can devote your whole attention to the study of the head1 with only a few inches of background around it4 ,you will probably make the head too large4 ,a head looks larger than it really is1 especially when you are putting it on canvas4 ,if you measure them you will find that few heads will be longer than nine inches from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin4 ,take this as the regular size in drawing it on your canvas1 and make the other proportions according to that4 ,make a drawing of the outlines in straight lines1 which shall give only the main proportions of the head1 neck1 and shoulders4 ,within this1 block out the features largely4 ,don't draw the eyes1 but only the shape of the orbit2 nor the nostril1 but only the mass of light and shade of the nose4 ,construction4--,in these studies avoid trying to get anything more than what will be suggested by this simple drawing4 ,use body color4 ,don't think of anything but what you have to represent4 ,never mind how the paint goes on1 nor what colors you use1 except that it is right in value1 and as near the color as you can get4 ,put it on with the full brush1 and try to get first the large masses and planes4 ,get it light where it is light1 and dark where it is dark1 and have contrast enough to give some relief4 ,don't try for any problems4 ,set your model in a simple1 strong light and go ahead4 ,no details1 no eyes1 only the great structural masses4 ,try to feel the skull under these planes of light and dark4 ,have the edges of them pronounced and firm4 ,do a lot of these studies2 learn structure first4 ,you will never be able to put an eye in its place in the orbit till you can make the plane of dark which expresses the bony structure of the orbit4 ,you will feel the edge of the brow1 of the cheekbone1 and where the light falls on the temple and on the side of the nose4 ,inside of this is the dark of the cavity1 broken for your purpose only by the light on the upper lid4 ,lay these in4 ,do the same with the other planes1 and put your brush down firmly where you want the color1 with no consideration but the simplest and most direct expression of value and color4 ,now1 when you can lay in a head in this way1 so that you can express the likeness with nothing but these dozen or so of simple planes1 you have got some idea of what are the main things which give character to a head4 ,you will begin to understand how it should construct4 ,into this you can put all the detail you want1 and if the detail is in value with this beginning it will keep its proper relation to the whole4 ,always when painting a head solidly1 work this way4 ,get the action and character of the head as a whole4 ,block in the planes of the face and the features2 and then go ahead to give the details which express the lesser characteristics4 ,but always get the character1 even the first look of resemblance1 with this blocking in4 ,details and features will not give you the likeness1 to say nothing of the character1 if you have not gotten the character first by the representation of those proportions which mean the structure which underlies all the accidental positions of the detail of feature4 ,the ,frotte4--,if you want to be more exact with your drawing before you begin to paint1 lay in your canvas with a light-and-shade drawing in charcoal4 ,then make a frotte in one color1 and paint into and over that1 as was described in the ,chapter on ,still ,life4 ,by careful and studious use of these two methods of work you can learn the main principles of painting portraits1 and modify the handling as you have need2 for all the various methods of manipulation are modifications of one or the other1 or combinations of both of these fundamentally different ways of working4 ,if you paint more than one sitting1 get as good a drawing as you can the first day4 ,put in your frotte the next1 or make your blocking in2 then after that do your painting into the frotte1 or the working out of such details as you decide to put in4 ,titian painted solidly1 probably with no details2 then worked these in and glazed1 then touched rich colors into the glaze4 ,but you had better not bother with all these ways of painting4 ,when you can work well in the simplest way1 you will find yourself making all sorts of experiments without any suggestions from me4 ,work first for facts of utmost importance1 and technical methods are not such facts4 ,perception and representation by any most convenient means are the first things to be thought of1 and nothing else is of importance until a certain amount of advance is made along this line4 ,learn to see and paint the wholeness of the thing at once1 not the details1 but the fact of it4 ,try to lay in things so that you have a solid ground to work onto and into later4 ,look for the vital things4 ,don't try for finish4 ,finish is not worked for nor painted into a picture2 finish occurs when you have represented all you have to express4 ,when you have got character and values and true representation of color1 you will find that the finish is there without your having bothered about it4 ,the masses you are to look for and emphasize are the great spaces where the light strikes and the shadows fall4 ,close your eyes4 ,the lines disappear4 ,you only see large planes of values2 express these at once and simply4 ,don't be afraid of rudeness1 either of handling or of color1 at first4 ,don't try for finesse4 ,all these delicacies will come later4 ,but you must get the important things first4 ,learn to be strong first1 or you never will be4 ,delicacy comes after strength1 not before4 ,so1 too1 freedom comes after knowledge--is the result of knowledge4 ,so paint to learn4 ,if it is rigid at first and hard1 never mind4 ,get the understanding and the representation as well as you can1 and try for other things later4 ,illustration3 ,haystacks in ,sunshine4 ,monet4 ,to show certain characteristics of handling in ,impressionist work4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,landscape ,from the usual rating of figures as the most important branch of painting1 it would be natural to speak of that kind of work first4 ,but work from the head must come before you attempt the figure1 and there are a good many things that you can learn from landscape which will help you in figure-work4 ,the manner of painting figures has been much modified1 too1 of late years1 owing to certain qualities and points of view which are due to the study of landscape and the important position that it has come to occupy4 ,in the old days landscape was only a secondary thing1 not only as a branch of art in itself1 but particularly as it was used by figure painters4 ,in this century it has so broadened in its scope that it is now recognized to be as important a field of work as any4 ,but further than this1 it has become the most influential study in the whole range of painting4 ,from the development of the study of outdoor nature1 and particularly outdoor light1 it has come about that certain facts of nature have been recognized which were before neglected1 ignored1 or unsuspected1 and these facts bear quite as much on the painting of the figure as on the painting of landscape4 ,so that it is no more possible to paint the figure1 in some respects1 as it was painted as a matter of course a hundred years ago1 while other ways of painting the figure1 which were undreamed of at that time1 are the matters of course now4 ,the whole problem of light has taken a new phase1 and the treatment of color in that relation is modified in the painting of figures as well as in the other branches of work4 ,pitch4--,in no direction is this more marked than in the matter of pitch1 or key4 ,with the study of landscape1 the range of gradation from light to dark has broadened4 ,a picture may now be painted in a high key2 the picture may be1 from the highest to the lowest note in it1 far lighter than would have been thought possible even thirty years ago4 ,this question of bright pictures is one which demands consideration4 ,one has only to go into any exhibition of pictures to-day to be struck with the fact that the key of almost every picture in it1 of whatever kind1 has changed from what it would have been in the last generation4 ,this is not merely the result of the spread of the ,impressionist idea4 ,that influence has only been strongly felt in this country within the last ten years4 ,it is not that which ,i am speaking of now4 ,i mean the fact that even the grayer pictures--those which do not in any ordinary sense of the word belong to ,impressionist work--are light in color1 where they would once have been dark1 or at least darker4 ,the impressionists have had a definite influence1 it is true2 but the work of the earlier plein air men--the men who posed their models out-of-doors as a matter of principle1 who studied landscape out-of-doors--was the first and most powerful influence1 and that of the impressionists1 coming along after it1 has simply emphasized and carried it farther4 ,bright ,pictures4--,whatever may be thought of the work of those painters who are called impressionists1 it must be recognized that they have taught us how some things may be possible4 ,and the present quality of brightness will necessarily be to a certain extent a permanent one in art4 ,for like it or not as we may1 it is true--true to a certain great1 fundamental characteristic of nature4 ,for outdoor light is bright1 even on a gray day4 ,the luminosity of color is too great to be represented with dark paint or lifeless color4 ,and once this fact is recognized1 it is a fact which will inevitably influence all kinds of work4 ,what is possible and right at a certain stage of knowledge or recognition may be impossible when other points of view have once been accepted4 ,we see only what we look for1 and we look for only what we expect to see or are interested to see4 ,you cannot go out-of-doors now and paint as you would have painted a hundred years ago4 ,then you would have painted what you saw then2 but you would not have seen nor looked for things which you cannot help seeing now4 ,for our eyes have been opened to new qualities and new facts1 and once the eyes have been opened to them they can never be closed to them again4 ,average ,observation4--,i say we see only what we look for1 what we expect to find2 anything out of the ordinary is hard to believe at first4 ,in looking at nature the average observer does not even see the obvious4 ,certain general facts he accepts in the general1 but as a rule there is no real recognition of what is there2 no perception of the relations of things2 no analysis2 no real seeing1 only a conventional acceptance of a thing as a thing4 ,men look at nature with one idea1 and at a picture of nature with an entirely different idea4 ,nature in the picture is to most people just what they have been accustomed to see in other pictures4 ,they get their idea of how nature looks from those pictures1 and if you show them a picture differently conceived they have difficulty in taking it in4 ,for this reason the bright picture does not look right4 ,i remember being asked by a man in a modern exhibition what ,i thought of these bright pictures4 ,when ,i asked which pictures he had reference to1 ,i found that he meant the work of a man whose whole aim in painting landscape was1 as he once said to me1 to get the just note in color and value4 ,one would think that the fact that the whole force of an extremely able and sincere mind was directed to that purpose1 would produce a picture with at least truth of observation4 ,yet this was not what my passing acquaintance wanted to see4 ,the picture he liked1 which had some nature in it1 as he pointed out to me1 was an extremely commonplace landscape with a black tree against a garish sky1 reflected in a pool of water4 ,the bright picture seemed to me exquisitely gray and quiet1 though high in key1 and the one with nature in it1 harsh and crude1 but conventional2 and that was just the point4 ,the average observer wants to see1 and does see1 in nature what he is accustomed to accept in a picture as nature4 ,but a painter cannot go on such a basis4 ,he may paint a dark picture1 but he must find a subject which is dark to do so4 ,he may not paint daylight with false pitch and false relations1 and say he sees it so4 ,with every liberty for personal seeing1 there are still certain facts so established and obvious that personality must take them and deal with them1 must use them and not ignore them1 in its self-expression4 ,illustration3 ,on the ,race ,track4 ,degas4 ,to show relations of pitch and contrast out-doors4 ,the pitch of daylight is one of these facts4 ,light and luminosity may not be qualities which appeal to your temperament4 ,you may therefore not make them the main theme of your painting of landscape2 but you cannot paint a daylight picture without in some way making it obvious that luminosity is a fundamental characteristic of day light4 ,there is no other quality so universally present and pervasive4 ,in sunlight it is the most vital quality4 ,you might as well paint water without recognizing the fact that water is wet1 as to paint daylight without recognizing the fact that diffused sunlight is brilliant4 ,a ,help4--,you will find it very useful as a help in seeing pitch as well as color to have a card with a square hole cut in it to look through at your landscape4 ,have one side covered with black velvet and the other left white4 ,compare darks with the black1 and the lights with the white1 and make the picture compose in the opening as in a frame4 ,key and ,harmony4--,but you should remember that the high key for out-of-door work does not mean crude nor unsympathetic color1 neither does it mean that there is nothing but sunshine and shadow4 ,your picture may be as high as you please in pitch1 and yet be harmonious and pleasing4 ,i have seen impressionist pictures of most pronounced type hung in the same room with old pictures and in perfect harmony with them4 ,it means that good color is always good color1 and will always be harmonious with other good color1 whatever the pitch of either4 ,one picture is simply a different note from the other1 that is all4 ,the color in nature is not crude in not being dark4 ,the relations of spots of color are just2 you have only to be as just in observing them1 and your picture will be harmonious4 ,make your notes just all over your canvas4 ,have some of them just and the rest false1 and of course it will be wrong4 ,or if you try to make crudity take the place of brilliancy1 you will not get harmony4 ,the harmony which comes from the presence in just relation of all the colors is none the less beautiful because more alive4 ,you need not try for the most contrasting and most sparkling qualities of out-of-door color1 but you should feel for the out-of-doorness of it4 ,the space1 the breadth1 lack of confines1 the largeness and movement1 vibration and life1--these are the things which the modern painter has discovered in landscape and has emphasized2 and this is what has made modern landscape a vital force in modern art4 ,whatever you do or do not see1 feel1 and express in your painting1 these you must see1 feel1 and express2 for once these qualities are recognized and accepted they are as universal as the law of gravity1 and can be as little ignored4 ,landscape ,drawing4--,landscape is more difficult to draw than is generally thought2 not only is the character affected by the scale of the main masses1 but there is great probability of overdrawing4 ,the curves that mark the modelling of the ground are very difficult to give justly4 ,the altitude and slope of mountains are almost invariably exaggerated4 ,the twists and windings of roadways and fences are seldom carefully drawn2 yet the most exquisite movement of line is to be gained by just representation of them4 ,to give the character of a tree1 too1 without making out too much of the detail of it1 needs more precise observation than it generally gets4 ,illustration3 ,willow ,road4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,get the character2 get the sentiment of it4 ,search for the important things here first1 and be more particular about the placing of each line than about the number of lines4 ,don't draw too many lines in a landscape2 don't draw too many objects4 ,carefully study the scene before you till you have decided what parts are most essential in giving the character that you want to express1 and then draw most carefully those parts4 ,see which are the most expressive lines in it4 ,get the swing and movement of those lines in the large2 then study the more subtle movement of them4 ,get these things on the canvas first1 and put everything else in as subsidiary to them4 ,have all this well placed before you begin to paint1 and allow for little things being painted on to this4 ,don't get too many things into one landscape4 ,the spirit of the time and place is what will make the beauty of it1 not the details nor the mere facts4 ,this spirit you will find in a few things1 not in many4 ,having found which lines and forms1 which masses and relations of color and value1 express this1 the more carefully you avoid putting in other things the more entirely you emphasize the quality which is the real reason of existence of your picture4 ,in studying landscape1 work for one thing at a time4 ,what has been said of sketching and studies applies here4 ,landscape is the most bewildering of subjects in its multiplicity of facts and objects and colors and contrasts4 ,if you cannot find a way to simplify it you will neither know where to begin nor where to leave off4 ,i cannot tell you just what to do or not to do1 because no two landscapes are alike4 ,recipes will do nothing in helping you to paint4 ,but there is the general principle which you may follow1 and ,i try to keep it before you even at the risk of over-repetition4 ,in no kind of picture can you drag in unimportant things simply because they exist in nature4 ,in landscape more than elsewhere1 because you cannot arrange it1 but must select in the actual presence of everything1 you must learn to concentrate on the things which mean most1 and to refuse to recognize those which will not lend themselves to the central idea4 ,selection4--,when you select your subject1 or motif1 as the ,french call it1 select it for something definite4 ,there is always something which makes you think this particular view will make a good picture4 ,state to yourself what it is that you see in it1 not in detail1 but in the general4 ,is it the general color effect of the whole1 or a contrast8 ,is it a sense of largeness and space1 or a beautiful combination of line in the track of a road1 or row of trees1 or a river8 ,perhaps it is the mass and majesty of a mountain or a group of trees4 ,something definite or definable catches you--else you had better not do it at all2 and what that something is you must know quite precisely1 or you will not have a well-understood picture4 ,when you have distinctly in your mind what you want to paint it for1 then see that the composition is so placed on your canvas that that characteristic is the main thing in evidence4 ,with this done it is a very easy thing to concentrate on that characteristic1 and to leave out whatever tends to break it up or distract from it4 ,this is the only way you can simplify your subject4 ,first by a distinct conception of what you paint it for1 then by so much analysis of the whole field of vision as will show you what does and what does not help in the expression of it4 ,detail4--,much detail in landscape is never good painting4 ,whether big or little1 your canvas must express something larger and more important than detail4 ,give detail when it is needed to express character or to avoid slovenliness4 ,give as much detail where the emphasis lies as will insure the completeness of representation--not a touch more4 ,structure4--,have your foreground details well understood in drawing and value4 ,this does not require the drawing of leaf and twig1 but it does require structure4 ,everything requires structure4 ,structure is fundamental to character4 ,if you will not take the trouble to study the character of any least thing you put in1 don't put it in at all4 ,nothing is important enough to put in1 if it is not important enough to have its character and its purpose in the picture understood4 ,i spoke of structure in speaking of the head4 ,if ,i said nothing but structure1 structure1 structure to the end of the section1 you would get the impression of what is the most important thing in drawing4 ,if you will look for and find the line and proportion expressing the anatomy which makes the thing fulfil its particular function in the world1 you will understand its character1 and that is what is important1 everywhere4 ,work in ,season4--,make your picture in the season which it represents4 ,i don't say that a good summer picture may not be made in winter2 but ,i do say that you are more likely to express the summer quality while the summer is around you4 ,there is too much half painting of pictures1 and then leaving them to be finished up afterwards4 ,of course you can make all your studies and sketches1 and then begin and finish the picture from them4 ,if you are careful to have plenty of material1 to accumulate all your facts with the intention of working from those facts1 all right2 but it would be better if you were to work your picture in the season of it1 as long as you are a student at least4 ,for until you have had a great deal of experience1 you will find when you come to paint your picture that some very much needed material you have neglected to collect1 and you cannot safely supply it from memory4 ,if this occurs in the time of year represented in the picture1 you can just go out and study it4 ,out-of-door ,landscapes4--,the most important movement in modern art1 the most important in its effects on all kinds of work1 is what ,i have mentioned as the plein air movement4 ,it was thought by some clear-headed men that the best way to paint an out-door picture was to take their canvases out-of-doors to paint it4 ,instead of working from a few color sketches and many pencil studies1 they painted the whole picture from first to last in the open air4 ,working in this way1 certain qualities got into the pictures unavoidably4 ,necessarily the color was fresher and truer4 ,necessarily there was more breadth and frankness1 and less conventionality and mere picture-making4 ,the spirit of the open got onto the canvas1 and the whole type of picture was changed4 ,for the first time out-of-door values were studied as things in themselves interesting and important4 ,the result on landscape pictures was that pictures painted in the studio seemed unreal and insincere1 and that men looked and studied less for the making of pictures1 and more for what nature had to reveal4 ,it would be a good thing for you as a student if you would do as these men did whenever you want to do any work at landscape1 whether for itself1 or for background4 ,if you wish to pose any kind of figure with landscape background1 pose and paint your figure out-of-doors4 ,make sketches as much as you please1 make studies as much as you please2 but make them for the suggestions and knowledge they will give you1 and not for material to be used in painting a picture at home4 ,for your picture1 start1 and go on with1 and finish it out-doors2 you will get a feeling of freshness and truth in your work which you cannot get any other way4 ,you will also acquire a power of concentration and of selection and rejection in the presence of nature which is of the utmost importance to you4 ,impressionism4--,it is not possible to speak of landscape and plein air without mention of the ,impressionists4 ,you should understand what impressionism really is1 and what it is not1 and what the impressionist stands for4 ,whether we like it or not1 this work is not to be ignored4 ,it has tried for certain things1 and has shown that they can be much more justly represented than had before been believed to be possible1 and fad or no fad1 that result stands4 ,in the first place1 impressionism does not mean purple and yellow4 ,any one who says purple and yellow and throws the whole thing aside1 is a very superficial critic4 ,the purple and yellow are incidental to the impressionist1 not essential4 ,it is only one of the ways of handling color by means of which it was found possible to express certain qualities of light4 ,before everything else the real impressionist stands for the representation of the personal conception and method as against the traditional4 ,he believes that if a man has anything of his own to say1 he must say it in his own way2 and that if he cannot find that nature has anything to say to him personally1 if nature cannot give him a personal message1 if he can only paint by giving another man's ideas and another man's method1 then he had better not paint at all2 so that whatever he may see to paint1 and however he finds a way to express it1 the value of it and the truth of it lie in the fact that it is his1 his way of seeing1 and his way of expressing1--that it is personal4 ,luminosity4--,the impressionist is imbued with the fact that all the light by means of which things are at all visible is luminous--that it vibrates4 ,he does not think that living light can be represented by dead color4 ,he strives to make his color live also4 ,this is the secret of the purple and yellow4 ,by the contrast of these two colors1 by the combination and contrast and juxtaposition of the complementary colors and the use of pure pigments1 he can make his colors more vibrant1 and so give more of the pitch of real sunlight4 ,he actually applies on his canvas the laws which are known to hold with light and color scientifically4 ,he applies practically in his work those laws which the scientist furnishes him with theoretically4 ,the result in some hands is garish1 crude4 ,but the best men have shown that it is possible to use the means so as make a subtle harmony and a luminous brilliancy that have never before been attained4 ,the crudity is the result of the man1 not of the method4 ,the ,application4--,the application of all this to your own work is that when you want pitch and sunlight you can get it through the observance of the laws of color contrast1 and such a laying on of pigment as will bring this about4 ,try to study the actual contrasts of color1 not as they seem1 but as they are in nature4 ,study the facts which have been observed as to colors in their effects on each other1 and then try to see these in nature and to paint the results4 ,the ,luminists4--,this is the principle of all loose painting carried out scientifically4 ,it is the cause of the peculiar technique of those impressionists who paint in streaks and spots of pigment4 ,the manner of putting on paint does interfere with the continuity of outline in the drawing necessarily1 but there is a marked gain in the quality of light2 and as these men are luminists1 and light is what they want primarily1 the sacrifice is justifiable1 or at any rate explicable4 ,now if you understand the scientific principle1 and the practical application and its result on canvas1 you have in your hands one of the main instrumentalities in the rendering of one great quality of out-of-doors4 ,how far you adopt it is a matter for you to decide for yourself4 ,if the complete adoption of it implies too much of a sacrifice of other things of equal or greater value to you1 then modify it1 or take advantage of it as much as will give you the balance of qualities you most want4 ,there is one way to get light and brilliancy and life into your color3 adapt it to your purpose if you need it4 ,this is the application of color juxtaposition to mixing4 ,the placing of complementaries so as to increase contrast is another way of adding to the brilliancy of light4 ,you will find this most useful when you want to give the greatest possible emphasis to the effect of sunlight and shadow4 ,if you keep your shadows cool1 your lights will be the richer and more sparkling because of that contrast4 ,if you want more strength in a note of color1 get its complement as near it as you can4 ,look for their iridescence of edges of shadow1 and of the contours of objects4 ,you will get greater relief of light and shade by contrast of warm and cool than contrast of light and dark4 ,do not misunderstand me4 ,i am not advising you to be an impressionist4 ,i wish only that you shall see what there is in this way of looking at nature and of representation of certain effects of nature1 which will be of use to you in the painting of landscape4 ,i would have you know what means are at your command1 what is possible to accomplish in certain directions1 and how it is possible to accomplish it2 then ,i would have you make use of whatever will most directly and completely serve your purpose4 ,do not use any color or colors1 any method or point of view1 because of any advocacy whatsoever4 ,know first what you want to paint and why4 ,let nature speak to you4 ,go out and look at landscape4 ,study and observe2 see the effect which makes you want to paint it1 and then use the means and method which seem most entirely adapted to it4 ,don't ask yourself1 nor let any one else ask you1 ,is this ,so-and-,so's method8 or1 ,does this belong to this or that school8 ,don't bother about schools or methods at all4 ,look frankly to see1 accept frankly1 and then work to render and convey as frankly as you have seen4 ,be sincere--sincere with yourself and with your painting3 then you will surely work at whatever you do from conviction1 and not from fad2 and whether it makes you paint as an impressionist or not is a very minor matter1 because sincerity of purpose is the most important thing in painting1 and method of representation one of the least4 ,atmosphere4--,a universal characteristic of nature will be a fundamental one in landscape4 ,a landscape which you cannot breathe in is not a perfect one4 ,we live and breathe in atmosphere1 and the expression of atmosphere will go far to make your landscape true4 ,but atmosphere is not haziness4 ,neither is it vagueness nor negativeness of color4 ,truth of color-quality1 and justness of relation will do most in getting it4 ,you had better not try for atmosphere as a thing1 but as a result4 ,anything so universal and so indefinite can be expressed by no one thing4 ,if you try to get it by any one means you will miss it4 ,study1 then1 the subtlety of color relation and justness of value4 ,try to be sensitive to the slightest variety of tone1 and be satisfied with no least falsity of rendering1 and you will find that your picture will not lack atmosphere4 ,color of ,contour4--,an important thing for you to look for and to study is the color of contours4 ,you will not find it easy2 not easy even to know what it is that you are looking for4 ,but consider it as a combination of contiguous values and color vibrations1 and things will reveal themselves to you4 ,no form is composed of unvarying color4 ,no combination of color surrounding it lacks variety4 ,all along the edge of forms and objects1 of whatever kind1 the value and color relation constantly change4 ,the outline is not constant4 ,here and there it becomes lost from identity of value and color with what surrounds it1 and again defines itself4 ,the edge is not sharp4 ,the color rays vibrate across each other4 ,the inevitable variety of tint and value1 of definiteness and vagueness1 gives a never-ending play of contrasts and blendings4 ,these are qualities which go to the harmonizing of color1 to the expression of light1 and particularly to the feeling of atmosphere4 ,this constant variety of contrasting edges is the constant movement and play of the visual rays1 and the study of it gives life and vibration to the picture1 and all the objects represented in it4 ,outdoors1 particularly when the play of diffused light and the movement of all the objects is continually felt1 either through their own elasticity or because of the heat and light waves1 this study is most necessary1 if you would get the feeling of freedom1 space1 and air4 ,skies4--,in the painting of the sky there are several points to be kept in mind4 ,the sky1 even on the quietest day1 is full of movement4 ,cloud masses change continually4 ,if there are no clouds there is constant vibration in the blue2 constant variety in the plane of color1--a throb of color sensation which is not to be expressed by a dead1 flat tint4 ,paint the sky loosely4 ,lay on the color as you will1 with a broad1 flat brush1 or with a loose1 smudgy handling2 put it on with horizontal strokes1 or with criss-cross touches1 but never make it a lifeless tone4 ,have variety in it2 keep a pulsation between the warm and cool color4 ,you can work in the separate touches of half-mixed color1 warm and cool1 all through the sky1 so that the whole tone will be flat and even1 but not dense and dead4 ,so far as the sky is concerned1 the atmosphere is essential1 and is to be represented not by dense color1 but by free1 loose1 vibrating color4 ,clouds4--,if you have clouds to paint1 do not draw them rigidly4 ,get the effect of the mass and movement1 and the lightness of them4 ,as they constantly change in form1 any one form they may assume cannot be characteristic4 ,the type form is what you must get1 and the suggestion of the motion and lightness4 ,you can suggest1 too1 the direction of the wind by the way they mass and sway and flow4 ,the direction of the sun's rays1 too1 counts in the color of them4 ,the outline of a cloud mass is never hard1 never rigid4 ,the pitch and luminosity and subtlety are what give you most of the effect of it4 ,study the type of cloud1 of course4 ,it is a cumulus1 cirrus1 stratus1 or what not4 ,this character is important2 but the character lies in the whole body of the cloud form1 not in the accidental outlines or the special position of it for the moment4 ,sky ,composition4--,the massing of cloud forms is a very useful factor in the composition of the landscape4 ,the cloud bank or cloud line is capable of giving accent or balance to the picture4 ,as it is not constant in position any more than in form1 you can place it with truth to nature pretty nearly always where it will do the most good as an element in the composition4 ,make use of them1 then1 and study the forms and the possible phases of them so as to make the best use of them4 ,diffused ,light4--,much of the characteristic quality of out-door light is the result of the diffusion of light due to both the refraction and the reflection of the sky4 ,the light which bathes the landscape comes in all directions from the sky4 ,necessarily1 then1 the sky will be in most cases far higher in value than anything under it4 ,even the blue of the sky1 which looks darker than some bit of light in the landscape1 you will find1 if you can manage to get them to tell against each other1 will be the more luminous of the two1 and will look lighter4 ,there are times when the sun glares on a white building or a piece of white sand1 when the white tells light against the blue4 ,but these are exceptions1 and if we could get a blue paint which would give the intensity of color1 and also the brilliancy of the light1 even these cases would be most truly represented with the sky as the higher value4 ,it is a case of whether to sacrifice value to color1 or the reverse1 as we cannot have both4 ,sometimes1 however1 in a storm1 the dense dark of the storm sky is really lower in value than some white object against it1 especially if there be a bit of sun breaking through on it4 ,but in general1 nevertheless1 you should consider the sky as always lighter and more luminous than anything under it4 ,three ,planes4--,it will help you in understanding the way the light falls on landscape to consider everything as in one of three planes1 and these planes taking greater or less proportions of light according to the position of the sun with reference to them4 ,the position of the sun changes from a point immediately over1 to a point practically at right angles to all objects in nature4 ,everything that can exist under the sun will come in one of these planes1 and at some time in the day in each4 ,the vertical1 the horizontal1 or some sort of an oblique between these two4 ,if the sun is overhead exactly1 the flat ground1 the tops of trees and houses1 will get the full amount of sunlight4 ,the vertical planes1 sides of houses1 depths of foliage1 etc41 will get the least1 some of them being lighted only by diffused and reflected light4 ,the planes lying between these two extremes will get more or less1 according as they are more or less at right angles to the direct rays of the sun4 ,and as the sun declines from the zenith1 the vertical planes get more and more and the horizontal planes less and less of the light1 till in the late afternoon the banks of trees and sides of buildings and cloud-masses are gilded with light1 and the broad horizontal plains of land and water are in shadow4 ,however obscured the sun may be1 this principle holds more or less2 and it makes clear and helps you to observe and notice many facts in landscape light and shade which it is necessary to know4 ,millet said that all the beauty of color and value1 and the whole art of painting1 rested on the comprehension and observance of these facts4 ,he said that as the planes of any form turned towards or away from the light and so got more or less of it1 and as one form stood more or less far back of another and the atmosphere came between1 the color and value changed2 and in the observance of this1 and its representation as applied to any and every object or group of objects1 lay the whole of painting4 ,all the possible beauties of the art rested on it4 ,he showed a painting of a single pear in which these things were most subtly observed1 and said that that painting was as complete and perfect as any painting he could do simply because in the observance of these relations was implied the observance of everything which was vital to painting4 ,short ,sittings4--,this characteristic1 and the steady change of position of the sun and its effects on all the objects which are directly lighted by it1 make it necessary1 whenever you are painting from nature out-of-doors1 that you should not paint at one thing very long at a time4 ,the light changes pretty rapidly2 at high noon it only takes a few moments to exactly reverse the light4 ,it is seldom that you can do any just study for more than an hour or an hour and a half at a sitting4 ,some men do work two or three hours1 but they are not studying justly all that time2 for that which was light is dark three hours later1 and any true study of value and color is impossible under these conditions4 ,of course on gray days this is less marked1 but you must suit your sittings to the time and facts4 ,it would be better if you had more canvases1 and worked a short time on each1 and many days on all4 ,you would have the truest work4 ,monet works never more than a half-hour on one canvas2 but when he starts out he takes a half-dozen or more different canvases1 and paints on each till the light has changed4 ,theodore ,robinson seldom worked more than three-quarters of an hour1 or at most an hour1 on one canvas2 but1 he worked for twenty or thirty days on each canvas1 and sometimes had a single canvas under way for successive seasons4 ,any man who would truly study for the just value and note of color must work more or less in this way when he works out-of-doors4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,marines ,all that has been said on landscape painting applies to marines4 ,you have the same open-air feeling and vibration of light and color4 ,there is no need to say the same things over again4 ,it is only necessary to take all these things for granted1 and emphasize certain other things which are peculiar to the sea4 ,sea and ,sky4--,to begin with1 the relation of the sky to what is under it is markedly different in color from any other relations in painting4 ,the sea is always more or less of a perfect reflecting surface1 and always strongly influenced in color1 value1 and key by the reflections of the sky on its surface4 ,the sky color is always modifying the water--when and how depends on the condition of the weather1 and the degree of quiet or movement of the water4 ,sometimes the water is a perfect mirror2 sometimes the mirror quality is almost lost1 but the influence is there4 ,this relation is the most important thing1 because the sea and the sky is always the main part of your picture2 and no matter what else is there1 or how well painted it may be1 if these things are not recognized1 if they are not justly observed1 your picture is bad4 ,i cannot tell you all about these things4 ,the variety of effects and relations is infinite4 ,you must study them1 paint them in the presence of nature1 and use your eyes2 only remember the general principles of air and atmosphere and light and color that ,i have spoken of elsewhere--all have most vital importance on marine painting4 ,you must study these1 and think of them1 and in the presence of sea or sky observe their bearings1 and apply them as well as you can4 ,movement4--,if la nature ne s'arrte pas ordinarily1 the fact is even more marked in marines2 for the water is the very type of ceaseless motion4 ,somehow1 you must not only study in spite of the continual motion1 but you must manage to make that motion itself felt4 ,this you will find is in the larger modelling of the whole surface--the heave of it as distinguished from the waves themselves4 ,the waves are a part of that motion of course2 but give the wave-drawing only1 without their relation to the great swing of the whole body of water1 and you get rigidity rather than movement4 ,the wave movement is in and because of this larger motion4 ,see that first1 and make it most evident1 then let the waves themselves cut it up and help to express it4 ,illustration3 ,entrance to ,zuyder ,zee4 ,clarkson ,stanfield4 ,wave ,drawing4--,how shall you draw so changeable a thing as a wave8 ,every wave has a type of form1 has a characteristic movement and shape2 and as it changes it comes into a new position and shape in logical and practically identical sequence of movement4 ,you can only study this by constant watching4 ,you look at the wave1 and then turn your eyes away to fix it on your canvas2 as you look back1 the wave is not there4 ,well1 you can only not try to make a portrait of each wave2 it isn't possible4 ,don't expect to4 ,study the movement and type forms2 think of it2 fix it in your mind2 decide on the mass and suggestive relation of it to other masses1 and put that down4 ,there is never a recurrence of the same thing either in exact form or color1 but fix your eyes on one place1 and over and over again you will see a succession of waves of similar kind4 ,or look at a wave and follow it as it drives on2 changes come and go1 but the wave form in the main keeps itself for some time4 ,look over a large field of the water without too sharply focussing the eyes1 you will see the great lines and planes of modelled surface over and over again taking the same or similar shapes1 positions1 and relations4 ,and as you look your eye will follow the movement in spite of yourself4 ,your gaze will gradually come nearer and nearer2 but meanwhile1 in following the wave1 it will have felt that the wave was the same in shape1 but only varied in position4 ,in this way you will come to know the wave forms4 ,jot them down1 either in color or with charcoal2 but do not look for outline too much4 ,try to study the forms and relations1 mainly by the broad touch1 with a characteristic direction and movement4 ,no amount of explanation will tell you anything4 ,you must sit and look1 think1 analyze1 and suggest1 then generalize as well as you can4 ,open ,sea and ,coast4--,the open sea is all movement4 ,even a ship1 the most rigid thing on it1 moves with it4 ,but you do not have to study these things from the standpoint of invariable movement4 ,you can start from a stable base4 ,study coast things first4 ,you have then the relation of the movement of the water to the rock or land1 and you can simplify the thing somewhat4 ,what has been said of motion holds good still2 but you can get something definite in a rock mass1 and study the changes near it1 and then extend your study as you feel strong enough4 ,the study of coast scenery is quite as full of changing beauty as the open sea1 and it has certain types that belong to it alone4 ,breakers and surf1 and the contrast of land and sea colors and forms1 give great variety of subject and problem4 ,in the drawing of rocks the study of character is quite as important1 but not so evasive1 as the study of wave forms4 ,you must try to give the feeling of weight to them4 ,the mass and immovability add to the charm and character of the water about them4 ,subject4--,don't undertake too much expanse on one canvas4 ,of course there are times when expanse is itself the main theme2 but aside from that1 too much expanse will make too little of other things which you should study4 ,whether your canvas be big or little1 to get expanse everything in the way of detail and form must be relatively small1 otherwise there is no room on the canvas for the expanse4 ,so if you would paint some surf1 or a rock and breakers1 or a ship1 place the main thing in proper proportion to the canvas1 and let the expanse take care of itself1 making the main thing large enough to study it adequately4 ,if it is too small on the canvas1 you cannot do this4 ,ships4--,the painting of the sea necessarily involves more or less the painting of vessels of different kinds4 ,you may put the ship in so insignificant a relation to the picture that a very vague representation of it will do1 but you must have a thorough knowledge of all the details of structure and type if you give any prominence to the ship in your picture4 ,detail4--,you do not need to put in every rope in a vessel4 ,you do not need to follow out every line in the standing rigging even1 in order to paint a ship properly4 ,to do this would miss the spirit of it1 and make the thing rigid and lifeless4 ,but ignorance will not take the place of pedantry for all that4 ,every kind of vessel has its own peculiar structure1 its own peculiar proportions1 and its own peculiar arrangement of spar and rigging4 ,whether you are complete or not in the detailing of the masts and rigging1 you must know and represent the true character of the craft you are painting4 ,you must take the trouble to know how1 why1 and when sails are set1 and what are the kinds1 number1 and proportion of them1 and their arrangement on any kind of vessel or boat you may paint4 ,there is again only one way to know this4 ,if you are not especially a painter of marines1 you may find that the study of some particular vessel in its present condition and relation to surrounding things will serve your turn2 but if you go in for the painting of marine pictures generally1 you can only get to know vessels by being on and about them at all seasons and places4 ,your regular marine painter fills dozens and hundreds of sketch-books with pencilled notes of details and positions and accidents and incidents of all sorts and conditions of ships4 ,ships under full sail and under reefed canvas2 ships in a squall and ships in dead calm--he can never have too many of these facts to refer to4 ,the true marine painter is nine parts a sailor4 ,if he does not take1 or has not taken a voyage at sea1 at least has passed and does pass a large part of his time among vessels and sailors4 ,he knows them both2 his details are facts that he understands4 ,and what he puts in or leaves out of a painting is done with the full knowledge of its relative importance to his picture and to the significance of the ship4 ,all this sounds like a good deal to undertake2 but to the man who loves the water and what sails upon it1 it is only following his liking1 and any one who does not love all this should content himself with only the most incidental sea painting2 for sea pictures are not to be painted from recipes any more than any other thing1 and ships particularly cannot be represented without an understanding of them4 ,and after all1 you do not have to do all this study at once4 ,if you will only study well each thing that you do1 and never paint one vessel or boat without understanding that one2 if you will study the one you are doing now1 and will do the same every time1--eventually you will have piled up a vast deal of knowledge without having realized how much you were doing4 ,color of ,water4--,you must study the color of water in the large when you paint it4 ,remember that its color depends on other things than what it is itself4 ,the character of the bottom1 whether it be rocky or sandy1 and the depth of the water1 will affect its color2 and to one accustomed to see these things1 the picture betrays its truth or falsity at a glance1 especially as the character of the wave and the great movement of the whole surface are influenced by the same things4 ,illustration3 ,girl ,spinning4 ,millet4 ,example of contre jour and out-of-door contrast of light and shade4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,figures ,the broadest classification of figure pictures is to consider them as of two kinds1--those painted in an out-door or diffused light1 and those painted in an in-door or concentrated light4 ,the painting of figures out-of-doors you will find more difficult if you have had no experience in painting them in the studio4 ,the problems of light and shade and color are more complex in the diffused light1 and the knowledge of structure and modelling1 as well as of special values gained by studio study1 will be most helpful to you when you paint out-of-doors4 ,i should say1 then1 don't attempt any serious painting of the human figure in the open air till you have had some experience with its special problems in the house4 ,the ,nude4--,no good figure-work has ever been done which was not founded on a knowledge of the nude4 ,whether the figure is draped or not1 the nude is the basis of form4 ,the best painters have always made their studies of pose and action in the nude1 and then drawn the draperies over that4 ,this insures the truth of action and structure1 which is almost sure to be lost when the drawing of the form is made through drapery or clothing4 ,the underlying structure is as essential here as in portrait4 ,it is the more imperative that the body be felt within the clothes from the fact that it cannot be seen4 ,there must be no ambiguity2 no doubt as to the anatomy underneath2 for without this there can be no sense of actuality4 ,i do not say paint the nude4 ,on the contrary1 if you want to go so far as that in the study of the figure1 you must not attempt to do it with the aid of a book4 ,go to a good life class4 ,but ,i wish to emphasize the principle that when you undertake to paint anything involving the figure1 you must know something of the structure of what is more or less hidden1 and must make allowance for the disguising of form which the draping of it will inevitably cause4 ,and when you draw your figure1 you should lay in your main lines1 at any rate1 from the nude figure if you can4 ,if you cannot command a professional model for this purpose1 you can only be more careful about your study of the underlying lines and forms as they are suggested by the saliencies of the draperies4 ,if this is the case1 be most accurate in those measurements which place the proportions of the parts which show through the covering1 and try to trace out by the modelling where the lines would run4 ,by mapping out these proportions1 and drawing the lines over the drapery masses wherever you can make them out1 you can judge to a certain extent of the truth of action in your drawing4 ,the use of a lay figure will help you somewhat if you can get one which is true in proportion4 ,it will not help you much in the finer modelling1 but it will at least insure your structural lines being in the right place1 and that is as much as you can hope for without the special study of the nude4 ,a lay figure is expensive1 costing about three hundred dollars in this country4 ,you will hardly be apt to aspire to a full-sized one1 as only professional painters can afford to pay so much for accessories4 ,but small wooden ones are within the means of most people1 and will be found useful for the purpose ,i have mentioned1 and one should be obtained4 ,when you have assured yourself1 as far as you can by its use with and without special draperies1 of the right action of your drawing1 you must do your painting from the draped model4 ,the ,model4--,never paint without nature before you4 ,if you paint the figure1 never paint without the model4 ,for the sake of the study of it1 it goes without saying that you can learn to paint the figure only by studying from the figure4 ,but beyond that1 for the sake of your picture1 you can have no hope of doing good work without working from the actual object represented4 ,the greatest masters have never done pictures out of their heads4 ,the compositions and sthetic qualities came from their heads it is true1 but they never worked these things out on canvas without the aid of nature4 ,and the greater the master1 the more humble was he in his dependence on nature for the truth of his facts4 ,much more1 then1 the student needs to keep himself rigidly to the guidance of nature2 and this he can only do by the constant use of the model4 ,one ,figure or ,many4--,whether you have one or more figures1 the problem may be kept the same4 ,the canvas must balance in mass and line and in color4 ,when you decide to make a picture with several figures1 study the composition first as if they were not figures1 but groups of masses and line4 ,get the whole to balance and compose1 then decide your color composition4 ,simplify rather than make complex4 ,the more you have of number1 the more you should consider them as parts of a whole4 ,keep the idea of grouping2 combine the figures1 rather than divide them4 ,have every figure in some logical relation to its group1 and then the group in relation to the other parts4 ,don't string them out or spot them about4 ,study the spaces between as well as the spaces they occupy4 ,and don't fill up these spaces with background objects4 ,that will not bind the group together1 but will separate it4 ,fill the spaces with air and with values--even more important6 ,all this arranged1 paint each group and each figure as if it were one thing instead of many4 ,as you treat the head1 the body1 the dress1 and the chair as all parts of a whole in a single sitting figure1 so treat the various heads1 bodies1 dresses1 etc41 in a group as parts of a whole1 by studying always the relations of each to each4 ,and then study to keep the different groups as parts of whole canvas in the same way4 ,simplicity of ,subject4--,but do not be too ambitious in your attempts4 ,keep your subjects simple4 ,don't be in a hurry to paint many figures4 ,paint one figure well before you try several4 ,you will find plenty of scope for your knowledge and skill in single figures4 ,practise with sketches and compositions1 if you will1 in grouping several figures1 and try to manage them so that the whole shall be simple in mass and effect2 but do not attempt1 as a student1 without experience and skill in the painting of one figure1 to paint pictures containing several4 ,by the time you can really paint a single figure well1 you can dispense with a manual of painting1 and branch out as ambitiously as you please4 ,in the meantime1 everything that you have knowledge enough to express well1 you can express with the single figure4 ,with the model1 the background1 the pose and occupation1 the clothing and draperies1 and whatever accessories may be natural to the thing as elements1 it is possible to work out all the problems of line and mass and color4 ,if a really fine thing cannot be made with one figure1 more figures will only make it worse4 ,look again at ,whistler's portrait of his mother4 ,consider it now1 not as a portrait1 but as a single figure4 ,what are the qualities of it which would be helped if there were more in it8 ,the very simplicity of it makes the handling of it more masterly4 ,look also at the one simple figure of ,millet's ,sower2 all the great qualities of painting that are likely to get themselves onto one canvas you will find in this4 ,see what movement and dignity there are in it4 ,how statuesque it is6 ,it is monumental4 ,it has scale2 it imposes its own standard of measurement4 ,there are air and envelopment and light and breadth4 ,are these not qualities enough for one canvas8 ,nature the ,suggester4--,take your suggestions1 your ideas1 for pictures from nature4 ,keep your eyes open4 ,observe all poses which may hint of possible schemes of light and shade1 of composition1 or of color4 ,it is marvellous how constantly groupings and poses and effects of all kinds occur in every-day life4 ,humanity is kaleidoscopic in its succession of changes2 one after another giving a phase new and different1 but equally suggestive of a picture if you will take the hint4 ,the picture which originates in a natural occurrence is always true if it is sincerely and frankly painted4 ,truth is more various than fiction4 ,it is easier to see than to invent4 ,and in the arrangement of the material which nature freely and constantly furnishes to him there is scope for all the invention of man4 ,action and ,character4--,the picture comes from the action--resides in it4 ,the action comes from the act1 and is natural to it1 expressive of it4 ,any gesture or position which is the natural and unaffected result of an essential action will be true and vital1 suggestive of nature1 and beautiful because it will inevitably have character--be characteristic4 ,the beauty of the picture is not something external to the costumes1 occupations1 and life which surround you1 but is to be found1 contained in it1 and brought out1 manifested1 made visible1 by the mere logical working out of the need1 the custom1 or the occasion4 ,emphasis is only the salience of the most natural movement4 ,daily life swarms with pictures4 ,you do not need to go to other places and other times for subjects4 ,if you are awake to what is going on around you1 if you see the essential line of the occupation1 or the mass and color which is incidental to every least activity1 you will have more suggested to you than you have time to do justice to4 ,and it is your business to see the beautiful in the commonplace4 ,everything is commonplace till you see the charm in it4 ,the artistic possibility does not lie in the unusual in any subject1 but in the fact that the thing cannot get done without action and grouping and color and contrast2 and these are the artist's opportunities4 ,keep your eyes open for them2 learn to recognize them when you see them2 look for these rather than for the details of the accidental fact which brings them out4 ,see the movement of it1 and the relation of it to what surrounds it1 and you will hardly avoid seeing the picture in it4 ,here is a composition which is an almost literal rendering of the movement and light and shade effect of a position quite accidentally seen4 ,the whole effect of lighting and of line1 the grouping and the pose1 resulted purely from the musician's desire to get a good light on his music4 ,there was no need to add to it4 ,it was simply necessary to recognize the charm of it1 and to represent that charm through it as frankly as it could be done4 ,illustration3 ,sketch of a ,flute ,player4 ,d4 ,burleigh ,parkhurst4 ,posing the ,model4--,let the character of the model suggest the pose4 ,if you have a scheme for a picture1 choose a model whose personality will lend itself naturally to the occupation or action natural to that scheme4 ,then follow the suggestion which you find in the model4 ,some rearrangement will always be necessary if you do not use as a model the same person who originally gave you the idea for the picture4 ,every human being has a different manner4 ,you cannot hope for exactly the same expression in one person that you found in another4 ,but put the model as nearly as you can in the same situation and pose1 and then when the model eases from the unnatural muscular balance into the one natural to him1 you will find the idea taken from your first observation translated into the characteristics of your present model4 ,never try to place a model in a pose which he can only hold by an unnatural strain4 ,you will not get a satisfactory result from it4 ,study your model2 see what poses he most naturally falls into1 and then take advantage of one of these1 and arrange your picture with reference to it4 ,never attempt to represent a character in your picture by using a model of a different class or type from it2 you will not be successful either in painting a lady from a model who is a peasant1 nor in painting a peasant from a model who is a lady4 ,the life and occupation and thought common to your model will get into your painting of her2 and if that is not in accordance to the idea in the picture1 your picture will be false4 ,the dress1 no less than the pose and occupation1 must be such as is natural to your model4 ,the accessories of your picture must befit the character you wish to paint2 otherwise your model becomes no more than a lay figure4 ,take note of the characteristics which are peculiar to your model1 and use them2 do not change them nor idealize them4 ,rather paint them as they are1 and make them a vital part of your study of the subject4 ,this is the best you can do with these characteristics4 ,they may be the most expressive thing in your picture4 ,if they are of such a nature that you cannot use them in this way1 then do not use this model at all2 you cannot get rid of these things4 ,in trying to obscure or idealize them1 you only lose character1 or paint a character into your model which is unnatural to him2 the result will not be satisfactory4 ,quiet ,sitters4--,an inexperienced painter should not use a model with too much vivacity of body or of expression4 ,the quiet1 reposeful1 thoughtful model1 who will change little in position or manner1 will simplify the problem4 ,a model too wide awake or too sleepy will either of them give you trouble4 ,avoid very young children as models1 and particularly babies4 ,they are never quiet1 and the problems you will have even with the best of models will be made enormously more difficult by their restlessness4 ,for your first work choose models with well-marked faces1 and pose them in a direct light which will give you the simplest and strongest effect of light and shade4 ,see that your sitter is in as comfortable a position as you can get him into1 so that the pose can be held easily4 ,don't attempt difficult and unusual attitudes4 ,such things require much skill and knowledge to take advantage of1 and to use successfully4 ,make your effect more in the study of composition and color than in fanciful poses4 ,later1 when you have gained experience1 you may do this sort of thing4 ,if you are painting a face1 see that the eyes are in at a restful angle with the head1 and that they are not facing a too strong light1 nor are obliged to look at a blank space4 ,give them room to have a restful focus1 and perhaps something pleasant or interesting to look at4 ,length of ,pose4--,no sitter can hold a pose in perfect motionlessness4 ,do not expect it4 ,you must learn to make allowance for certain slight changes which are always occurring4 ,you must give your model plenty of rest1 too1 especially if he be not a professional model4 ,a half-hour pose to ten minutes' rest is as much as a regular model expects to do as a rule4 ,if you have a friend posing for you1 particularly if it be a woman1 twenty minutes' pose and ten minutes' rest1 for a couple of hours1 is all you should expect2 and if the pose is a standing one1 this will probably be more than she can hold--make the rests longer4 ,an inexperienced model--and sometimes even a trained one--is likely to faint while posing1 particularly if the room be close4 ,look out for this2 watch your sitter1 and see that she is not looking tired4 ,the minute that you see the least sign of fatigue1 if she shows pallor--rest4 ,do not get so absorbed in your canvas that you do not notice your model's condition4 ,if you are observing and studying your model as closely as you should1 you can hardly fail to notice any change that may occur1 and you should at once give her relief4 ,distance4--,don't work too near your model1 nor too near your canvas4 ,as regards the first1 be far enough away to see the whole of the figure you are painting1 or of that part which you are doing1 entirely at one focus of the eye1 and yet near enough to see the detail clearly4 ,if you are too near1 you see parts at a time1 and do not see it as a whole4 ,if you are too far1 you see too generally for good study4 ,you might make it a rule to be away from your subject a distance of about three or four times the extreme measurement of it4 ,if it is a full length1 say fifteen to twenty feet1 if you can get so large a room4 ,if it is a head and shoulders1 about six or eight feet4 ,never get closer than six feet4 ,as to your canvas1 work at arm's length4 ,don't bend over--again you see parts1 and you must treat your canvas as a whole4 ,never rest your hand or arm on the canvas4 ,train your arm to be steady4 ,sit up straight1 hold your brush well out at the end of the handle1 and your arm extended2 now and then1 if you need closer work1 lean forward1 and if necessary use a rest-stick2 but as a rule your work will be stronger and hang together better if you work as ,i have suggested4 ,of course you will often get up1 and walk away from your work4 ,set your easel alongside the model1 and go away to a distance1 and compare them4 ,too intense application to the canvas forgets that relations1 effect1 and wholeness of impression are of the greatest importance1 and are only to be judged of when seen at some distance4 ,background4--,under the general title of background you may place everything which will come in as accessory to the figure1 and against or alongside of which it stands4 ,the picture must hang together2 must have envelopment2 must be a whole1 not an aggregation of parts4 ,everything that goes to the making up of this whole must have a natural and logical connection with it4 ,from the first conception of the picture you must consider the background as an essential part of it1 and as something which will have a vital effect upon the figure4 ,the color of the background must be thought of as a part of1 because affecting1 the figure itself4 ,the simplicity or variety in the background1 the number of objects in it1 must be considered as to the effect on the figure also4 ,you cannot make the background a patchwork of objects and colors without interfering with the effect of the main thing in the picture4 ,if your figure is simple and quiet1 keep the background the same4 ,make it a principle to treat the background simply always4 ,if the character of the case demands some detail1 and a variety of objects1 then treat them so that their effect is as simple as possible2 and the figure must be made stronger1 in order that the variety in the background shall not overpower it4 ,control it by the way the light or the color masses1 or simplify the painting of them4 ,keep the background in value as regards prominence and relief of objects as well as in the matter of color4 ,composition of ,backgrounds4--,you can make the background help the figure1 not merely by the painting of objects which help to explain1--that is of course1--but in the placing and arranging of them you may emphasize the composition4 ,whether the background be a curtain with its folds1 or an interior with its furniture1 you can and must make every object1 every fold of the drapery1 every mass of wall or object1 distinctly help out in the composition as line and mass4 ,your composition must balance2 the line and movement of the figure must have its true relation4 ,the way you use whatever goes into the picture1 the objects which make up the background1 the way they group1 and the spaces between them1 must have a helpful reference to that movement1 and to the balance of the whole4 ,simplicity4--,lean always towards simplicity in composition as against complexity4 ,in backgrounds particularly1 avoid detail and over-variety4 ,don't have the whole surface of the canvas spotted with things4 ,if it is necessary1 put it in2 if it is not necessary1 leave it out2 and if there is the slightest doubt which it is1 leave it out4 ,the most common and the most fatal mistake is to make the picture too interesting4 ,the interest in a picture does not lie in the quantity of things expressed1 but in the character of them1 and in the quality of their representation4 ,if you cannot treat a simple composition well1 if you cannot make a picture balance well1 and make it interesting with a quiet background1 be sure a multitude of objects will not help it4 ,the more you put into it the worse it will be4 ,learn to be master of the less before you try to be master of the more4 ,illustration3 ,milton ,dictating ,paradise ,lost4 ,munkacsy4 ,to show use of background4 ,notice also the composition4 ,lighting4--,i have spoken of lighting in general in other chapters4 ,you must apply the principles to your use of figures4 ,study the different effects which you can get on the model by the different ways of placing in reference to the window4 ,whatever lighting will be difficult in one kind of painting will be no less so in another4 ,avoid cross-lights1 and do not be ambitious to try unusual and exceptional effects4 ,if one should occur to you as charming1 of course do it1 if it is not too difficult1 but don't go around hunting for the strange and weird4 ,there is beauty enough for all occasions in such effects as are constantly coming under your observation4 ,what was said about simplicity of subject will apply here as well1 for the light and color effect is naturally a part of the subject4 ,the most practical lights are those which fall from one side1 so as to give simple masses of light and dark2 they should come from above the level of the head1 so as to throw the shadow somewhat downwards4 ,contre ,jour4--,one kind of posing with reference to lighting1 gives very beautiful effect1 but calls for close study of values1 and is very difficult4 ,it is called in ,french1 contre jour2 that is1 literally1 against the day1 or1 against the light4 ,it is a placing of the model so that the light comes from behind1 and the figure is dark against the light4 ,from its difficulty it should not be taken as a study by a beginner1 for modelling and color are difficult enough at best4 ,when they are to be gotten in the low key that the light behind necessitates1 and with the close values which this implies1 the difficulty is enormously increased4 ,but before you attempt the human figure in the open air1 you will find it very good study to work in the house contre jour4 ,the effect of a figure out-doors has many of the qualities of contre jour4 ,the diffusion of light and the many reflections make the problem more complex2 but the contrast1 the close values1 and the subtle modelling which you must study in contre jour will be good previous training before going out-doors with a model4 ,look at ,millet's ,shepherdess ,spinning1 at the head of this chapter1 as an example of contre jour4 ,figures ,out-of-doors4--,in painting1 an object is always a part of its environment4 ,so a figure must partake of the characteristics of its surroundings4 ,out-of-doors it is part of the landscape1 characterized by the qualities which are peculiar to landscape4 ,the diffusion of light1 the vibration and the movement of it1 the brilliancy and pitch1 the cross-reflections and the envelopment1--all these give to the figure a quality quite different from that which it has in the house4 ,there is no such definiteness either of drawing1 or of light and shade1 or of color4 ,the problem is a different one4 ,you must treat your figure no more as something which you can control the effect of1 but as something which1 place it in what position1 in what surroundings1 you will1 it will still be affected by conditions over which you have no control4 ,textures and surface qualities1 local or personal colors1 lose their significance to the figure out-of-doors4 ,they become lost in other things4 ,the pose1 the action1 the mass1 the note of color or value1--these are what are of importance4 ,the more you search for the qualities which would be a matter of course in the house1 the more you will lose the essential quality1--the quality of the fact of out-doors4 ,when in the house1 you can have things as definite as you wish2 out-doors you will find a continual play of varying color and light4 ,the shadows do not fall where you expect them to4 ,the values are less marked4 ,the stillness of the pose is interfered with by the constant movement of nature4 ,the color is influenced by the diffused color of the atmosphere and the reflected color of the grass1 the trees1 and the sky4 ,the light does not fall on the face so much as it falls around it4 ,the modelling is less1 the planes are not precise4 ,the expression is as much due to the influence of what is around it as to the face itself4 ,all this means that you must study and paint the figure from a new point of view4 ,you do not make so much of what the model is as how the model looks in these surroundings4 ,you must not look for so much decision1 and you must study values closely4 ,look more for the modelling of the mass than for the modelling of surface4 ,look more for the vibration of light and air on the flesh and drapery colors than for these colors in themselves4 ,look for color of contours in the model4 ,study the subtleties of values of contours1 and make your figure relieve by the contrast of value in mass rather than by the modelling within the outline4 ,see how the figure tells as a whole against what is behind it first1 and keep all within that first relation4 ,illustration3 ,buckwheat ,harvest4 ,millet4 ,it is possible to look for and to find many of the qualities which distinguish the figure in the studio light2 sometimes you may want to do so4 ,the telling of a story1 the literary side of the picture1 if you want that side1 sometimes needs help that way4 ,but in this you lose larger characteristics1 and the picture as a whole will not have the spirit of open air in it4 ,what has been said of the painting of landscape applies to the painting of figures in landscapes4 ,pose your figure out-of-doors if you would represent it out-of-doors4 ,then paint it as if it were any other out-door object4 ,if the figure is more important to the composition than anything else in the landscape1 as it often will be1 then study that mainly1 and treat the rest as background1 but as background which has an influence which must be constantly recognized4 ,never finish a figure begun out-doors by painting afterwards from a model posed in the house4 ,leave the figure as you bring it in4 ,if it is not finished1 at least it will be in keeping with itself2 and this will surely be lost if you try to work it from a model in different conditions4 ,animals4--,animals should be considered as figures out-of-doors4 ,there is no essential difference in the handling one sort of a figure or another4 ,the anatomy is different1 and the light falls on different textures1 but the principle is not changed4 ,you must consider them as forms influenced by diffused light and diffused color1 and paint them so4 ,you will find that often1 especially in full sunlight1 the color peculiar to the thing itself is not to be seen at all4 ,the character of the light which falls on it gives the note1 and controls4 ,in the shade the effect is less marked1 but the constant flicker makes the same sort of variation1 though not to the same extent4 ,there is no secret of painting animals either in the house or out-of-doors which is not the same as the secret of painting the human figure4 ,if you would paint an animal1 get one for a model and study it4 ,work in some sort of a house-light first1 in a barn or shed1 or1 if it be a small animal1 in your studio4 ,study as you would any other thing1 from a chair to a man4 ,the principles of drawing do not change with the character of anatomy4 ,the animal may be less amiable a poser1 but you must make allowance for that4 ,when you have got a knowledge of the form1 and the character of color and surface1 take the animal out-doors1 get some one to help hold him1 and apply the same principles that would govern your study of a rock or a tree in the open air4 ,as for fur1 and all that sort of thing1 treat it as you would any other texture-problem in still life4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,procedure ,,in ,a ,,picture ,some pictures1 particularly those begun and finished in the open air1 may be frankly commenced immediately on the canvas from nature as she is before the painter1 and without any special processes or methods of procedure carried on to completion4 ,but many pictures are of a sort which renders this manner of work unwise or impossible4 ,there may be too many figures involved4 ,the composition1 the drawing1 or other arrangement may be too complicated for it1 and then the painter has to have some methodical and systematic way of bringing his picture into existence4 ,he must take preliminary measures to ensure his work coming out as he intends1 and must proceed in an orderly and regular manner in accordance with the planning of the work4 ,it is in this sort of thing that he finds sketches and studies essential to the painting of the picture as distinguished from their more common use as training for him1 or accumulation of general facts4 ,preliminaries4--,there must be made numbers of sketches1 first of the slightest and merely suggestive1 and then of a more complete1 kind1 to develop the general idea of composition from the first and perhaps crude conception of the picture4 ,all the great painters have left examples of work in these various stages4 ,it is a part of the training of every student in art schools to make these composition sketches1 and to develop them more or less fully in larger work4 ,in the ,french schools there are monthly concours1 when men compete for prizes with work1 and their success is influenced by a previous concour of these composition sketches4 ,this preliminary sketch in its completed stage gives the number and position and movement of the figures and accessories1 with the arrangement of light and shade and color4 ,there is no attempt to give anything more than the most general kind of drawing1 such details as the features1 fingers1 etc41 being neglected4 ,the light and shade on the single figures also is not expressed1 but the light and shade effect of the whole picture is carefully shown1 and the same with the color-scheme4 ,it is this first sketch that establishes the character of the future picture in everything but the details4 ,sometimes this work is done on a quite large canvas1 but usually is not more than a foot or two long1 and of corresponding width4 ,studies4--,after this there must be studies made for the drawing of the single figures1 and for more exactness of line and action in the bringing of all together into the whole4 ,this work is usually done in charcoal1 from the life1 and sometimes on a piece of drawing-paper stretched over the same canvas that the picture will be painted on1 or otherwise arranged1 but of the same size4 ,often1 however1 this work1 too1 is done on a smaller scale than that of the picture1 especially when the picture is to be very large4 ,this is based on the preliminary sketch as composition1 and is intended to carry that idea out more in full1 and perfect the drawing of the different figures1 and to harmonize the composition4 ,the composition and relation of figures both as to size and position on the final canvas depend on this study4 ,illustration3 ,study of ,fortune4 ,michael ,angelo4 ,corrections4--,in making these studies and in transferring them to the canvas1 corrections are of course often necessary4 ,the correction may or may not be satisfactory4 ,to avoid too great confusion from the number of corrections in the same place1 they are not made always directly on the study or canvas1 but on a curtain of tissue paper dropped over it4 ,the figure may be completely drawn1 and is to be modified in whole or in part4 ,the tissue paper receives the new drawing1 and the old drawing shows through it1 and the effect of the correction can be compared with that of the first idea4 ,the study itself need not then be changed until the alteration which is satisfactory is found1 as the process may be repeated as many times as necessary on the tissue paper1 and the alterations finally embodied in the completed study4 ,figure ,studies4--,the studies for the various single figures are now made in the nude from the model1 generally a quarter or half life size--a careful1 accurate light and shade drawing of every figure in the picture1 the model being posed in the position determined on in the study just spoken of4 ,sometimes further single studies are made with the same models draped1 and generally special studies of drapery are made as well2 these studies are afterwards used to place the figures in position on the canvas before the painting begins4 ,transferring4--,the composition study must now be transferred to the canvas1 to give the general arrangement and relative position1 size1 and action of the figures1 etc4 ,if the drawing is the same size as the canvas it is done by tracing1 if not1 then it is squared up4 ,in this stage of the process mechanical exactness of proportion is the thing required1 as well as the saving of time2 all things having been planned beforehand1 and freedom of execution coming in later4 ,this establishes the proportions1 the sizes1 and positions of the several figures on the final canvas4 ,the drawing is not at this stage complete4 ,the more general relations only are the purpose of this4 ,onto this preparation the studies drawn from the nude model are squared up1 and the drawing corrected again from the nude model4 ,this drawing is now covered with its drapery1 which is drawn from the life in charcoal1 or a frotte of some sort4 ,at this stage the canvas should represent1 in monochrome1 very justly1 what the finished picture will be in composition1 drawing1 and light and shade4 ,if the frotte of various colors 7as suggested in the chapter on ,still ,life7 has been used1 the general color scheme will show also4 ,this completes the preliminary process of the picture1 and when the painting is begun with a frotte1 this stage includes also the first painting4 ,the bouch4--,an bouch is a painting which1 mainly with body color1 blocks in broadly and simply the main masses of a composition4 ,sometimes an bouch is used as one of the preliminary color studies for a picture1 especially if there is some problem of drapery massing to be determined1 or other motive purely of color and mass4 ,or if there is some piece of landscape detail such as a building or what not to come in1 bouches for it will be made to be used in completing the picture4 ,but more commonly the bouch is the first blocking-in painting of the picture1 by means of which the greater masses of color and value are laid onto the canvas1 somewhat rudely1 but strongly1 so as to give a strong1 firm impression of the picture1 and a solid under-painting on which future work may be done4 ,whether this bouch is rough or smooth1 just how much of it will be body or solid color and how much transparent1 just what degree of finish this painting will have1--these depend on the man who does it4 ,no two men work precisely the same way4 ,some men make what is practically a large and very complete sketch4 ,some paint quite smoothly or frankly1 with more or less of an effect of being finished as they go1 working from one side of the picture gradually across the whole canvas4 ,others work a bit here and a bit there1 and fill in between as they feel inclined4 ,another way is to patch in little spots of rather pure color1 so that the bouch looks like a sort of mosaic of paint4 ,in the matter of color1 too1 there is great difference of method4 ,some men lay in the picture with stronger color than they intend the finished picture to have1 and gray it and bring it together with after-painting4 ,others go to the other extreme1 and paint grayer and lighter1 depending on glazings and full touches of color later on to richen and deepen the color4 ,all the way between these two are modifications of method4 ,the main difference between these extremes is that when stronger color is used in the first painting1 the process is to paint with solid color all through2 while if glazings are to be much used1 the bouch must be lighter and quieter in color1 to allow for the results of after-painting4 ,for you cannot glaze up4 ,you always glaze down4 ,the glaze being a transparent color1 used without white1 will naturally make the color under it more brilliant in color1 but darker in value1 just as it would if you laid a piece of colored glass over it4 ,and this result must be calculated on beforehand4 ,illustration3 bouch of ,portrait4 ,th4 ,robinson4 ,one sitting of one hour and a half4 ,which of all these methods is best to use depends altogether on which best suits the man and his purpose in the picture or his temperament4 ,a rough bouch will not make a smooth picture4 ,a mosaic gives a pure1 clear basis of color to gray down and work over1 and may be scraped for a good surface4 ,it is a deliberate method1 and will be successful only with a thoughtful1 deliberate painter4 ,if a man is a timid colorist1 a strong1 even crude1 under-painting will help to strengthen his color4 ,a good colorist will get color any way4 ,for a student1 the more directly he puts down what he sees1 the less he calculates on the effect of future after-painting1 the better4 ,but whichever way a man works as to these various beginnings1 the chief thing is1 that he understand beforehand what are the peculiar advantages and qualities of each1 and that he consider before he begins what he expects to do1 and how he purposes to do it4 ,further ,painting4--,the first painting may be put in from nature with the help of the several models in succession4 ,more probably it will be put in from the color sketch which furnishes the general scheme1 and from a number of studies and bouches which will give the principal material for each part of the canvas4 ,with the next painting comes the more exact study from models and accessories themselves4 ,the under-painting is in1 the color relations and the contrasts of masses1 but all is more or less crude and undeveloped4 ,every one thing in the picture must be gradually brought to a further stage of completion4 ,the background is not as yet to be carried farther as a whole4 ,if the canvas is all covered1 so that the background effect is there1 it is all that is needed as yet4 ,the most important figures are to be painted1 beginning with the heads and hands1 and at the same time painting the parts next to them1 the background and drapery close around them1 so that the immediate values shall all be true as far as it has gone4 ,no small details are painted yet4 ,the whole canvas is carried forward by painting all over it1 no one thing being entirely finished2 for the same degree of progress should be kept up for the whole picture4 ,to finish any one part long before the rest is done1 would be to run the risk of over-painting that part4 ,after the heads and other flesh parts1 the draperies should be brought up1 and the background and all objects in it painted1 to bring the whole picture to the same degree of completion4 ,this finishes the second painting4 ,it is all done from nature direct1 and is painted solidly as a rule4 ,even if the first painting has been a frotte this one will have been solidly painted into that frotte1 although the transparent rubbing may have been left showing1 whenever it was true in effect2 most probably in the shadows and broader dark masses of the backgrounds4 ,in this second painting no glazings or scumblings come in4 ,the canvas is brought forward as far as possible with direct frank brush-work with body color before these other processes can be used4 ,glazes and such manipulations require a solid under-painting1 and a comparative completion of the picture for safe work4 ,these processes are for the modifying of color mainly2 you do not draw nor represent the more important and fundamental facts of the picture with them4 ,all these things are painted first1 in the most frank and direct way1 and then you can do anything you want to on a sure basis of well-understood representation4 ,there will be structure underneath your future processes4 ,the ,third ,painting4--,the third painting simply goes over the picture in the same manner as the second1 but marking out more carefully the important details and enforcing the accuracy of features1 or strengthening the accents of dark and bringing up those of the lights4 ,the procedure will1 of course1 be different1 according as the picture was begun with an bouch of body color or a frotte of transparent color4 ,the third painting will1 in either case1 carry the picture as a whole further toward being finished4 ,rough and ,smooth4--,if body color has been used pretty freely in the two first paintings1 the surface of paint will be pretty rough in places by the time it is ready for the third painting4 ,whether that roughness is a thing to be got rid of or not is something for the painter to decide for himself4 ,among the greatest of painters there have always been men who painted smoothly and men who painted roughly4 ,i have considered elsewhere the subject of detail1 but the question of detail bears on that of the roughness of the painting2 for minute detail is not possible with much roughness of surface2 the fineness of the stroke which secures the detail is lost in the corrugations of the heavier brush-strokes4 ,the effect of color1 and especially luminosity1 has much to do with the way the paint is put on also1 and all these things are to be considered4 ,as a rule1 it might be well to look upon either extreme as something not of importance in itself4 ,the mere quality of smoothness on the canvas is of no consequence or value1 any more than the mere quality of roughness is4 ,if these things are necessary to or consequent upon the getting of certain other qualities which are justly to be considered worth striving for1 then these qualities will be seen on the canvas1 and will be all right4 ,the painter will do well to look on them as something incidental merely to the picture4 ,if he will simply work quite frankly1 intent on the expression of what is true and vital to his picture1 the question of the surface quality of his canvas will not bother him beyond the effect that it has upon his attaining of that expression4 ,scraping4--,the second painting will be well dry before the third begins1 especially if the paint be more rough and uneven than is for any reason desirable4 ,almost every painter scrapes his pictures more or less4 ,there is pretty sure to be some part of it in which there is roughness just where he doesn't want it4 ,for the third painting1 that is to say1 after the main things in the picture are practically entirely finished1 there remains to be done the strengthening and richening and modifying of the colors1 values1 and accents1 and the bringing of the whole picture together by a general overworking4 ,before this begins1 the picture may need scraping more or less all over4 ,if it does need it1 you may use a regular tool made for that purpose2 or the blade of a razor may be used1 it being held firmly in such a position that there is no danger of its cutting the canvas4 ,it is not necessary to scrape the paint smooth1 but only to take off such projections and unevenness of paint as would interfere with the proper over-painting4 ,the third painting represents any and all processes that may be used to complete the picture4 ,there is no rule as to the number of processes or paintings4 ,you may have a dozen paintings if you want them1 and after the first two they are all modifications and subdivisions of the third painting2 for they all add to furthering the completion of the picture4 ,they are all done more or less from nature1 as the second painting was4 ,there should be very little done to any picture without constant reference to nature4 ,if you glaze your picture1 glaze one part at a time4 ,don't tone it with a general wash of some color4 ,that is not the way pictures are brought into tone1 nor is that the purpose of the glaze4 ,the glaze1 like any other application of paint1 is put on just where it is needed to modify the color of that place where the color goes4 ,the use of a scumble is the same2 and both the glaze and the scumble will be painted into and over with solid color1 and that again modified as much as is called for4 ,the thing which is to be carefully avoided is not the use of any special process1 but the ceasing from the use of some process or other before the thing is as it should be1--don't stop before the picture represents the best1 the completest expression of the idea of the picture4 ,this completeness of expression may even go to the elimination of what is ordinarily looked upon as finish4 ,finish is not surface1 but expression2 and completeness of expression may demand roughness and avoidance of detail and surface at one time quite as positively as it demands more detail and consequent smoothness at another4 ,and this final completeness comes from the last paintings which ,i group together as the third4 ,scumble and glaze and paint into them1 and glaze and scumble again4 ,use any process which will help your picture to have those qualities which are always essential to any picture being a good one4 ,the qualities of line and mass1 composition that is1 you get from the first1 or you never can get it at all4 ,those qualities of character1 and truth of representation1 and exactness of meaning1 you get in the first paintings1 together with the more general qualities of color and tone4 ,emphasis and force of accent1 such detail as you want1 and the final and more delicate perceptions of color and tone1 you get in the third or last painting1 which may be divided into several paintings4 ,between ,paintings4--,when a painting is dry and you begin to work on it again1 you will probably find parts of its surface covered with a kind of bluish haze1 which quite changes its color or obscures the work altogether4 ,it is dried in4 ,in drying1 some of the oil of the last painting is absorbed by what is beneath it1 and the dead haze is the result4 ,you cannot paint on it without in some way bringing it back to its original color4 ,you cannot varnish it out at this stage1 for this will not have a good effect on your picture4 ,oiling ,out4--,you can oil it all over1 and then rub all the oil off that you can4 ,this will bring it out4 ,but the oil will tend to darken the picture2 too much oil should be avoided4 ,turpentine with a little oil in it will bring it out also1 but it will not stay out so long1 but perhaps long enough for you to work on it4 ,if you put a little siccative de ,harlem in it1 or use any picture varnish thinned with turpentine1 it will serve well enough4 ,there is a retouching varnish1 vernis retoucher1 which is made for this purpose1 and is perfectly safe and good4 ,the picture must be well dried before it is finally varnished4 ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,difficulties ,,of ,,beginners ,all painters have difficulty with their pictures1 but the trouble with the beginner is that he has not experience enough to know how to meet it4 ,the solving of all difficulties is a matter of application of fundamental principles to them2 but it is necessary to know these principles1 and to have applied them to simple problems1 before one can know how to apply them to less simple ones4 ,i have tried to deal fully with these principles rather than to tell how to do any one thing1 and to point out the application whenever it could be done4 ,there are1 however1 some things that almost always bother the beginner1 and it may be helpful to speak of them particularly4 ,selection of ,subject4--,one of the chief objections to copying as a method of beginning study is that while it teaches a good deal about surface-work1 it gives no practical training just when it is most needed4 ,the student who has only copied has no idea how to look for a composition1 how to place it on his canvas1 or how to translate into line and color the actual forms which he sees in nature4 ,these things are all done for him in the picture he is copying1 yet these are the very first things he should have practised in4 ,the making of a picture begins before the drawing and painting begins4 ,you see something out-doors1 or you see a group of people or a single person in an interesting position4 ,it is one thing to see it2 how are you practically to grasp it so as to get it on canvas8 ,that is quite a different thing4 ,how much shall you take in8 ,how much leave out8 ,what proportion of the canvas shall the main object or figure take up8 ,all these are questions which need some experience to answer4 ,in dealing with figures experience comes somewhat naturally1 because you will of course not undertake more than a head and shoulders1 with a plain background1 for your first work4 ,the selecting of subject in this is chiefly the choice of lighting and position of head1 which have been spoken of elsewhere2 and the placing of them on the canvas should be reduced to the making of the head as large as it will come conveniently4 ,the old rule was that the point of the nose should be about the middle of the canvas1 and in most cases on the ordinary canvas this brings the head in the right place4 ,as you paint more you will put in more and more of the figure1 and so progress comes very naturally4 ,but in landscape you are more than likely to be almost helpless at first4 ,there is so much all around you1 and so little saliency1 that it is hard to say where to begin and where to leave off4 ,practice in still life will help you somewhat1 but still things in nature are seldom arranged with that centralization which makes a subject easy to see4 ,even the simplicity which is sometimes obvious is1 when you come to paint it1 only the more difficult to handle because of its simplicity4 ,the simplicity which you should look for to make your selection of a subject easy is not the lack of something to draw1 but the definiteness of some marked object or effect4 ,what is good as a view is apt to be the reverse of suitable for a picture4 ,you want something tangible1 and you do not want too much or too little of it4 ,a long line of hill with a broad field beneath it1 for instance1 is simple enough1 but what is there for you to take hold of8 ,in an ordinary light it is only a few broad planes of value and color without an accent object to emphasize or centre on4 ,it can be painted1 of course1 and can be made a beautiful picture1 but it is a subject for a master1 not for a student4 ,but suppose there were a tree or a group of trees in the field2 suppose a mass of cloud obscured the sky1 and a ray of sunlight fell on and around the tree through a rift in the clouds4 ,or suppose the opposite of this4 ,suppose all was in broad light1 and the tree was strongly lighted on one side1 on the other shadowed1 and that it threw a mass of shadow below and to one side of it4 ,immediately there is something which you can take hold of and make your picture around4 ,the field and hill alone will make a study of distance and middle distance and foreground1 but it would not make an effective sketch4 ,the two effects ,i have supposed give the possibility for a sketch at once1 and what suggests a sketch suggests a picture4 ,this central object or effect which ,i have supposed also clears up the matter of the placing of your subject on the canvas4 ,with merely the hill and plain you might cut it off anywhere1 a mile or two one side or the other would make little or no difference to your picture4 ,but the tree and the effect of light decide the thing for you4 ,the tree and the lighting are the central idea of the picture4 ,very well1 then1 make them large enough on your canvas to be of that importance4 ,then what is around them is only so much more as the canvas will hold1 and you will place the tree where1 having the proper proportionate size1 it will also compose well and make the canvas balance1 being neither in the middle exactly nor too much to one side4 ,here are two photographs taken in the same field and of the same view1 with the camera pointed in the same direction in both4 ,one shows the lack of saliency1 although the tree is there4 ,in the other the camera was simply carried forward a hundred yards or so1 until the tree became large enough to be of importance in the composition4 ,the placing is simply a better position with reference to the tree in this case4 ,centralize4--,now1 as you go about looking for things to sketch1 look always for some central object or effect4 ,if you find that what seems very beautiful will not give you anything definite and graspable1--some contrast of form1 or light and shade1 or color1--don't attempt it4 ,the thing is beautiful1 and has doubtless a picture in it1 but not for you4 ,you are learning how to look for and to find a subject1 and you must begin with what is readily sketched1 without too much subtlety either of form or color or value4 ,placing4--,having found your subject with something definite in it1 you must place it on your canvas so that it tells4 ,it will not do to put it in haphazard1 letting any part of it come anywhere as it happens4 ,you will not be satisfied with the effect of this4 ,the object of a picture is to make visible something which you wish to call attention to2 to show something that seems to you worth looking at4 ,then you must arrange it so that that particular something is sure to be seen whether anything else is seen or not4 ,this is the first thing to be thought of in placing your subject4 ,where is it to come on the canvas8 ,how much room is it to take up8 ,if it is too large1 there is not enough surrounding it to make an interesting whole4 ,if it is to be emphasized1 it must have something to be emphasized with reference to4 ,on the other hand1 if it is too small1 its very size makes it insignificant4 ,illustration3 ,landscape ,photo4 ,no4 #a4 ,if it is a landscape1 decide first the proportions of land and sky1--where your horizon line will come4 ,then1 having drawn that line1 make three or four lines which will give the mass of the main effect or object--a barn1 a tree1 a slope of hill1 or whatever it be1 get merely its simplest suggestion of outline4 ,these two things will show you1 on considering their relation to each other and to the rest of the canvas1 about what its emphasis will be4 ,if it isn't right1 rub it out and do it again1 a little larger or smaller1 a little more to one side or the other1 higher or lower1 as you find needed4 ,when you have done this to your satisfaction1 you have done the first important thing4 ,illustration3 ,landscape ,photo4 ,no4 #b4 ,still ,life1 etc4--,if your subject be still life1 flowers1 or an animal or other figure1 go about it in the same way4 ,look at it well4 ,try to get an idea of its general shape1 and block that out with a few lines4 ,you will almost always find a horizontal line which by cutting across the mass will help you to decide where the mass will best come4 ,first1 the mass must be about the right size1 and then it must balance well on the canvas4 ,any of the things suggested as helping about drawing and values will of course help you here4 ,the reducing-glass will help you to get the size and position of things4 ,the card with a square hole in it will do the same4 ,even a sort of little frame made with the fingers and thumbs of your two hands will cut off the surrounding objects1 and help you see your group as a whole with other things out of the way4 ,walk ,about4--,a change of position of a very few feet sometimes makes a great difference in the looks of a subject4 ,the first view of it is not always the best4 ,walk around a little2 look at it from one point and from another4 ,take your time4 ,better begin a little later than stop because you don't like it and feel discouraged4 ,time taken to consider well beforehand is never lost4 ,well begun is half done4 ,relief4--,in beginning a thing you want to have the first few minutes' work to do the most possible towards giving you something to judge by4 ,you want from the very first to get something recognizable4 ,then every subsequent touch1 having reference to that1 will be so much the more sure and effective4 ,look1 then1 first for what will count most4 ,what to look for4--,whether you lay your work out first with black-and-white or with paint1 look to see where the greatest contrast is4 ,where is there a strong light against dark and a strong dark against light8 ,not the little accents1 but that which marks the contact of two great planes4 ,find this first1 and represent it as soon as you have got the main values1 in this way the whole thing will tell as an actuality4 ,it will not yet carry much expression1 but it will look like a fact1 and it will have established certain relations from which you can work forward4 ,colors4--,it ought to go without saying that the colors as they come from the tube are not right for any color you see in nature however you think they look4 ,but beginners are very apt to think that if they cannot get the color they want1 they can get it in another kind of tube4 ,this is a mistake4 ,the tubes of color that are actually necessary for almost every possible tint or combination in nature are very few4 ,but they must be used to advantage4 ,now and then one finds his palette lacking1 and must add to it2 but after one has experimented a while he settles down to some eight or ten colors which will do almost everything1 and two or three more that will do what remains4 ,when you work out-of-doors you may find that more variety will help you and gain time for you2 that several blues and some secondaries it is well to have in tubes besides the regular outfit4 ,still even then1 when you have got beyond the first frantic gropings1 you will be surprised to see yourself constantly using certain colors and neglecting others4 ,these others1 then1 you do not need1 and you may leave them out of your box4 ,too ,many ,tubes4--,if you have too many colors1 they are a trouble rather than a help to you4 ,you must carry them all in your mind1 and you do not so soon get to thinking of the color in nature and taking up the paint from different parts of your palette instinctively--which means that you are gaining command of it4 ,never put a new color on your palette unless you feel the actual need of it1 or have a special reason for it4 ,better get well acquainted with the regular colors you have1 and have only as many as you can handle well4 ,mixing4--,use some system in mixing your paint4 ,have your palette set the same way always1 so that your brush can find the color without having to hunt for it4 ,have a reasonable way too of taking up your color before you mix it4 ,don't always begin with the same one4 ,is the tint light or dark8 strong or delicate8 ,what is the prevailing color in it8 ,let these things affect the sequence of bringing the colors together for mixing4 ,let these things have to do also with the proportionate quantity of each4 ,suppose you have a heavy dark green to mix1 what will you take first8 ,make a dash at the white1 put it in the middle of the palette1 and then tone it down to the green8 ,how much paint would you have to take before you got your color8 ,yet ,i've seen this very thing done1 and others equally senseless4 ,what is the green8 ,dark4 ,bluish or warm8 ,will reddish or yellowish blue do it best8 ,how much space do you want that brushful to cover8 ,take enough blue1 add to it a yellow of the sort that will make approximately the color4 ,don't stir them up2 drag one into the other a little--very little4 ,the color is crude8 ,another color or two will bring it into tone4 ,don't mix it much4 ,don't smear it all over your palette4 ,make a smallish dab of it1 keeping it well piled up4 ,if you get any one color too great in quantity1 then you will have to take more of the others again to keep it in balance4 ,be careful to take as nearly the right proportions of each at the first picking up1 so as to mix but few times2 for every time you add and mix you flatten out the tone more1 and lose its vibration and life4 ,now1 if the color is too dark1 what will you lighten it with8 ,white8 ,wait a minute4 ,think4 ,will white take away the richness of it8 ,white always grays and flattens the color4 ,don't put it into a warm1 rich color unless it belongs there4 ,then only as much as is needed4 ,treat all your tints this way4 ,is it a high value on a forehead in full light8 ,white first1 then a little modifying color1 yellow first1 then red2 perhaps no red3 the kind of yellow may do it4 ,when you have a rich color to mix1 get it as strong as you can first4 ,then gray it as much as you need to1 never the reverse4 ,but when you want a delicate color1 make it delicate first1 and then strengthen it cautiously4 ,these seem but common-sense4 ,hardly necessary to take the trouble to write it down8 ,but common-sense is not always attributed to artists1 and the beginner does not seem able always to apply his common-sense to his painting at first4 ,to say it to him opens his eyes4 ,best be on the safe side4 ,crude ,color4--,the beginner is sure to get crude color1 either from lack of perception of color qualities1 or inability to mix the tints he knows he wants4 ,in the latter case crude color either comes from too few colors in the mixture1 or from inharmonious colors brought together1 which is only another form of the same1 for an added complementary would make it right4 ,for instance1 ,prussian blue and chrome yellow mixed will make a powerful green which you could hardly put anywhere--a strong1 crude green4 ,well1 what is the complementary8 ,red8 ,and what does a complementary do to a color8 ,neutralizes1 grays4 ,then add a very little red1 enough to gray the green1 not enough to kill its quality4 ,or if you don't want the color that makes1 take a little reddish yellow1 ochre say1 and possibly a little reddish blue1 new blue or ultramarine2 add these1 and see how it grays it and still keeps the same kind of green4 ,this is the principle in extreme4 ,still1 the best way would be not to try to make a green of ,prussian blue and chrome yellow4 ,it is better to know the qualities of each tube color on your palette4 ,know which two colors mix to make a crude color1 and which will be gray1 more or less1 without a third4 ,muddy ,color4--,dirty or muddy color comes from lack of this last4 ,you do not know how your colors are going to affect each other4 ,you mix1 and the color looks right on the palette1 but on the canvas it is not right4 ,you mix again and put it on the canvas2 it mixes with the first tint and you get--mud4 ,why8 ,both wrong4 ,scrape the whole thing off4 ,with a clean spot of canvas mix a fresh color4 ,put it on frankly and freshly and let it alone--don't dabble it4 ,the chances are it will be at least fresh1 clean color4 ,over-mixing makes color muddy sometimes1 especially when more than three colors are used4 ,when you don't get the right tint with three colors1 the chances are that you have got the wrong three4 ,if that is not so1 and you must add a fourth1 do so with some thoughtfulness1 or you will have to mix the tint again4 ,dirty ,brushes and ,palette4--,using dirty brushes causes muddy color4 ,don't be too economical about the number of brushes you use4 ,keep a good big rag at your hand1 and wipe the paint out of your brush often4 ,if the color is getting muddy1 clean your palette and take a clean brush4 ,your palette is sure to get covered with paint of all colors when you have painted a little while4 ,you can't mix colors with any degree of certainty if the palette is smeared with all sorts of tints4 ,use your palette-knife--that's what it's for4 ,scrape the palette clean every once in a while as it gets crowded4 ,wipe it off4 ,take some fresh brushes4 ,then1 if your color is dirty1 it is your fault1 not the fault of your tools4 ,out-door and ,in-door ,colors4--,there is one source of discouragement and difficulty that every one has to contend against2 that is1 the difference in the apparent key of paint when1 having been put on out-of-doors1 it is seen in the house4 ,out-of-doors the color looked bright and light1 and when you get it in-doors it looks dark and gray1 and perhaps muddy and dead4 ,this is something you must expect1 and must learn how to control4 ,as everything that the out-door light falls upon looks the brighter for it1 so will your paint look brighter than it really is because of the brilliancy of the light which you see it in4 ,you must learn to make allowance for that4 ,you must learn by experience how much the color will go down when you take it into the house4 ,of course an umbrella is a most useful and necessary thing in working out-of-doors1 and if it is lined with black so much the better for you2 for there is sure to be a good deal of light coming through the cloth1 and while it shades your canvas1 it does to some extent give a false glow to your canvas1 which a black lining counterbalances4 ,mere experience will give you that knowledge more or less2 but there are ways in which you can help yourself4 ,when you first begin to work out-doors try to find a good solid shade in which to place your easel1 and then try to paint up to the full key1 even at the risk of a little crudeness of color4 ,use colors that seem rather pure than otherwise4 ,you may be sure that the color will come down a little anyhow1 so keep the pitch well up4 ,then1 if the shade has been pretty even1 and your canvas has had a fair light1 you will get a fairly good color-key4 ,predetermined ,pitch4--,another way is to determine the pitch of the painting in some way before you take the canvas out-of-doors4 ,there are various ways of doing this4 ,the most practical is1 perhaps1 to know the relative value1 in the house and out-doors1 of the priming of your canvas4 ,have a definite knowledge of how near to the highest light you will want that priming is4 ,then1 when you put on the light paint1 if you keep it light with reference to the known pitch of the priming1 you will keep the whole painting light4 ,discouragement4--,we all get discouraged sometimes1 but it is something to know that the case is not hopeless because we are4 ,that what we are trying to do does not get done easily is no reason that it may not get done eventually4 ,often the discouragement is not even a sign that what we are doing is not going well4 ,the discouragement may be one way that fatigue shows itself1 and we may feel discouraged after a particularly successful day's work--in consequence of it very probably4 ,make it a rule not to judge of a day's work at the end of that day4 ,wait till next morning1 when fresh and rested1 and you will have a much more just notion of what you have done4 ,when you begin to get blue about your work is the time to stop and rest4 ,if the blues are the result of tire1 working longer will only make your picture worse4 ,a tired brain and eye never improved a piece of painting4 ,and in the same spirit rest often while you are painting4 ,if your model rests1 it is as well that you rest also4 ,turn away from your work1 and when you get to work again you will look at it with a fresh eye4 ,change ,your ,work ,often4--,too continued and concentrated work on the same picture also will lead to discouragement4 ,change your work1 keep several things going at the same time1 and when you are tired of one you may work with fresh perceptions and interest on another4 ,stop often to walk away from your work4 ,lay down your palette and brushes1 and put the canvas at the other end of the room4 ,straighten your back and look at the picture at a distance4 ,you get an impression of the thing as a whole4 ,what you have been doing will be judged of less by itself and more in relation to the rest of the picture1 and so more justly4 ,when things are going wrong1 stop work for the day4 ,take a rest4 ,then1 before you begin again on it to-morrow1 take plenty of time to look the picture over--consider it1 compare it with nature1 and make up your mind just what it lacks1 just what it needs1 just what you will do first to make it as it should be4 ,it is marvellous how it drives off the blues to know just what you are going to do next4 ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,passages in italics are surrounded by underscores4 #b4 ,passages in bold are indicated by bold4 #c4 ,illustration captions are indicated by caption4 #d4 ,images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest paragraph break4 #e4 ,the word d'oeuvre uses an oe ligature in the original on page #bdb4 #f4 ,in the ,list of ,illustrations1 page number for ,descent from ,cross is corrected to #afc 7original text is #afe74 #g4 ,the following misprints have been corrected3 heavvier corrected to heavier 7page #af7 interor corrected to interior 7page #ada7 arrangemen corrected to arrangement 7page #aga7 analagous corrected to analogous 7page #aij7 freeest corrected to freest 7page #baf7 nivet corrected to navet 7page #bhi7 #h4 ,other than the corrections listed above1 printer's inconsistencies in spelling1 punctuation1 hyphenation1 and ligature usage have been retained4