Dorothy Furniss

“ Sketch the mass of the projecting boulder, then the root of the tree,
mark the girth of the trunk, and draw the tree, building up with big curves, and noting the snake-like twist of the slender branches. Mark the richest and deepest shadows, how the shadows break into shadow shapes of twigs, leaves, and grass. Trees are difficult—that much is admitted even by Ian, who is devoted to his pencil.
"Oh, yes," said Ian, "I can draw horses, and men, and houses—but trees——" and he paused thoughtfully.
To draw a tree from life, we must aim at the main structure. ”

“ TO the keen, enthusiastic young artist there is nothing more fascinating, more enthralling, than sketching out of doors.
A walk abroad among foreign scenes and strange people or a walk at home among one's own familiar haunts can be equally fruitful.
There are one or two points which need explaining, and one or two pitfalls of which the novice might be warned.
For the ardent young sketcher frequently digs a pit for his own feet. He begins a 'sketch,' but he pursues it into a finished study.
A sketch, it must be remembered, should be a sketch and nothing more. ”

“ Next we examine the inner corner of the eye (nearest the nose) , where are the soft pink tear-ducts, which we touch in lightly with the pencil.
The outer corner of the eye forms a sharper angle, with the upper lid curving downward to meet the flesh of the lower lid and its corresponding upward curve.
Having sketched the shape of the eye as a whole, we might next return for a closers observation of the iris.
Is there anything in nature more lovely than the iris of the human eye? The liquid tint of blue, grey, or brown is like the luminous colouring of a strange flower. And it is colour. ”

“ Well, there’s a garden just as fascinating as the one seen by Alice, and the keys to it are your pencil and brush.
This garden, like Alice’s, is full of wonderful surprises. You never know what is lying in wait, what quaint, curious, and beautiful things are to be found. Would you like to go into it? Then come with me. You have the keys in your hands.
But first I will ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the story of the shepherd-boy of Vespignano ? ”

“ The clearer is the atmosphere, the more distinct is the distance. The more brilliant is the sun, the richer and deeper are the shadows. The rich shadows of a tropical scene will be richer in the foreground than in the distance. It is purely a matter of degree. From simple objects grouped on a table to complicated scenes in a landscape, all will present their own peculiar and fascinating problems of light and shade.
No doubt you will wish to try other methods of drawing light and shade than drawing on tinted paper with chalks of black and white. ”

“ If we want to see the foot unspoiled then we must go to the countries where fashion and manners have not affected it, where generation after generation has walked the earth on the bare foot, or with only the slightest protection of a sandalled sole. Then we see how finely it supports the body, what a thing of strength and beauty it can be!—firm heel, arched instep, springing muscles of the sole imprinting the ground with its firm tread! ”

“ If your taste inclines to more delicate shades, do not be discouraged because by that choice you are told you haven't much sense of colour. That you know in your heart of hearts is not true. The beauty of twilight, or the delicacy of a misty landscape, or the sombreness of the grey old woman in her dark frock have fully as much 'colour' as the gorgeous sunset, or the meadows rioting with gold and crimson blossoms. ”

“ The black coat under a subdued quiet light is deep and rich and warm, but in the open air the light strikes on the shoulders, the arms, and the skirts of the coat, and if a cold blue light is reflected from the sky, then the black coat will reflect that colour and tint. Obviously, being a dark material, it will absorb; but light and shade there must be, and the black will mingle with the general colouring of the street.
'A sense of colour' in the mind of an artist is simply the faculty of choosing tints. ”

“ If we make a false step and give too long a nose, too thick lips, too square a jaw, we cannot afterward amend our mistake. It is of course possible to take a brushful of thick white paint and fine down our outline. We can also use a scraper (a very sharp knife) and scrape at the surface of the paper. But neither method will be satisfactory. The pure, hard, sharp outline is the hall-mark of a good silhouette. The one unforgivable sin is the ragged edge.
It is a thrilling moment when we can trace a likeness between our model and our silhouette. ”

“ Have you crowded too much into one place? Have you left a space crying aloud for some attention, though it be but a few short strokes of the pencil or brush?
Turn your drawing upside down. Look at the picture as a pattern, regardless of other interest, and try to consider it as such. Or, again, collect a number of small objects, a few vases, ornaments, shells, ribbons, books, hats, balls, gloves, candles (and candle-shades) , and, arranging those which harmonize together in groups, make swift sketches merely for the sake of arranging patterns, of practising composition. ”

“ Dogs leaping and jumping, dogs running—the jog-trot of the terrier, and the easy gallop of the deerhound—here are interesting subjects for your pencil and brush. We might take up a brush fairly full of paint and sketch a little fresco of dogs in action. I say advisedly 'brush.' We can't stipple with a full brush. We must make up our minds, and draw, without hesitation, the thin or plump body, the long or thick legs, the short or pointed nose, the flowing or stunted tail. The fresco may not be very true to Nature but it will certainly teach us a good deal. ”

“ The reason why the hair in our drawings resembles wigs and doormats is that when drawing the substance of the hair itself we forget the shape beneath the hair. Also, that hair has very peculiar qualities of its own. Every coil, every cluster of curls, every curl, has its own shape, its own light and shade. It has a beginning and an ending. Hair doesn't rise stiff and stark from the face and head like a new brush, but in soft down, in short, silky hairs merging into long locks. False hair and false beards look false because they do not grow gradually as hair grows from the skin. ”

“ It is quite possible to stipple in a head or an arm with such beautiful shades of light and tint that the essential shape of the nose, head, and arm, is forgotten. In other words, the drawing is lost. ”

“ A stile, fence, stone, stump, or bank more often than not offers a convenient resting-place and saves you the trouble of carrying a camp-stool.
If the weather is damp, an ordinary newspaper carried under your sketch-book and folded and used as a cushion is a good precaution against catching colds; should the weather be very hot the same paper, folded and held fan-wise, shields the page from the glare of the sun. A great point is gained by starting in a business-like frame of mind. It is a mistaken idea that an artist drifts into painting a picture as a cloud drifts across the sky. ”

“ What do you see? Every window, every cornice and roof, coming down to the level of your eye.
Now take the lift to the top story of your tall building. What do you then see? Everything is reversed. The eaves of each lower building, the roofs and cornices, rising to meet the level of your eye.
And the level of your eye is the height of your horizon.
"Is the thing below the level of my eye, or is it above the level of my eye?" is the inevitable question. You sit in a chair and look at the cornice, the beading, the top line of the picture frames, the mirror over the fireplace ”

“ And yet between the beautiful Land of Fancy and the strange approaching Land of Fact lies a simple bridge with a very familiar aspect, no more nor less than the companion of our babyhood—the toy-cupboard.
The nursery is full of inviting little models, models that we have handled for years and that are as patient as ever. Here I will let you into a secret. It is comparatively easy to draw the things with which we are familiar. The boy who has made a footstool will probably draw it far better than the boy who has never driven a nail. ”

“ Portraiture is something that we may possibly attain in the far-off days when we are grown up.
Granted that the art of portraiture may be too ambitious for our humble pencil, yet there is every reason why we should train our eye, hand, and brain in the devious ways of catching a likeness. ”

“ THERE is no general way of doing things," says a great writer on art. "No recipe can be given for doing as much as the drawing of a bunch of grapes."
If there are no known recipes for drawing things successfully, there are, nevertheless, several methods by which the young artist is helped out of difficulties and started on the right path.
The application of a few rules of perspective, the use of plumb and parallel lines, the measurement and comparison of one part of a drawing with another part—all these things contribute toward the training of the eye and the quickening of the brain. ”

“ Try to get an expert's opinion. 'An expert' does not necessarily mean an expert artist—that we cannot often hope to find—but one who is expert in the particular subject that is engaging our pencil.
For instance, if I made a study of a cow or sheep, I should preferably take that drawing to a butcher or a farmer for a criticism. The criticism might be shattering, but there is this to be said for it. The man who is familiar and more or less an expert with such animals will instinctively pounce on glaring mistakes. ”

“ My dog Prince always sat on my sketch-book when he spied on the face of his mistress a certain expression which conveyed to his mind that a sketch of himself was about to begin, instead of a sensible walk on the hills.
Dogs, cats, horses, and birds, especially birds, no sooner spy a pencil and piece of paper than up go their heads, away go hoofs, wings, paws, or tails.
In the first place, when we wish to draw our pets we must invest in a very large—we might also say inexhaustible—store of patience; in the second place, if we are wise we shall sketch our models when they are at rest ”