Frank Fowler

“ In beginning to draw a landscape in charcoal, first sketch in lightly the horizon line, the outlines of the trees and different objects, in their general aspect.
It is always well to select a subject where there is a good effect of light and shade and sufficient variety to give interest.
After the composition is sketched in, look for the large masses of shadow, and divide the whole into two distinct masses [Pg 78] of light and shade, as in figure drawing. The sky is covered with a light tone, at first, and even the masses of light are also covered with a delicate half-tint. ”

“ Use the soft cotton rag for dusting off charcoal whenever you can, instead of bread, as too much rubbing with bread will grease the paper; for very large spaces, where erasing is necessary, use Faber’s India rubber.
When the crayon is put on, advance slowly, remembering that in a portrait there is much more careful work than in an ordinary life study, and that there are many more things to be considered than merely the drawing. The likeness is to be secured, which is sometimes a difficult thing even for those with experience. ”

“ In drawing a life-sized head the artist must not be too far from his subject, the easel being placed about four or five feet distant. It is well to get up and walk back occasionally, looking at the work from a distance so as to see the general effect.
There are several different kinds of paper used for crayon portraits, some artists preferring one make, some another. The ordinary “Lalanne” and “Michelet” papers used for charcoal and crayon studies are a little too rough in texture to please every body, and do not produce quite so fine a finish as is desirable. ”

“ In laying in a mass of shadow, if too much charcoal gets on the paper, so as to become inconvenient, wipe it off lightly and evenly with a soft cotton rag, and if then the tone is too light, work on it again with charcoal, as before, using the stump in the same way until it becomes the right tone.
In working heads, life studies, etc., in charcoal it is the practice in all the large art schools to finish them with black crayon. The crayon is not touched, however, until the shadows are all put in and the proportions found to be correct. ”

“ Few of us are so fortunate as to command these conveniences, and truth compels us to admit that they are not strictly necessary to good work.
As we have already stated, the easel is now universally adopted for drawing, as well as painting, instead of the old methods, which necessitated leaning over a [Pg 29] table. The plate to be copied is also placed upright, in the same upright position that would be occupied by a cast or live model, so that, even in this elementary training, the eye becomes accustomed to look naturally from the object or study being copied to the paper on the easel. ”

“ CHARCOAL AND CRAYON DRAWING.
In learning to draw, charcoal is the most available material that can be used, as, with it, large and striking effects are so easily and quickly produced, while it is also adapted to the most careful work, and may be carried on to any degree of finish. Another quality which renders charcoal especially of value as a medium for beginners in drawing is that it is so easily erased. ”

“ A fine, soft cotton rag is one of the most important adjuncts to our outfit, as it is impossible to work without one. The rag is used sometimes to dust off charcoal [Pg 14] from the paper, and if the charcoal has not been very heavily used, the rag is often sufficient, neither bread nor rubber being necessary.
A rag is also useful when too much charcoal or crayon has been rubbed on a tone.
Let us say, for instance, a shadow appears too black. ”

“ The white paper is generally preferred for serious studies involving careful drawing and correctness of value.
Some artists, however, prefer to use gray or light brown paper in sketching, as if one is skillful a very effective result [Pg 24] may be obtained with little labor by using the local tone of the paper for the half tints, quickly rubbing in the shadow with charcoal or crayon, both being sometimes used. ”

“ These lines determine the proportions of the face, and are drawn very lightly with the charcoal, sharpened to a fine point, as they are erased when the features are drawn in. Next proceed to place the features on these lines, blocking them in only in their general forms at first with very little detail, and draw these forms as squarely as possible, seeking for angles and avoiding curves.
It is easy to turn angles into curves in finishing a drawing, but if we begin with curves we have nothing to depend upon, and the drawing loses strength, becoming soft and weak in the end. ”

“ The crayon point is always used in finishing up the drawing, which is carried on by degrees. The dark accents are put in the eyes, nose, mouth and ears, and the small stump is used to soften the marks of the crayon, but should not be rubbed too much.
If the head be rather dark in its general [Pg 46] effect, a very delicate gray tint should be put all over the light mass of the face. This is done with a clean stump which has been used for half tints, and the tone is put on in the same manner, the crayon point not being used here. ”

“ Great care should be taken in blowing through an atomizer to make the breath as steady as possible, avoiding short, unequal puffs. The atomizer must not be held too near to allow the particles to vaporize sufficiently, or else the fixative will run down in streams and ruin the drawing. Again, if held too far off, it will vaporize too much, and will fail to fix the charcoal at all. ”

“ Another kind of crayon is also used by some artists in addition to the stick crayon. This is a fine, black, powdered crayon, called the “sauce crayon,” and comes put up in little tin cases. It is very useful when large masses of dark are necessary, and is rubbed on with a stump, while the stick crayons and charcoal sticks are sharpened to a point before using.
Stumps are made variously of leather, chamois-skin and paper. The most useful in charcoal and crayon drawing are the paper stumps, which will be found to answer every purpose. ”

“ Charcoal is used for drawing from the cast and from the human figure in all the large art schools of Europe as well as in [Pg 2] our own country, and is especially adapted to sketching from nature, as by its use most charming landscape and marine effects may be obtained. ”

“ In all such cases, however, it is best to decide upon the pose, and sketch it from life, and then have the photograph taken in the pose you have selected.
In this way, the light and shade are arranged to suit the artist, and the pose being decided upon by him, the portrait will have the effect of being drawn from life instead of being merely a copy from a conventional photograph.
In general the effect of light used by photographers is exactly the reverse of that chosen by artists. ”

“ In the first place, the charcoal and crayon must always be kept sharpened while drawing, a fine point being most necessary. A sharp knife should always be at hand, and also a piece of sandpaper, as it is very difficult to sharpen the crayons with a knife, they break so easily. ”

“ In black velvet, the masses of dark are softer than in satin and not so jetty black, while the lights are less brilliant and more diffused in effect, leaving more half tints than are seen either in silk or satin. In black cloths the lights are quite low in tone and the darks are not very black, no sharp high lights are seen at all, both light and shade taking large and simple forms. ”

“ If the hair is dark, cover the light mass with a general tone of light gray, using the charcoal very lightly and rubbing it flat with the stump as before. If the hair is light, put in a fainter tone for the dark mass and a very delicate tone over the light mass. ”

“ The [Pg 34] outline sketched in, the proportions are ascertained to be correct and the shadow and light are divided into two great masses without detail and blocked in as broadly as possible, according to the method given in the following pages.
Learn to begin a drawing properly and the finishing will be easy enough, being merely a matter of practice when once the manner of working is understood. How often we see exposed for sale and on exhibition drawings and paintings elaborately finished of which the drawing is so faulty as to render them worthless. ”

“ If more than one person is working in the same room, several windows on the same side are admissible. If, however, a studio were being built expressly for the purpose, the ideal light would be one large, high side window, extending from six to ten feet along the wall, beginning at the floor [Pg 28] and reaching to the ceiling, where it is joined by a skylight, which is arranged with an adjustable curtain, so that it may only be uncovered when needed. ”

“ The more expensive vaporizers, while conducted on the same principle, are supplied with air from one or sometimes two rubber globes or balls, which have the advantage of transmitting the air in a regular stream, and one is thus saved the fatigue of blowing with the mouth, which, in case of a large drawing, becomes very tiresome. ”

“ A simple frame of wood is made an inch or two wide and three-quarters of an inch or more in thickness, according to the size of the drawing to be made. This is covered with cotton cloth stretched as tight as possible and tacked all along the [Pg 8] four sides. The cloth is turned over and tacked on the outside of the stretcher, not on the face of it, which should present a perfectly smooth, flat surface. ”

“ In mechanical and architectural drawing this system of measurement is in constant use, but in freehand drawing, and in the method practiced by artists, actual measurement is not allowed. Never measure in any way when beginning a drawing, but strike out bravely, resolving to depend upon the eye only, if possible. ”

“ Some famous painters have had studios built entirely of glass, so that they could have all the advantages of working in the open air without the exposure. Adjustable curtains would turn the glass-house into an ordinary in-door studio, with conventional light. ”

“ There are two methods of working in charcoal—one, in which the charcoal point is used alone, the shading being put in with lines which are not blended, no stump, or rubbing together of any kind being allowed. ”

“ The intention of the author in presenting these plates is that the student, by copying a series of progressive drawings, may be prepared to study from the cast and from life. For those who are entirely inexperienced, it is much easier to learn this method from such flat copies at first, as it not only teaches the use of the materials, but familiarizes the student with the forms of the different features, so that when confronted with nature he finds his difficulties considerably lessened. ”

“ Curved lines are of course more difficult than straight for those who are entirely untrained. Begin to draw these by making the two dots at first as for the straight line; connect these dots with a very light line, and then through the center draw another line at right angles, dividing the first exactly in two. ”

“ A box of blocks should next be procured, which are sold by art dealers for the purpose, and the student should begin with the simplest forms and draw them from nature, in outline at first, progressing gradually to more complicated forms. ”

“ Always buy the best materials, and always keep plenty on hand. Have a box of charcoal, and at least half a dozen crayons, and keep one or two clean stumps in reserve no matter how many you have already in use. ”

“ This process should of course be managed with care, as too much fixative will cause the charcoal to run down in streaks, while too little will cause it to come off in spots.
The fixative for applying to the surface [Pg 17] of the drawing is sprayed through a glass atomizer by blowing through one tube while the other rests in the bottle containing the liquid.
These atomizers are now sold by all art dealers, and may be had from the simplest and most inexpensive kind up to those represented by quite a costly apparatus. ”

“ Arrange the light, place the easel in position, and fasten the charcoal paper to the drawing board or portfolio in the way already described. We will suppose the subject to be drawn is a head. First make a small mark or dot on the paper with your charcoal, to show where the top of the head will come. ”

“ For instance, we hold the plumb line so as to make a straight line from the chin of a standing figure to the ground. The top and bottom of the line form two points of a triangle, the third to be represented by the man’s heel. ”

“ Do this with a clean, medium-sized paper stump by dragging the charcoal from the shadow over the light. Do not put any new charcoal on for the half tints, as it is [Pg 44] very important that they be kept light at first. Keep a clean stump always at hand for delicate half tints, and never use an old one.
The face now begins to model and look round, and is further carried on by putting in the dark accents of shadow and taking out reflected lights with bread. ”

“ The umbrella itself is furnished with a rather short handle, and is attached to the long staff by a movable screw joint which permits of its being arranged at any angle necessary to protect the sketcher from the sun. ”

“ Such proportions will naturally vary in individual cases, yet are valuable as a foundation, which may be modified when necessary.
The height of a well developed man is eight heads or eight times the length of his own head. ”