The student comes now to a new exercise of judgment in determining the
middle value between black and white, or between light and dark gray. He
has to mix this tone, and decide when it is of the right depth; here, for
the first time, he begins to paint.
For this painting‐exercise will be needed white dishes in which to mix the
ink tones, and flat Japanese (ha‐ke) brushes. The best paper is Japanese,
well sized. The thin coating of glue keeps the edge of the wash from
drying before the brush can take it up.
The first difficulty is the laying of a flat wash; this requires dexterity
and much practice. Paper must be stretched or thumb‐tacked perfectly
smooth; ink‐stone, dishes and brushes must be clean. For a beginning take
a simple line pattern; decide which parts shall be white; then wash a
middle tone of gray over the rest. When dry, paint in the black spaces.
The reason for keeping a tone flat is that the value of a whole space can
be judged better; if it is sloppy and uneven it loses force and interest.
In beginners’ work, and in design, flatness is necessary, but in picture‐
painting purely flat tones would rarely be used.