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These books were planned in a series of conferences and consultations
with leading art teachers and educators, among whom were the following:
Miss Bonnie E. Snow, Formerly Director of Art, Public Schools,
Minneapolis, Minn.
Miss Wilhelmina Seegmiller, Director of Art, Public Schools,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Miss Harriette L. Rice, Director of Art, Public Schools, Providence, R.
I.
Mr. Walter Scott Perry, Director of the Art Department, Pratt Institute,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mrs. M. E. Riley, Director of Art, Public Schools, St. Louis, Mo.
Dr. Hugo Muensterberg, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University.
Mrs. Alice W. Cooley, Department of Education, University of North
Dakota.
Mr. John S. Clark, Boston, Mass.
TEXT BOOKS OF
ART EDUCATION
BOOK IV. FOURTH YEAR
BY
HUGO B. FROEHLICH
FORMERLY INSTRUCTOR IN PRATT INSTITUTE
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
AND
BONNIE E. SNOW
FORMERLY SUPERVISOR OF DRAWING IN THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
[Illustration]
THE PRANG EDUCATIONAL COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO
Copyright, 1904, By
THE PRANG EDUCATIONAL COMPANY
Copyright, 1906, By
THE PRANG EDUCATIONAL COMPANY
Preface.
In presenting to the public the series of Text Books of Art Education, of
which this volume is a part, it is desired to state briefly the aims and
purposes of the plan upon which the series is based.
It is not necessary to review the history of art education in public
schools, nor to present argument for the introduction or retention of
drawing as an important study. These questions have been exhaustively
treated, and need no fresh discussion. The school that does not offer to
its community some kind of systematic art instruction is today an
exception.
Education along specific lines should conform to the philosophy which is
accepted as fundamental in general educational work. The educational
principles adhered to in these books are, therefore, in accord with the
psychological laws of child development which are endorsed by the leading
educators of the present time, and the effort has been made to work out
in these books a series of lessons that shall be not only educationally
sound and artistically correct, but at the same time adapted in the
different stages to the child's ability to comprehend and his power to
express.
With this end in view, the lessons in the Text Books of Art Education
have been divided into three groups which may be known as the
Observational or Objective Group, in which the study of things is the
aim; the Subjective Group, in which the study of principles or laws of
beauty is the aim; and the Creative Group, in which the application of
accumulated knowledge and ability is the aim. In furthering the work of
the first group, the topics so familiar to the art teacher of our modern
schools are treated--landscape, plants, life, and still life. In the
second group are presented the principles of perspective, of industrial
drawing, of color harmony, and most important of all, the principles of
pure design. In the third group are placed creative exercises in
composition, in decorative design, and in many forms of manual training.
While the same division of work is kept throughout the course, the manner
of presentation differs greatly in the different years. In the primary
grades, the work is largely objective in its character. Children are
taught to see and to do. In the intermediate grades, the children are
introduced to the principles of arrangement, Balance, Rhythm, and
Harmony, which have been adopted as the working basis of this series of
books, and in the light of which the subjective and creative work of the
upper grades is planned. As the work progresses through the different
years, the subjective and creative sides are more and more emphasized,
and the study of objects is felt to be merely a means necessary to an
end.
All through the series, there is a definite, logical progression, so that
in schools where these ideas are put into practice, there should be no
ground for the complaint that the work of the intermediate and grammar
grades falls below the work of the primary grades, in general excellence.
These books are the outgrowth of years of experience in practical fields
of work. They have been prepared with a keen appreciation of the
obstacles which have confronted the art teacher in public education, and
with an intimate knowledge of the child mind, in its various stages of
development. Never before has an attempt been made to put into the hands
of children a text of lessons in art. The illustrations serve the double
purpose of illuminating the text and of furnishing the children with
standards of work in the various mediums.
For the Theory of Color Relations used in these books, special
acknowledgment is due to Dr. Denman W. Ross, of Harvard University. The
lessons in design are preparatory to the fuller exposition in the upper
books of Dr. Ross's principles of arrangement--Balance, Rhythm, and
Harmony.
We are indebted to Messrs. Little, Brown, and Company, for permission to
use Miss Dickinson's poem, "The Railway Train," on page 58, and to Mr.
Charles G. Blanden for the lines from his poem, "Plea of the Poets," used
on the page facing page 1. The lines used on page 16 are from James
Russell Lowell's "Epistle to George William Curtis," and the verses on
page 30 are from "A Boy's Song," by James Hogg.
Contents
PAGE
OUT OF DOORS (Landscape) 1
Use of a Finder in Selecting Material for Landscapes; Autumn, Winter
and Spring Effects in Color and in Value; The Same Landscape Expressed
in Different Arrangements of Values; Trees in Foliage and with Bare
Branches; Pictures from our Surroundings; Study of a Masterpiece; Home
Exercises.
GROWTH, BLOSSOM, FRUIT (Flowers and Plants) 16
Bittersweet, Iris, and Geranium in Color; Use of the Finder in
Sketching most Interesting Part of a Growth for a Sketch; Flowers and
Leaves in Different Positions; Growth of Stems, Joints, Buds, Leaves,
and Sprays; Root Growths; Use of the Accented Outline; Composition from
Plant Forms.
LIFE AND ACTION (The Human Figure, Animals, and Birds) 30
Brush Studies in Color from Pose; The Same Pose in Different Positions;
Different Steps in Pose Drawing; Proportion and Action Shown in Leading
Lines or "Skeleton" Figures; Hands and Feet; Dog and Pigeon in Leading
Lines, in Outline and in Values; Study of a Masterpiece; Home
Exercises.
BEAUTY IN COMMON THINGS (Still Life) 44
Beauty in Common Objects; A Bowl in Four Different Mediums; Principles
of Grouping; The Accented Outline in Object Drawing; Japanese Lanterns
Studied in Values; Use of the Finder in Making Beautiful Compositions;
Home Exercises.
APPARENT DIRECTION OF EDGES AND OUTLINES (Perspective) 58
The Circle in Three Positions; Foreshortened Surfaces in Common
Objects; How to Test Foreshortened Surfaces and Converging Lines;
Foreshortened Circle seen in Beautiful Historic Baptismal Font.
MEASURING AND PLANNING (Geometry) 66
Making Simple Tools with which to Measure and Plan; Drawing and
Dividing Circular, Square, Oblong, and Triangular Spaces; How to Place
Decorations within these Divisions; Planning of Patterns for Portfolio,
Box, Envelopes, and Pocket-book; Making Case for Newspaper Clippings; a
Simple Alphabet and How to Draw its Plan; Initial Letters.
DESIGN 76
The Color Chart Related to the Scale of Values; Colors in Full
Intensity; the Neutral Value Scale, Showing Seven Steps Between Black
and White; Dividing a Space into Large and Small Areas; Use of Values
in Expressing Light and Dark Effects; Space Divisions to Form Plaids;
Design Motives from Nature, and Their Application in Simple Rhythms and
Balanced Designs; Color Schemes from Nature, and their Application; a
Portfolio whose Beauty Depends on Arrangement and Proportion of Values;
Pottery Forms.
"_Makers of song, did you say?
Finders of song, be it told:
The music we fashion today
Is centuries old._
_Only we look and we see,
Only we hear and we sing:
Only we find in the tree
And we find in the spring
The beautiful thing._"
OUT OF DOORS
[Illustration]
HE OWNS THE BIRD SONGS OF THE HILLS;
THE LAUGHTER OF THE APRIL RILLS;
AND HIS ARE ALL THE DIAMONDS SET
IN MORNING'S DEWY CORONET,--
AND HIS THE DUSK'S FIRST MINTED STARS
THAT TWINKLE THROUGH THE PASTURE-BARS
AND LITTER ALL THE SKIES AT NIGHT
WITH GLITTERING SCRAPS OF SILVER LIGHT;
THE RAINBOW'S BAR, FROM RIM TO RIM
IN BEATEN GOLD, BELONGS TO HIM.
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
[Illustration]
The Out-of-Door World in Autumn.
Have you ever been in the country, or in a city park, after the green of
the maple-trees has turned to scarlet and gold? If you have noticed the
trees in their gorgeous hues, you have probably found that the grass,
also, shows patches of color not seen in the summer-time. The sky is
often very blue, and its color is reflected in the quiet water of a lake
or pool, or in a gently flowing stream. A smoky haze hangs over the
distant trees, and softens, though it does not hide, their brilliant
coloring.
Study the sketch on this page. Then paint an autumn picture. Show a
bright blue sky, a field or hillside,--once green, but now touched with
russet and brown,--a path or a pool of water, distant foliage, and one
large tree. Save your picture to use in another lesson.
[Illustration]
Making and Using a Finder.
If you look on page 4 you will see three little pictures that seem quite
complete in themselves, and yet look like parts of the picture on page 2.
The upper sketch shows the same big tree by the stream, and the lower
right sketch has been taken from the left side of the large picture. A
small part near the middle of the large picture was then selected, and
this part was enlarged to make the third sketch shown.
You can often find some parts of your large sketches that are more
interesting than others. On this page are some drawings of a little
device which will help you to do this. It is called a finder, and is
simply an oblong opening cut from a piece of paper so as to leave all
around it a margin an inch or two wide. It looks like a little mat for a
picture, or like a window-frame. Two square corners or L-shaped pieces of
paper can be placed together so that the size of the opening can be
changed by pushing the uprights nearer together or by pulling them
farther apart. An adjustable finder like this (shown in the right sketch)
can be used in a number of ways.
Draw on a sheet of 9 x 12 paper, an oblong seven inches high and three,
four, or five inches wide. Around the oblong, which is to be cut out,
leave a margin of at least an inch. Slip this large finder over the
autumn sketch you made in the lesson on page 2, until you have found the
part you like best. Cut this part out, and mount it on a large sheet of
fresh paper, leaving a pleasing margin. The class sketches will make a
fine exhibition.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Shapes and Growth of Trees.
No one can study out-of-door pictures without wishing to know how to draw
trees. This can best be done by observing from a distance some tree as it
grows.
The pictures on this page tell you plainly that the willow and the
sycamore, or buttonwood tree, were chosen for the sketches, yet not a
single leaf is shown as you would see it if you held it in your hand.
What is it, then, that tells the story? It is the truthful drawing of the
big things--the shape of the mass of foliage, the height and width of the
trunk below the boughs, the size and direction of the branches, and the
way they grow from the trunk.
In the sketch of the willow, the many small branches are plainly seen,
and you can easily understand why it is that the willow bends and sways
so gracefully in the wind. The brush strokes show something of the
slender, pointed character of the leaves.
The sycamore is not round and regular like the willow, but shows patches
of foliage and stretches of bare branches in a ragged and uneven way. Its
shape is very different from the shape of the willow.
Make a large drawing with ink or crayon, from some tree out of doors.
[Illustration]
Shapes of Bare Trees.
Winter is the best time in all the year to study the growth of trees.
Although the leaves are gone and the branches are bare, the trees
themselves are beautiful.
It is well to study a tree that is at some distance from you, so that its
dark branches may be seen against the light sky. The willow and the
sycamore are shown without their leaves on this page, and their shapes
stand out clearly. You can see the strong trunk, and the branches that
spring from it. The trunk of the sycamore becomes smaller as it throws
off its boughs, and all the branches and twigs taper at the end.
Measure the height of the sycamore tree in the sketch,--from the topmost
twig to the ground,--and see what part of the whole height the trunk
below the foliage measures. Is it half as high, or only a fourth or a
third? Notice trees out of doors and see how much of their height is
above the trunk. Children sometimes draw trees with tall, stiff trunks
and short, stunted tops.
Study and draw a beautiful tree without leaves. Make it of large size and
use brush or crayon. Try to tell in your picture just what tree you
studied.
[Illustration]
What fun it is to gather nuts in the fall!
See the children in the picture. One boy "clubs" the tree until the nuts
come rattling down and are half hidden in the grass and dry leaves.
Recall some pleasant time you have had gathering nuts or apples. Draw a
picture showing where you were, what you gathered, and the kind of a tree
on which the fruit grew. Show distant bushes and trees, and place the
main tree so that its branches rise against the sky.
Make your picture tell an interesting story.
[Illustration]
Sunset in Winter.
When you painted autumn landscapes, you thought, no doubt, that the world
was more beautiful in October than at any other season. Perhaps it seemed
to you that the cold, snow-covered earth could never be so interesting to
paint.
Look at this winter picture. The sky is bright and the distant trees look
violet. Did you ever notice that the snow at sunset does not seem to be
white as you look across it to the horizon? If you hold a sheet of white
paper in your hand and glance from that across the snow-covered fields at
sunset, you will see that the whiteness of the snow has changed to
violet-gray. Sometimes, too, the snow seems to be tinted by the rosy
light of the sunset. As you study out-of-door objects, you will find that
their colors appear different at different times of the day, or as they
are near you or far away.
Paint a winter sunset. Try to see and to paint truthfully the color of
distant trees, snow-covered ground, a far-off steeple or tower, or a tree
near at hand.
[Illustration]
A Sunset Picture in Values.
We can show with black crayons, with charcoal, or with brush and ink many
pictures of out-of-doors that are rich in color. Even a sunset sky can be
shown in grays, so that we will think of the lovely colors that the
grays, or values, express.
Here is our winter sunset, shown in values. You will remember that by
values we mean the different degrees of light and dark used to express
color. Compare the two sunset pictures. The light gray-violet of the snow
is shown in a light gray or neutral value in the picture on this page.
The trees are very much darker, and the sky is neither as light as the
snow nor as dark as the trees. The little rabbit makes a dark spot in the
snow, and the foreground--that part of the picture that seems to be
nearest--is white. You see that it has taken about four values to express
the colors seen.
Draw in values the sunset picture you painted in the lesson on page 8.
Which of all the colors used do you think should be shown in darkest
value? Which in lightest? Make your picture large, and use charcoal,
crayon, or brush and ink. Then with your finder select that part of your
picture which you like best. Cut out this part, and mount it neatly.
[Illustration]
A Different Arrangement of Values.
"O Moon! in the night I have seen you sailing,
And shining so round and low!"
When you are out of doors or are looking through a window at some of
nature's pictures, think how you would paint or draw in values the
different things you see. Notice which objects appear darkest, which
lightest, and which might be expressed by a "half-way" gray, or middle
value. If you learn to see these light and dark effects in the world
about you, pictures, photographs, and out-of-door scenes will become
matters of great interest to you.
On this page is the same little piece of the world we saw under sunset
skies. The sun has gone to rest, and the bright colors in the sky have
given place to darkness. But in the midst of the darkness the moon rises,
and sheds its white light over the sleeping world. How beautiful
"out-of-doors" is now!
See the darker value of the sky at night, and the pleasing contrast made
by the big white moon. A soft gray shadow is over all the snow. The
moonlight on the snow does not dazzle our eyes, as the sunshine does by
day.
Paint with ink or draw with crayon a moonlight picture.
[Illustration]
A Beautiful Composition.
In painting or drawing a picture, it is not enough to put down a number
of shapes or lines without regard to their relation to each other. We
must arrange or compose them, just as we arrange furniture in a room. We
must study to place things where they will best satisfy our idea of
beauty.
In the picture on this page, painted by Alexander Harrison, an American
artist, the horizon line is placed above the middle, so that the artist
might show how the waves broke on the shore, and sent rippling, flowing
lines of water along the shining sand. The motion of the water is as
regular as if it were keeping time to music. Can you see how the big
curves seem to mark the beats?
Notice, too, the arrangement of values--the light foam, the darker sky
and ocean, the wet sand, and the solid mainland. Only four things are
shown--sky, moon, sea, and shore--but they are so drawn as to give the
necessary variety.
Pictures from Our Own Surroundings.
=Out of Doors in the City.= If all the beauty of out-of-doors were in the
country, what a sad thing it would be for the boys and girls who spend
their lives in cities and towns! It is true that we think of the country
when we speak of the landscape, and many artists go there when they wish
to gather material for pictures. But often the things you see out of
doors in a city or town are as interesting to sketch as country
landscapes.
=Keeping a Journal.= Did you ever hear of a person who kept a journal,
and wrote in it the interesting things that happened from day to day?
Have you ever tried it yourself? You need not think your life dull
because you do not take journeys or see great sights or do unusual deeds.
Some of the best journals we know about have been kept by people who
lived quiet lives. They wrote about the little things they saw and heard
and did. It was the way in which they told these things that made their
journals as interesting as storybooks.
=An Artist's Journal.= Artists and people who love to make pictures keep
a kind of journal that they call a sketch-book. They are always on the
lookout for material for pictures. They see much more than people do who
are not trained to observe.
=Some Leaves from a Sketch-book.= Look at the sketches on page 13. They
are leaves from an artist's sketch-book. He tells of a shady road winding
by a little church in a village; of freight-boats on a canal or river; of
a view from a high window in a city office building; of a fine stone
arch, and beyond it a bridge with a railroad train rushing across it; of
a fountain in a city park, and of a grimy, noisy factory, with its long
low roofs, its smoke-stacks, and its line of waiting cars. Have you
thought of looking for pictures in places like these?
=Pictures in Your Own Town.= Where are the interesting places in the town
in which you live? Is the town near the water? Then there are boats and
bridges. Is there a machine shop, a mill, or a quarry? Then you will find
something to draw, as interesting as the factory in the artist's sketch.
Does a railroad run through the place? There is the station, the switch
tower, the engines and the freight cars. Or, perhaps there is a
blacksmith shop or a trolley car. Keep your eyes open, and find the
things in your town that show the life of the people. Tomorrow, bring a
sketch showing some picture you have seen in the place where you live.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Colors of Springtime.
One of the earliest shrubs that blossoms in the springtime is the
forsythia. Its blossoms cover the whole bush before the leaves come,
making a mass of yellow in the midst of the green grass. Yellow and green
are favorite colors of springtime.
Choose some flowering tree or shrub to paint in a picture. In painting a
landscape like the one on this page, one good way is first to draw with a
brush line and very light violet color, the shapes that must be carefully
placed. Then add the sky and foreground washes and drop on the damp paper
the colors you see in the bush or tree. Draw the trunk of the tree, or
the branches of the shrub, in dark gray-violet. A path or road may be
wiped out of the foreground with the nearly dry brush, and a little red
and yellow added to give the color of sandy ground.
Paint a spring landscape, not like the one in the book.
Home Exercises.
1. Draw an elm-tree as it looks in winter.
2. Paint a maple-tree as it looks in October.
3. Use a large finder on one or both of your tree sketches. Decide in
which space the tree looks best. Then cut out this selection and mount
your picture neatly.
4. Show a snow man in a winter landscape.
5. Paint a sunset on the lake or river.
6. Show in a picture the time of year you like best.
7. Make a brush drawing to illustrate:
"'Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?'
'Over the sea.'
'Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?'
'All who love me.'"
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
GROWTH . BLOSSOM . FRUIT
"I know the charm of hillside, field, and wood,
Of lake and stream and the sky's downy brood,
Of roads sequestered rimmed with sallow sod,
But friends with hardhack, aster, goldenrod,
These were my earliest friends, and latest, too,
Still unestranged, whatever fate may do."
]
[Illustration]
Green Things Growing.
Oh, the green things growing, the green things growing,
The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing.
Oh, the fluttering and the pattering of those green things growing!
How they talk, each to each, when none of us are knowing;
In the wonderful white of the weird moonlight
Or the dim dreamy dawn when the cocks are crowing.
I love, I love them so,--my green things growing!
And I think that they love me, without false showing;
For by many a tender touch, they comfort me so much,
With the soft mute comfort of green things growing.
Dinah Maria Mulock.
[Illustration]
Brush Studies of Grasses.
Grasses and sedges are some of the "green things" that need but little
encouragement. In fact, they grow to greatest size in some neglected
fence corner or in places so wet that other plants do not flourish.
Grasses lack the bright colors of flowers, but they are fine studies to
draw, because of their simple, direct growth and the interesting shapes
of their leaves and heads.
You will enjoy brush drawings, using color or ink, of different kinds of
grasses. Select three or four of large size and place them in a bottle.
They will then fall gracefully into a natural position. Behind the bottle
place a tall background of some kind, so that the shapes of the grasses
will be clearly seen. Use paper large enough to show in life size the
grass heads and part of the leaves and stems. Before beginning the study,
practice drawing grass leaves with one stroke of the brush, without first
outlining their shapes. Then draw from the arrangement before you,
working freely with the brush. In studying the leaves, notice where the
greatest width is seen. Observe the size and direction of the stems, and
draw them so that they express the upright growth and the grace of the
plant. Grass stems are not like the stems of flowering plants or vines.
Try to see and express the difference.
Selecting with a Finder the Most Interesting Part of a Sketch.
[Illustration]
Do you see what has been done with the drawing of grasses? A finder was
moved about on the sketch until a pleasing arrangement of shapes appeared
within the opening. You will notice it was not necessary to show the
whole of each leaf and head. The sketch on this page would be quite
satisfactory, if it were cut out along the inner edges of the finder and
mounted upon another sheet of paper.
Brush drawings of grasses and common weeds are beautiful when drawn in
color upon a tinted background. You can tint paper with water-color in
much the same way that you put on landscape washes. Dampen a sheet of
paper, and then apply a very little red, blue, and yellow, washing the
three colors down the sheet. A little practice will teach you how to use
the color to get a green-gray, a yellow-gray, or a blue-gray tint. Tint
several sheets at one lesson.
Using a sheet of your tinted paper, make a brush drawing in color, from a
growth of grass or sedge. Draw in large size, and make a "finder" picture
from your sketch.
[Illustration]
Autumn Leaves and Berries.
If you have never seen the bitter-sweet vine growing over a dead tree,
you have missed a beautiful sight. In the fall its bright berries hang in
graceful clusters, and stay on the vine long after its leaves have
fallen. The real berry is held in the close grasp of a several-parted
case until a sharp frost bursts the outer covering and shows the scarlet
fruit within.
The sketch on this page is from a spray of bittersweet before the leaves
have dropped.
You can see that in the leaves more yellow than is usual was used,
because their color is decidedly yellow-green. Most of the berries are
shown, still held in their orange-colored cases. Can you tell what two
colors were used in painting the berries?
Sometimes yellow and green alone do not give you the green you may
desire; if you add a little red it will soften, or make gray, a green
that seems too bright.
Choose a bright spray of autumn leaves and place it against a background.
Study the growth, the different shapes of leaves and berries, and the
color. Paint in life size just what you see.
A Flower and Its Growth Expressed in
Color.
[Illustration]
Members of the iris family are found in many places. The dwarf garden
iris blossoms very early in the spring, and has short, stout stems,
bearing several flowers. The common blue flag found in wet places is a
country cousin of the garden iris. Both are related to the
flower-de-luce, the stately lily of France. They are unlike other flowers
in shape, and are beautiful in color, with sword-shaped leaves.
The sketch on this page shows two different colors of the iris. If you
cannot find flowers like them, choose a stalk of blue flag or early
garden iris. Flowers of all kinds must be painted with fresh, clean
colors, used directly from the box. Do not mix or stir color in the
palette. Colors that are "handled" too much become muddy and dead. One
color may be dropped in another, allowing them to blend on the paper. You
have made stained glass effects in this way. Sometimes two colors may be
taken in the brush at once. They will flow together as you draw. For
instance, if you fill your brush with yellow and dip it lightly in blue,
you can make a brush stroke of green. In painting the violet iris, red
may be dropped in blue. Before painting your flower study, practice
drawing leaves and large petals in this direct way.
[Illustration]
A Flower in Different Positions.
Suppose that in the sketch on page 20, each leaf had been of the same
size and shape. Would you have liked the picture as well? Plants that are
regular in their growth, like the fern or the ivy, are seldom chosen for
sketches. We like to see a variety of shapes and sizes. Even when the
leaves of a plant have the same general shape, their positions make their
shapes appear unlike.
So it is with flowers. On this page are three different drawings of the
same flower. Can you tell why they are not alike? It is because the
flower was held in three different positions. When the flower-head is
turned toward you, as in the first sketch, its shape is quite like a
circle. In the second sketch, the shape is much narrower from front to
back, and some of the petals appear shorter. Can you tell how it was
held? The third sketch shows the back or under side of the flower, and
the shape is again different. You see, then, that every flower you draw
must be studied carefully, to find the shape as it really appears to you.
Take a large flower, like the brown-eyed Susan or the sunflower, and draw
it in different positions. Use brush or crayon for your sketches.
[Illustration: SILVER POPLAR
BALM OF GILEAD
DOGWOOD
HORSE CHESTNUT
LILAC]
Growth and Shapes of Tree Buds.
In the bright days of February or early March, before spring has really
come, place some branches of common trees and shrubs in water, and keep
them near a sunny window in the house. You can then watch the buds swell,
as they waken from their long winter sleep. Every day will show some
change in their shape and size. You will enjoy making sketches of the
twigs, from day to day, as the buds grow and the little leaves appear.
On this page are some drawings that show us different forms of growth,
and the different ways in which Mother Nature protects her tender baby
leaves.
Make some sketches from the beautiful tree buds of early spring.
[Illustration]
A Study of the Geranium.
In any window box of growing plants, you will be almost sure to see the
geranium. It lifts its bright blossoms among the green leaves, and grows
thrifty and strong, if its simple needs are supplied.
The sketch shows you a stalk of geranium. The leaves were very similar in
shape as they grew, but in the sketch their position has given them four
different shapes. When you study your own stalk, see if the leaves show
you the same interesting variety. Do you notice that the flower-head does
not show each blossom, separate and distinct? The shape of the whole
cluster is expressed, with a few petals showing more plainly near the
outside of the cluster.
A good way to get the bright scarlet of the flower cluster is to paint it
in with a yellow wash; then drop in red. You will need red to soften the
green of the leaves, and probably you will see a rosy color in some parts
of the stalk and stems.
Paint a stalk of geranium against a background, at some distance from
you.
[Illustration]
Root Growths of Spring.
On your walks through the woods in the early spring days, you surely have
discovered these plant growths from roots which have lived all winter.
They are the bloodroot, the hepatica, and the fern.
The hepatica comes first, with its pale violet blossoms nearly hidden
under a thick covering of the dead leaves of the forest. Its little buds
seem to be protected from the cold by soft garments of fur. All winter
long the spotted leaves of last autumn have stayed on the plant. They are
beautiful now, in shape and in color.
The bloodroot has a large round leaf which folds close about the
flower-bud until the snow-white blossoms open. Its root is a sort of
underground stem, and has a bright orange or red juice, from which the
plant is named.
Find some of the root growths of early spring. Dig them up carefully,
without shaking the earth from the roots, and place them where their
whole growth can be seen. Make charcoal or brush drawings of the whole
plant.
[Illustration]
The Growth of Leaves.
There are certain forms of growth that belong to different plant
families. In drawing from flowers and plants, these family likenesses
must always be truthfully shown. A rose leaf does not grow like the leaf
of a thistle, and a pine needle is not at all like the thick, round pad
of a water-lily.
On this page are shown different growths from trees and plants that you
know. Find the sketch of the slender leaves of the pine; the palmate or
hand-like leaves of the horse-chestnut, with its seven leaflets growing
from one footstalk; the honeysuckle, whose leaves sit closely on the
stem; the familiar clover, with its three-parted leaf; the rose, and the
wandering jew, or joint plant. Study the ways in which these different
growths are expressed.
Bring twigs or sprays of different trees and plants, and draw them
carefully with pencil. These are good studies for your sketch-book.
Interesting Growth of a Vegetable.
[Illustration: TOMATO]
Vegetables from the garden make fine studies to draw and to paint. Almost
any fruit or vegetable is more interesting if studied as it grows. We do
not often choose to paint or draw a single flower without its stem,
leaves, buds, and all of the parts that are included when we speak of its
growth. It is the presence of all of these shapes that gives variety to a
drawing. Do you not think the sketch of the tomato is much more
interesting because it shows the growth of the plant? The leaves, stems,
stalks, and the large and small tomatoes make an attractive arrangement
of shapes. They were first drawn just as they appeared, and then the
finder was moved about upon the sketch, to find its most beautiful part.
[Illustration]
Beans, peas, beets, turnips, radishes, and many other vegetables may be
brought from the school garden or from the garden at home, to use in a
drawing lesson. A growth of cucumber vine would be an interesting study.
Make a brush or charcoal drawing from something of this kind, and then
use your finder to select the most interesting part. Cut out your
"finder" picture and mount it neatly.
The Growth of the Orange Tree.
=A Familiar Fruit.= When you see the bright pyramids of oranges on
fruit-stands or in store windows, do you wonder where the fruit comes
from, or upon what kind of a tree it grows? In certain parts of our
country there are a great many orange trees, and the children of Florida
and Southern California know them as well as the children of the north
know apple or cherry trees.
=The Orange Tree.= Look at the picture of the tree, on page 29. It is not
a tree that one would choose to put in a landscape, because it is not
what is called picturesque--it is too trim, even, and regular. Its chief
beauty is in its coloring. Its "spheres of golden sunshine" hang in the
midst of glossy, dark green leaves, and sometimes the fruit stays on the
tree until the buds and blossoms of a new crop appear. It is no uncommon
sight to see an orange tree bearing leaves, buds, blossoms, and fruit,
all at the same time. One of the sketches shows you a spray of orange
blossoms. They are white and waxy, with a strong, sweet fragrance.
=Gathering the Fruit.= Sometimes, the trees are so heavily laden with
fruit that props are put under the branches to keep them from breaking
off before the crop is ready to be gathered. The fruit is not allowed to
fall from the tree, but when it is ripe an army of pickers, each one
provided with a cutter and a canvas bag, comes to the grove. The pickers
do not climb the tree and shake the boughs, as you would do if you were
gathering nuts, but they mount ladders, carefully cut each orange from
its twig, and put it in the bag. The bags, when filled, are emptied into
boxes, which are carried to the packing house. There the oranges are
sorted into lots, according to size, wrapped in tissue-paper--each orange
by itself--and packed in boxes for shipment. You have seen them in their
tissue wrapping, after they have reached their journey's end.
=Designs from the Orange.= One of the sketches on page 29 shows the
growth of some oranges with their leaves and twigs. Below is a design
made by repeating the shapes of the orange, its leaves and stem. Any
shape or group of shapes that is repeated in a design is called a unit.
Do you know what suggested the unit shown in one of the small sketches
above the tree?
Sketch from the growth of any fruit you can get. Try to make from the
shapes you find in your own study, a simple unit of design.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
LIFE AND ACTION
"Where the pools are bright and deep,
Where the gray trout lies asleep,
Up the river and o'er the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me."
]
People and Animals.
=An Out-of-door Picture.= On the opposite page is a picture that seems to
invite you to close your books and go into the country for a picnic or
for a day's fishing. You cannot look at the grassy meadow, the little
river, the tall trees, the distant hills and woods, without wishing that
you might be there. What fun it would be to sit on those big, flat stones
and dabble your feet in the water while you ate your lunch, or to hold
your fish-pole over one of the deep pools, "where the gray trout lies
asleep!"
=A New Interest.= If any one should ask you to tell what part of the
picture interested you most, what would you say? Would you think first of
the stream, its pleasant banks, the tall trees, the large stones, the
distant hills and fields? Or would you say at once that it was the
presence of the boys in the picture that first attracted you? You wonder
where they came from, where they are going, what they are carrying over
their shoulders and in their hands. You are glad that there are two boys
instead of one in the picture, for in your own sports and games the
pleasure is doubled if some one is with you.
=Our Companions and Friends.= Suppose you were able to live in that part
of the world that seems most beautiful to you. Do you think that the
landscape alone, or the most interesting of plants and flowers would be
enough to make you happy? No matter how much you enjoyed these things, or
how much you might love the beautiful country, nothing could take the
place of companions and friends. No books or toys or fine houses could
keep you from being lonely if you had no one to talk to or to play with.
Our brothers and sisters and friends are worth all the books and toys and
fine houses in the world.
=Our Friends among the Animals.= We have many good friends, too, among
the animals. It is true they cannot talk with us, but some of them seem
to understand what we say to them, and they show us in many ways what
they think and how they feel. Do you not know when your dog is glad or
sorry, thirsty or hungry, proud or ashamed? How does he tell you?
=Drawing our Friends.= In the chapter that follows, you will study your
playmates,--the boys and girls that you know and like,--and some of your
friends among the animals. You will learn to draw them as they look, and
to express their action just as you expressed what you discovered about
flowers.
"The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings!"
[Illustration]
Drawing from a Pose.
Little children with their bright dresses and picturesque bonnets make
delightful studies for us to draw and to paint. They are generally glad
to "pose" for a few minutes, while having their pictures taken.
The sketch of this little child was made from the pose, in a school-room.
The little girl stood on a table in front of the pupils and held a
string, which was fastened to a toy boat. The color and shape of her
sunshade and of the color-mass of her dress, the position of her arm, the
size and length of her legs and feet, were all carefully studied and
drawn. The blue waters of the lake, the sail-boat, and the sandy shore,
were added from memory to complete the picture.
Make a pose drawing from your small brother or sister, or from some
little friend. A pink or blue bonnet might be used as part of the
costume, instead of a hat. Let the pose represent some character or
occupation. Add a very simple landscape. Use water-color or colored
crayons.
[Illustration]
Different Positions of the Same Pose.
In your study of plants you found that the appearance of a leaf or flower
depended upon its position. In making a picture of a daisy as it grows,
we do not show the exact size and shape of leaves and petals, as they
would look if we laid them on paper and traced around them. Such a
drawing, while it might show certain facts of the plant, would not tell
the truth about its appearance.
In drawing from boys and girls, also, we must study appearances. We know
that our model has two eyes and two ears, and that the nose is in the
middle of the face. Yet the model may stand so that we do not see all or
any of those features. Study the four drawings above, and tell how the
girl is standing in each sketch.
One of your schoolmates will pose while you make four five-minute
sketches from four different positions of the same pupil. Make large
drawings, using charcoal or crayon. Your model should not stand more than
five minutes without resting.
[Illustration]
Three Steps in Pose Drawing.
When you drew the shapes of trees, you found that if you made a mistake
in the proportions of a tree you could not make the picture truthful by
drawing the branches, the foliage, or the little twigs ever so perfectly.
So it is in drawing from the figure. Suppose you plan a sketch that is
ten inches from the top of the head to the foot. A good way to do would
be to draw a light line or place two dashes, to indicate the height. Then
decide how much of that height is needed for the head; for the waist; for
the length of skirt or trousers; for the legs and feet. Next, think about
the width and shape of these various parts, and sketch them in as lightly
and brokenly as the lines are in the first sketch on this page. If your
work is correct up to this point, you can finish the shapes a little
more, as in the second sketch. You will now have studied the shapes and
proportions of the things of most importance in the sketch. Then the
masses of light and dark may be expressed.
From the pose of one of your schoolmates, try one large sketch, done by
the three stages shown above. Use charcoal or crayon.
[Illustration: 1]
[Illustration: 2]
[Illustration: 3]
[Illustration: 4]
Some Proportions of the Human Figure.
Although these skeleton figures are stiff and angular in appearance, from
them you can learn something about the human figure that you will be glad
to know. In each of them the thigh line is exactly half way between the
top of the head and the foot. The knee-joint is half way between the
thigh line and the foot. The shoulder line is placed at the base of the
neck, and the elbow-joint is between two slanting lines that represent
the lower and upper arm.
A knowledge of these things will help you in drawing the garments or
clothes of a pose. The waist is a little above the thigh line, and is so
drawn in Figure 4. The bottom of the blouse in Figure 2 is a little below
the waist line, but is still above the thigh line. Stand up and hold your
arms close to your sides, and notice where the tip of the middle finger
comes, in relation to the knee-joint. Be careful not to draw the arms too
short or too long.
Draw two skeleton figures like Figure 1. Make them at least four inches
tall. On one skeleton draw the garments of a boy, carefully studying the
clothes worn by a real boy. The other is to be dressed like a girl.
[Illustration: 1]
[Illustration: 2]
[Illustration: 3]
[Illustration: 4]
Actions and Attitudes of the Human Figure.
Action and attitude, as well as proportion, can be expressed by the
simple line figures on this page. You do not need the second and fourth
sketches to tell you of the action expressed in the first and third.
In the figures on page 35, the lines were nearly all vertical and
horizontal; the figures were standing still. In Figure 1 on this page,
you notice that every line is slanting; the figure expresses action.
Stand erect, and think of the direction of lines that your body takes.
Then push hard with both hands against a wall. You can feel that your
erect position is changed. The vertical lines become slanting, or
oblique.
Study the lines and their changed relations in Figure 3. Draw several
line sketches that express a familiar action, such as walking, jumping,
running, lying, or sitting. "Clothe" these action sketches.
[Illustration]
Hands and Feet.
You have drawn from the figure long enough to find out that hands and
feet are by no means the easiest things in the world to draw. Like almost
everything else, they change their appearance with every change of
position. We cannot learn to draw a hand or a foot so that we can use it
in all kinds of poses. We can only learn to see the different sizes and
shapes which each new position shows, and try to draw them as they
appear.
The sketches on this page are good studies for you to copy. When you can
do this well, try to draw the hands or feet of one of your friends.
Sometimes a pair of boots or rubbers may be placed in exactly the same
position that they would be in were the pose actually standing. Practice
drawing from studies like these until you are better able to see shapes,
and to draw them truthfully.
An Animal Pose.
Have you a dog that will sit up and beg, or carry a basket? Perhaps he
would not object to posing in school, with his master or mistress.
[Illustration]
If your teacher can arrange for a lesson of this kind, choose large
paper, and sketch rapidly with charcoal or crayon. Begin with the dog,
for he will change his position soon, and you must get quickly the main
lines that will show his attitude and shape. Then you can sketch the
figure of the boy or girl after the dog has grown tired.
Do you notice in the picture, the fine arrangement of light and dark? The
boy's light waist contrasts well with his dark trousers and cap. The
little dog, too, is more attractive because of his white spotting. Finish
your drawing by adding dark masses, as suggested by the pose.
[Illustration]
Actions and Attitudes of Animals.
You will enjoy making skeleton sketches of animals. On this page are
shown three different positions of a dog. Very few lines are used in
Figure 1, yet they are so placed that you know at once the animal that is
represented, its attitude, and its shape. Lines that tell the important
facts about an object are called leading lines. The skeleton figures we
have been studying show us the leading lines in certain attitudes of
people and animals. If the leading lines of any object are correctly
drawn, the finished sketch is almost sure to be good.
From the pose of a dog, or of any other animal that you can study, make
leading line sketches. Before you try to clothe these skeletons, study
carefully the proportions expressed by your first drawing. If a mistake
is there, correct it. Then study and draw the shapes and sizes of head,
legs, tail, ears, etc. Sometimes parts of your leading lines can be used,
as parts of the finished outline. Use pencil or charcoal for work of this
kind. These are good studies for your sketch-book.
[Illustration]
The Spotting, or Light and Dark Values, of Animals.
When you wish a more finished sketch of an animal, you should first study
and draw the leading lines, just as you did in the lesson before this.
The proportions and shapes of all parts of the sketch must be true,
before any thought is given to the planning of eyes, ears, nose, or any
other small feature. If you are able to express quickly, with a few
lines, the most important facts, it will not matter so much if the pose
moves about or changes position. We cannot expect a dog or a pigeon to
keep one position until we have made a finished sketch. The quick use of
eyes and pencil will enable you to make notes of something that you can
work on after the pose has changed position.
Study an animal pose, and plan to make a large sketch that will show its
coloring, or values of light and dark. A black and white cat, or a
spotted rabbit will do as well as a dog. Let the animal take a natural
position on a table before the class. Sketch the leading lines that show
this position. Then draw the shape of the head and body, the legs and
tail. When all these shapes and proportions are truthfully expressed, add
the dark masses that show the spotting of the animal.
[Illustration]
Study of a Pigeon.