Pencil Pictures

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PENCIL PICTURES

PENCIL PICTURES A

Guide

to

Their Pleasing Arrangement

BY

THEODORE KAUTZKY

PUBLISHED BY REINHOLD PUBLISHING CORPORATION

NEW YORK

ARCHI.

TECTURE BOOK ROOM

Copyright 1947

REINHOLD PUBLISHING CORPORATION New

York, U.S.A.

All rights reserved

Printed and Bannd

in the

United States of Atnerica

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

I

PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS Plate:

The Landscape— Balance

vs.

2

.

Symmetry

PICTURE SYNTHESIS Plate: Balance— Angular and

4

Curved Forms

VALUE ARRANGEMENT

6

Plate: Foreground, Middleground, Background

PLANNING Plates:

A

PICTURE

The Beach— Center

8

of Interest

Beach Scene

SEACOAST REFLECTIONS Plates:

.

.

.

14

Along the Coast— Perspective

Rocky

Inlet

THEFISHINGPORT Plates: Boats and

In the

20

Water

Harbor

THE USE OF CONTRAST

26

Plates: Line Opposition— Gulls

Fish Pier

COMPELLING THE EYE Plates:

More Waterfront

32

Topics

Gulls and Shadows

THE VILLAGE SCENE

38

Plates: Tree-Lined Street

Cottages in Sunshine

THE CHANGING SUN Plates: Light Direction— Shadows

New England

Vista

44

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE WINTER Plates:

Snowy

A

L A

x\

DSC APE

.

50

Contrasts

Country Church

THEFARMGROUP Plates: Balancing

The

IN

(Continued)

56

Forms— Details

Sheltering Tree

ROLLING COUNTRY

.

62

Plates: Curving Patterns

Roadside Farm

THEHILLFARM Plates: Nature's

68

Moods

Vermont Farmhouse

INTHE FOREST Plates:

Woodland

The

Silhouettes

Birch Grove

MOUNTAIN SCENERY Plates:

74

80

Rugged Forms Castellated Crag

THELOFTY PEAKS Plates: Alpine Heights

High

Sierra

86

INTRODUCTION Like every other

many

very

artist,

have been asked by

I

lay persons, draftsmen, students, and

them how to go about making attractive pictures. Most of my questioners already know something about drawing and some amateurs to

tell

of

them have developed

at

wielding the pencil or brush. Yet they are

excellent technical skill

they

down before a blank sheet make a picture that really

of paper

sit

try to

inherent sense of what

is

right.

all

when

troubled by the difficulty they encounter

and

satisfies their

Perhaps they have

lect

and arrange the things found in nature

that will

There

make them appeal

rhythm,

ance,

pictures.

Upon how intelligently they are

depends the excellence of the Naturally, with the pencil

fess

inferior to water colors

this process

does not give them what

to

do about

them

like to set

productive

would

like to help. I

from the

free

give

so that they will

if

they want to

quality of

limitations of re-

and

line

know what

and

book

do with

The

make

pictures that have the

a

I

devoted

an exposition of a particular tech-

complete range of textures and values

attainable through the use of broad strokes,

with a this

a

wedge-shaped

flat,

point.

I

made

demonstrated

of finished sketches in which the tex-

tures of the

common

trees

were

materials of building and

number

the rendition of a

of different types of

I

am assuming

that the reader has already attained ficiency in the use

that he

may now

more important namely, the

some pro-

and control of the pencil

so

concentrate his attention on a

part of an artist's stock in trade;

ability to

combine and put together

the elements of subject matter in such a

make pleasing

way

as to

pictures of whatever he chooses

draw.

The

thing

would like

it is

is

to the average person that this

addressed.

is

illustrations of this

book are of two kinds.

that will be described hereafter.

to teach

here

is

how to

se-

Each Lesson

how

Plate analyzes a picture and shows

been put together, both

as to the

it

has

arrangement of

the pattern in line and the balancing of the principal light

and dark values.

Each Lesson Plate

also gives several additional

small picture arrangements

made with

the same

or similar elements. In the whole collection there is

a great variety of subject matter, ranging

the seaside and waterfront to the hill

and

wharves

trees; with houses, boats, barns,

as the

aim

to

and

elements out of which landscapes

are built up. In

my

from

and moun-

country of the interior; with rivers, roads,

rocks,

making the

show how there

everywhere and how the

illustrations is

it

was

picture material

by selecting them to suit his

artist can,

the essentials and rearranging

purpose, grasp and convey the real truth and

beauty others

I

however,

There are seventeen of what may be called Lesson Plates and fourteen carefully studied Picture

tain

illustrated.

In presenting this second book,

to

is

technique with a series of lesson sheets and

number

belief,

Plates in which have been applied the principles

nique of drawing with the graphite pencil, where-

by

my

making of

learn to do as well with the pencil as he can with

the brush, and

light to

book, "Pencil Broadsides," to

is

the

that the pencil, in the hands of a true artist,

the

good design.

In my first my efforts

It

oils in

other means. Certainly, the average person can

the subject matter nature provides in such abun-

dance

art.

medium somehow

this

and

would

them command over

arrangement of pattern of

shadow

makes

worthy works of

are limited to black

hold their own against pictures made by any

I

art, to

believe

to

we

which many people pro-

capable of producing really fine results that can

it.

these people

It is

a limitation

applied

results.

know

they are really seeking, but they do not

what

artists.

all

These principles can be learned and applied by anyone who is in earnest about wanting to make

leaving anything out or changing the position or

Somehow,

tastes.

contrast, etc., that are followed

they see before them, as a camera does, without

view includes.

normal

dther consciously or instinctively by

and white,

their

to all

are certain principles of proportion, bal-

been taught to reproduce correctly on paper what

form of any of the objects

so that

the resulting pictures will have those qualities

go

to

in the scene that lies

may enjoy

it.

before

him

so that

So, with this objective, let us

work together,

seriously, to

make

pictures.

1

PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS In making any kind of a picture, obviously the first

thing to be done

Most

is

much

for

undulating, but you are conscious of the it

difficult.

You

however,

will,

difficulty in arriving at a pleas-

you give the matter

if

at first

size of the

it

a

will be decided

paper you

You

use.

are

likely to find available sketch pads in the proportion of 9 to

which

12,

more

or

less

thought. Perhaps

you by the

flat

that

antly proportioned one little

be perfectly

and rectangles have

an infinite variety of possible shapes, which makes

not have too

may

to establish its dimensions.

pictures are rectangular

the problem sound

the distance. It

the page size of this

is

book. In any case, you will not go far

wrong

if

fact

recedes toward the horizon. Various things

contribute to this effect— color tions,

or

and value grada-

diminishing sizes of familiar objects such

and the converging of actually parallel

as trees,

lines as they lead

away from you. The most pow-

erful of these factors in producing an

depth

in a picture

is

eflFect

the last mentioned.

A

of

tree-

lined road or the banks of a stream, whether they

be straight or winding, lead the eye into the distance as nothing else will do.

The

artist

makes

you accept this proportion at first. As you develop greater sensitivity to proportion, you can re-

will

fine the dimensions of your pictures to suit your

server's eye into the center of interest he has

taste.

The

do with

it,

nature of the subject has something to of course,

and most landscapes

into a rectangle placed horizontally, with

Most landscapes

of this horizon it

sides

the river or the road carry your eye into the distance.

important, particularly where

is

With few

exceptions,

it

circumstances be placed

as

the case.

the top

picture, as indicated in

satisfactory results

somewhat

picture, as in

sketches 2, 4, and 6.

the vertical axis

is

also to be

how awkward

it

is

to

place the center of interest in the middle and

placed.

same

with similar

The two

size

trees

elements symmetrically

and the two

and value only succeed

picture a deadly static quality which

and lacking

this

book and

The

may

be used in either the

clouds, too, are arranged in

receding planes over your head, and look carefully at the sky you will see this

if

you

how

will

often

receding "S" shaped arrangement occurs. In

sketch 2,

I

have used

it

to

make

the sky go back

into the distance as well as to help lead the eye to

avoided. Sketch 3 shows

it

use of this device, as

make more and more pictures of your own. In general, the "S" shaped element is a more subtle and satisfactory way of producing the illusion of depth in a picture. It avoids the monotony of the straight line and

below or above the center of the

flank

make good

converging sides of

you proceed through

land or the sky.

are always achieved with the horizon

Symmetry about

can

6, the

midway between

The most

opposite.

1,

commonly

You

will be seen as

and

should never under such

and the bottom of your sketch

is

Observe how,

fit

meets the sky. Theplacing

dominates the picture,

as the focus of his picture.

its

take in both earth and sky: in

distant land

planned

to do; lead the ob-

in sketches 4, 5,

other words, they have a horizon at eye-level,

where the

do what he wants them

well

proportion of about 3 to 4.

in the

use of this fact by placing such things where they

in interest. It

is

hills of the

the silhouetted house and tree. I

have referred several times to the "center of

in-

Every picture should have a principal where the most interesting element

terest."

point of focus

or combination of elements should be placed.

For

in

giving the

best results, as suggested above, this point should

is

unpleasing

occur somewhat to one side of the vertical axis and

balance, not

sym-

either above or

below the geometrical center of

metry, which you are seeking. If you will analyze

the enclosing rectangle.

the scenes which delight you most in nature, you

has been done in sketches 2, 4, 5, and 6, and also in all of the pictures shown hereafter in this book.

will discover that

them

it is

always balance that gives

their admirable quality.

a special case of balance

and

is

Symmetry

but the most skilful and finished

As you look out

is

only

best let alone by all

away before your eyes

picture

to

will notice

how

this

look for this center of interest in every

you

see that attracts

you and observe how

the artist has used the devices I have mentioned

artists.

across the landscape in nature,

the earth stretches

Learn

You

into

here as well as some others to compel the observer's

eye to go where he wanted

it

to go.

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THE LANDSCAPE-BALANCE

VS.

SYMMETRY

PICTURE SYNTHESIS Balance has been emphasized as one of the prin-

any

cipal desiderata in

picture. It

must be present

some extent the

mind

learn, the subject matter, as such,

is

elements or contains It

may

One

be attained it

always

in

as

you proceed.

of the useful things to Icnow

that a small

is

By is

you can control to upon the observer. This

selection of the subject effect

psychological

a

important

matter.

making

in picture

Actually, you

as-

the arrangement

of the elements into a

be used to balance a large area of dark or light

wish to

that would otherwise overweight the picture

looks well because of the arrangement of

its

own

direction.

For example,

in sketch

1

op-

,

call

and dark

A

so.

it

areas, of

will

not nearly so

is

spot of dark against light or light against dark can

in

mood.

the type and, in turn, something of the

made up of a few simple many and complex forms. in various ways— but only by

whether the picture

keeping

types. Obviously, the subject matter determines

pattern— a design,

if

you

really well designed picture

its

forms and

its

light

lines, into a

its

properly placed against

well balanced and interesting ensemble. Thus,

the large area of sky, has kept the heavy weight

the abstraction, so-called, which containslio rec-

posite, the small gull,

from creating an unshown diagrammatically

of the dark rocks at the left

balanced

effect.

in sketch 2.

This

is

In sketch 3, the comparatively small

mass of the telephone poles serves to counterbalance the large dark mass of the house and

shadow. Often, when you look

may have

a feeling that

direction or another. If

it

at a picture,

overheavy

is

in

its

you one

you look carefully, you

can usually find a place where the introduction of

some small

intense spot of dark or light can

restore the balance.

The beginner must

ognizable objects, art.

may

be a satisfying work of

But we are not concerned with abstractions

here; only naturalistic pictures, which are intel-

average person the world over.

ligible to the

Returning now, for the moment, your attention

is

called to the

way

to sketch in

lines of the design pattern cause the eye to

the center of interest— the

little

3,

which the go

to

house, near but

not at the middle of the picture. Although the

house

at

scale, all

the left

nearer the eye and

is

seem

lines

its

Even

to

at

larger

converge upon the

he put the most interesting element at his center

shadow leads the eye where it is wanted. There are some strong horizontals, however, which would carry the eye away to the right if they were not interrupted

of interest, but he must

by the vertical telephone poles, introduced for

his pictures,

consider carefully, as he plans

what elements he

and where they are

is

going to include

to be placed.

fill

Not only must

the rest of the picture

with other supporting elements, each of which

must be balanced by something else.

the result will depend on are

else,

somewhere

Decision after decision must be made, and

how

intelligently they

made. After a good degree of proficiency has

smaller building.

The

that reason.

the

small pole at the

left

not only

helps to assure us of the reality of the telephone line but

is

carefully placed to help frame the

center of interest, to continue the line of the fore-

ground

roof,

and

to break

up the sky

area.

been attained, he will have learned to decide

In sketch 5, though the forms are rounded, the

automatically or instinctively what to include

underlying principles are the same.

The

and where— and what

barn

is

to leave out.

Some pictures, when analyzed, turn made up mostly of straight lines and

is

the center of interest, the eye

out to be

by the

rectilinear

and held there by the strong contrast

forms. Others are built out of curves and rounded

lines of the fence

little

led to

it

and the curving road in

value of

the white silhouette against the dark hill.

The

of

telephone poles not only keep the eye from es-

the latter type as contrasted with the preceding

caping to the left but their crossbeams serve as

ones on this page. There

a balancing accent for the

forms. Sketch 5, and

tended that one

is

its

analysis, 6,

is

show one

no implication

better than

another— just

matter of pointing out the difference. noting, however, that there

ence in the

is

mood produced by

in-

It is

heavy dark of the

hill.

a

It is

fun to analyze thus a picture already drawn.

worth

It is

more fun

to plan other pictures so that they

something but be

a certain differ-

will not only depict

each of the two

and have good design.

in

balance

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THE FARM GROUP Farmhouses and

their

picturesque.

The

barns,

in

leaves our foreground in bright sunshine, bal-

somehow always

ancing the bright sky and increasing the tendency

buildings

accessory

every part of the country are

new and

old, the chicken

come

for the eye to

to rest

midway between them,

houses, the sheds for various purposes, the silos,

on the gable end of the house.

the windmills, and all the multifarious buildings

Partly to break up the sky area

farm

that

seems

life

to

demand

arranged so that they hold together and story of the kind of life lived in

on that

tell a

and around

our big

etc.— with which the artist can construct an un-

number

limited

when he

of patterns

ring in the old trick of putting

is

is

just

your picture,

in the principal area of

be sure not to put

puts their

foil for

whenever there

tree. Incidentally,

one big tree

shapes— prisms, cylinders, cones,

we

side,

slender tree, which serves also as a

in a

them. Not only that, but they make a design of solid geometric

the right and

at

partly to stop any tendency for the eye to escape

usually

are

right in the middle. This

it

true advice in general but

is

especially perti-

three dimensions on two-dimensional paper.

nent in the case of such a prominent downward-

Let us take one such farmhouse as our subject for

thrusting form as indicated in the diagram.

the next exercise in picture making. It happens to

be in

New

England and

is

There

of the old gambrel

salt-box variety with a big central chimney.

nothing much new to be said about ren-

is

dering the

Some

Your arrangement

final.

you have but

to

is

all set

and

apply the principles you have

a stately, spreading tree rising high over the roof

By now, this should be a habit. Again, I have made two little sketches of the same scene with different lighting. One has the

and giving welcome shade from the summer sun.

sun coming from the right and our tree and

This tree and the shadow of

gable are

made dark

the other,

it is

owner has thoughtfully sycamore which has now grown into

already learned.

ancestor of the present

planted a

gable end of the house will

branches on the

its

make an

excellent

center of interest for our picture.

as the

We

way we look

plan our rectangle with the principal focus

to the left of center

and sketch

eye-controlling lines as objects. sit

An

we

in

find

old ramshackle shed

our important

them at

our

in

it is

we

curves

downward toward

from

first

it,

fits

The

into our plan, since

limbs of the tree

itself,

The road it

A

series of

most important surface

make

a "picture,"

a

The

a picture. is

that

below

horizontals— the path to the

fence, the roof lines of the buildings— afford us

we have

toward our objective.

the sur-

to the tex-

have not tried have tried

to

to put

decide on a dark background formed by the

thing

I

a

as that

museum,

directs attention back at the house

light

chance to make an infinitely more interit

than

shining full from the

same

have tried to demonstrate

across the surface in long diagonals

esting job of

wooded hill behind the house and partially merge this dark area with some foreground darks at the left, culminating in a pointed shadow on the ground which

I

a sharp

and following the streamers of

it

and shadow

We

though

in

by letting each clapboard shade the one

shed, the fence, the base of the house, the second

a succession of steps

at

balance and emphasis into even this segment of

most powerful converging force from the top

down.

matter which

it.

a picture!

show up and give character

face will

travels

form

No

call

we have

ture. In sketch 5, opposite, I

silhouet-

ting against dark masses of trees beyond,

it,

often well to choose to have the light falling

across the

toward the house and then away

which

both ways.

the tree.

at

back-lighting,

angle so that even small irregularities

facing our subject will give us a set of lines

vanishing

photographers

we have

In drawing closeup views of architectural detail,

nearby

left as

against a gray distance. In

winter, and

followed in lighting sculpture

particularly

cate.

When

fully

it

is

we would if the sun were front. The principle is the

when

the modelling

a subject so lighted

full of life

is

in a

is

deli-

drawn

skil-

and sparkle, even though

For the gray parts of the picture we use the middleground grass, the foliage of the tree,

grays are predominant. Lighted from the front,

and the front and roofs of the buildings. This

sunshine

and

tree.

it

56

becomes

flat

itself

and

loses "color,"

may

even though the

be extremely brilliant.

AV-

BALANCING FO RM S- D ETAILS

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NATURE'S MOODS

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THE FOREST

IN There

are people

see the

woods

who

are said to be unable to

for the trees,

supplied by the long shadows on the ground and by the massed trees along the far iently

and others who con-

versely are unable to see the trees for the forest.

The artist must be able

to see both.

side of the pond.

He must know

To

break the monotony

troduce a leaning tree

at

the

individual tree forms and must also

know how

also to force the eye into our center.

and

affect each

In distributing our values

the trees live together in nature other's habits of growth. It

is

one thing to draw

at

a single tree, of definite species, so that its charac-

unmistakably expressed.

teristics are

draw

to

that

group of

a

It is

birch trunks into relief.

light— using whatever

produce

it

in-

a strong dark will

throw the

We then make some

some gray, and some we have to

of our nearby trunks dark,

trees, a grove, a forest, so

will be convincingly real.

it

the center of interest, where

little

another

we put

we

which helps

left,

artistic instinct

a pleasing balance.

The

rest of the distant

making a picture out of a bit of woodland, we will take up our position in a little birch grove, in winter, where we can look

trees

out through an opening, across a frozen, snow-

short, curving horizontals to express the texture

covered pond, toward a spruce woods beyond.

of the bark and give vibration. Occasional long

This will give us a chance to draw individual

vertical strokes help to

As an

trees,

By

exercise in

We draw our tree trunks in lightly and then proceed to render them with clean strokes; mostly

The

small groups, and massed growth.

move-

the very nature of things, the general

ment must be

ground

nishing the contrasting opposition.

We

range for some diagonals, too,

in the

it

may

suit

straight trunks, closely

our convenience.

and branches of the nearer

interestingly. Character

lot of

a

wood

find

is

to

them, they are

break up the darks

given to the band of

make

the

jagged silhouette of their tops describe their nature. Finally, our

ground shadows are put

in

with soft, undulating strokes of fluctuating widths

are unevenly spaced, of varying thickness

of trunk, and of different degrees of dark or light textures.

the lighter trunks

distant trees by simply taking care to

that the trees in

is

and help

clearly silhouetted

and equally spaced, would

What we

we

trees pass along or

across the darker ones behind

shape of

be deadly monotonous, to say nothing of their lack of reality.

Where

have observed them.

fur-

can ar-

A

their roundness.

following the growth habits of the trees as

branches, and can even have a tree or two falling

over where

model

interlacing branches are put in with long,

firm strokes that vary in thickness and direction

vertical, following the lines of the

trunks, with the horizontals of the

and our ground shadows are gray.

accomplished by rocking our pencil.

Within reason, we can play upon these

ful to

divergencies and create interesting rhythms.

add

to the receding effect

shadows closer

we are standing close we cannot include their our rectangular frame. We make the most

as

We are care-

by spacing these

they get farther away from

us.

have provided several other sketches of wood-

In the present instance

I

among the

land scenes in which you will discern the same

tops in

nearer trees, so

principles.

At

3, I

have emphasized the impor-

of this situation by deciding to group their slender

tance of clean, suggestive silhouette

trunks in an irregular and interesting rhythm.

my subject

We

a glance that the forest

little

choose to

make what we

opening our center of

interest,

a little to the right of center.

on either side

and one on the in

see

The

and place

two

at

a

the left

of the

pond

is

now needs some

line

this is

means.

You

can

tell at

of wind-beaten everis

into the water to drink. I

have drawn two old dead

the forest's edge.

I

chose these two trees for

central topic rather than three because

placed in the center of interest to

Our

moose wading

In the picture at 5,

A slim, triple-stemmed birch at the edge

give the eye an anchoring post.

by

trunks standing out starkly against the pines of

clusters are all different

the number, size, and spacing of the trees they

include.

entirely

greens and that the creature in the foreground

it

We group the trees

in three clusters,

right.

through the

by describing

it

my

never

seems quite satisfactory to put three similar ob-

diagram

jects

horizontals which are conven-

prominently

or five

74

make

in a

group.

a pleasing

One

or two or four

unit— never three.

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MOUNTAIN SCENERY When we

travel about in

we

country,

tainous

more ruggedly moun-

where the sun cannot

reaching up the mountainside

encounter striking

often

many

scenes that prompt us to reach for pencil and paper. The bold and striking natural forms we see are of noble and majestic proportions and re-

The

houettes.

more intimate views we have been dealing with. How shall we ever put these huge vistas onto a 9" X 12" sheet? Well, it can be done by

attention to

following exactly the same principles of arrange-

some

As you will was not so difficult

skyline

make

of the leafy

given especially careful

is

A

few wind-battered

added character. have seen by now, the change in

pines along the crest give

have taken for the following a little farm

after all. It

is

scale

just a matter of

Things that required many strokes

relativity.

now become mere

plate a mountain view that includes

before are

nestled close to a couple of steep and jagged

picture, to be described adequately with a

cliffs.

What

was once the rounded shoulder of

a small mountain,

now looms up

against the sky,

naked rocks

soil

its

well-placed strokes.

romantically

washed

A

of its mass, nature has chiseled a series of

The

details in the broader

thing that counts

we weave with

the pattern

clear of

by the action of centuries of wind and water.

Out

sil-

the crenellations count interest-

ingly in broken rhythm.

with smaller subjects. in point, I

broken up with

is

rounded crowns, with jiggly strokes here and there to give vibration to

than the

ment As a case

of trees

curving strokes that suggest the

short

quire greater scope for our canvas, so to speak,

as

The mass

reach.

few

is still

and values.

lines

couple of other arrangements of the same ma-

terial are

shown

directed

differently

at 3

and

4.

in

each.

Attention has been

them

Analyze

stony towers whose architectonic forms suggest

and strengthen your comprehension of picture-

some medieval fortress. Here is a subject has grandeur enough for broad treatment.

making.

The a

that

At

choose to

make this our it we assume

accentuate

We

the right.

have depicted

a

We

The elements

flows a broad river.

are big but

center of interest and to

they are simply expressed with a few value areas.

the sun striking in from

In rendering

place the sheer edge

somewhat

lively

to

it,

and sparkling,

as befitted

serenity of the distance

of strong lines leading to it— an approaching road,

its

shadowed

its

was expressed by merging

details into soft grays as they receded

See

trees, the roof slopes

made more nearness. The

the foreground was

the right in our rectangle and develop a series

the profiles of the

long vista through moun-

tainous forms skirting a valley through which

castellated ridge terminates dramatically in

perpendicular wall of imposing height.

5, 1

if

you can follow the

scheme

line

as

from it

us.

makes

and chimneys of the house, and the forms of the

use of directional lines, vanishing parallels, S-

mountains lend themselves to our purpose. In

curves,

sketch 2,

we arrange our

and

Then

lines in opposition.

try to

make

some broad views of your own.

values to highlight the

with darks and grays

We have come a long way, have we not, since we

which funnel the gaze to the exact spot of our

started out on our long excursion into the realm

cliffside

and surround

intended emphasis. close against the is

to

it

The

deepest black

is

placed

of picture building.

gleaming triangle of rock which

form our focus and

is

something

balanced by another

as

I

hope that you have learned

we went

but smaller intense dark in the foreground trees.

press both graphically

Grays are

important thing

also distributed so that they balance

around the central motif.

Rendering the in

the areas

final

worked

drawing

we have

is

model the

shadows

and putting

to define the

rich blacks inside the

deep

fissures

and

in

have tried words.

to ex-

The most

you have presumably

making drawing

after

drawing and

efforts

and the work of

this consistently

over a

period of time, you should have progressed

forms, leaving patches of white paper in the lighter grays

it,

and

that

shown here but your own others. If you have done

laid out with strokes of ap-

We

at

is

I

conscientiously analyzing not only the examples

a matter of filling

propriate weight and direction.

along, and that you have

absorbed the principles that

gate to

crevices

80

at

way beyond the threshold of the the world of creative art.

least a little

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THE LOFTY PEAKS We have now come to the final lesson in this book and it

is

we

since

started out at sea level, so to speak,

among

rate,

view

in the

ject a

scenery

I

have chosen for our

last

water

sub-

High up among

western mountains, where the

we

where

group of

a

Note that by making and down on the

stands out

The mass

peak.

foreground tree

of the trees roughly

we have here and the

to

make

sail

secondary center up the mountain top.

trifle to

cone a flat,

snow are put

We decide Our

Where

tree

farther out in the

same

direction.

edge are made

To

The

provide a barrier against escape

at

the

left,

the

with broad even strokes, close

in

snow has melted or blown away from

more or

' .

I

make and I

we

will leave

it

have

to

you

a

few

enough room

just

have earnestly tried

to

in this

to interpret

book

knew how

I

shaggy branches are also useful

Our

down and

from the

in

value diagram shapes up easily as

them.

in

with

and

trees

bits of

showing through near the peak are made trast

more

them.

softly with the gray

The dark

reflections in the

position of the trees which cast

ledge

do

to

hope that

I

what the

so,

mental

artist's

and executes

have impressed upon you the

to con-

what you need, and putting

maimer

in

such a

I

have not tried

of

may or may not

water accent the

it

together

as will produce pleasing results, to

make you overnight

That work and presupposes

finished artist.

shadows around

them and

I

selecting

the strongest dark of the trees against the bright

snow beyond. Other dark

you

fundamental ways of analyzing your material,

left.

at 2,

to give

helpful guidance. I have explained, as clearly as

which gives a strong contrasting

directing attention

remarks to

final

processes are as he plans his pictures

vertical. Its

them

make them.

put in the trunk and lower branches of a fulltree

your

less self-explanatory at this stage of

to yourself, for I

to in-

is somehow more much for the tech-

grown

fir

well to use

it

smaller sketches opposite are, or should be,

progress.

crease the sense of depth in our picture as well as to

the

Smooth shadows on the

nical points.

pond and returns toward our focus along the base of another group of trees. The angular forms of the mountain press down from above and some at the water's

mould

vertical strokes to express

expressive of the texture. So

the

foreground rocks

rendered with a combination

of each exposed patch. This

A

receding S-curve follows around the edge of

slope their planes in the right direction.

we

of the

short strokes going across the shorter dimension

the right of the axis, with the apex of the

little

The trunk

the rock formations, I have found

and a

in the rectangle

measured up

together and ending cleanly at the sun line.

the trees our center of interest, with a

group centers low down

is

the texture of the bark.

by the

to that furnished

down by the seacoast.

nearer

this strip of light

vertical plane of our picture,

form and some long

the opportunity to play up a

somewhat akin

contrast

gulls

cut a slender hori-

of short horizontal curving strokes to

echoes the shape of the rocky crest above them, so

vertical strokes for the

increase the illusion of depth.

against a snow-filled ravine on the slope of a conical

by

Through them we

the far shore rather than halfway,

lake and look

little

tall firs

and

placid

passed and caused a slight ripple to reflect the sky.

the infrequently trodden snows,

stand at the edge of a

across to

The

zontal streak of light where a puff of air has

the last level where substantial vegetation can

exist,

pure silhouette,

to stand out boldly.

best expressed

is

reflections.

noted for breath-taknig magnificence.

is

in

for their profiles are sufficiently descriptive

the snow-capped peaks above the timber

At any

handled almost

trees are

we want them

perhaps appropriate that we should end up

line.

at

The

is

have.

I

a natural talent that

you

do believe, however, that

you should have derived from these pages

also in-

into a

something that takes years

a better

tensify the importance of the farther shoreline.

understanding of pictures and their making than

When

you had before you began

our scheme

satisfies

our sense of balance,

we go ahead with our drawing

at full size.

Clean

I

and accuracy of definition of forms and areas now become important, and we display our hard-won knowledge of how to render textures.

have accomplished

this

yours has not been wasted.

detail

of success in both

and draw.

to read

much, I

my

time and

wish you the best

making and appreciating

and better pictures— Pencil Pictures,

86

If

better

let's say!

ALPINE HEIGHTS

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