

good plan to make a quick sketch of the whole gioiip, much 

 as I have suggested above, either in charcoal or in colour, 

 the general forms of light and shade roughly blocked in. 

 Keeping this before you for reference, begin the finished work 

 on a fresh piece of paper, getting fresh flowers to take the 

 place of the faded ones, only taking as much at each sitting 

 as you feel you can accomplish while the blossoms are fresh, 

 doing your utmost with this, adhering meanwhile to the main 

 idea of the first sketch. 



This is the only way I know of making 

 a really finished study of an)'thing so perish- 

 able as apple-blossom, but, of course, it is a 

 method full of pitfalls for the unwary, and 

 the one I u.sed to find the most dangerous 

 was the temptation, when I took up each particular 

 group of blooin, to be so led away by the beautj' 

 of the cluster before me that I could not resist an 

 inclination to give each one equal prominence, and 

 ignore its relation to the whole study : a terrible bit 

 of patchwork was the result. 



So we must have our first sketch constantlj- before 

 ■ us, to enable us to keep our first impression fresh, 

 and then, when the finished drawing is nearing com- 

 pletion, it will want what an artist would call 

 " bringing together " ; in other words, simplifying in 

 effect to compose well as a whole, to bring back the 

 unison of idea of our quick sketch of the whole 

 branch. Here a petal, a whole flower, or even a 

 cluster of flowers, toned down so as to be almost lost 

 in the shadow ; an edge softened here ; a touch of 

 broad, bright light there ; this can only be accom- 

 plished satisfactorily with great deliberation and care. 

 Sometimes a good quick effect can be obtained 

 by working in " body " on coarse, dark brown paper, 

 such as you would use for wrapping up parcels, using 

 the colours and merging them together while wet, 

 much as you would if oil, and not water, were the 

 medium. The colour must be used as pure as possible, for, if mixed 

 with too much water, the effect would be extremely weak and poor. 



When I first took up flower-painting seriously, I made some careful 

 studies of single flowers ; then tried two or three together, with a tint 

 washed roughly behind them as background ; but when, a little later on, 

 fired with an ambition to exhibit my work, I began to try my prentice 

 hand at picture-making, I found, for the first time, all the difliculties I 

 have tried to describe above. 'ihe temptation to jiaint each flower for 



Arc you lightini! the fairies* gloomy tirots. 



Delicate, fairy chandeliers? 

 Where are you shininii, forSet-me-nots 7 



When are you cominti to dry your tears? 



/•• 



: /',.; 



28 



