THE POPULAR EDUCATOR 







Fig. 104. 



oedure in all cases. We have fre- 

 quently noticed beginners, in their 

 first attempts to draw trees, start 

 off with that which they call " the 

 shading," regardless of the fact 

 that trees have trunks and stsms 

 upon which the foliage depends, 

 and equally so as to the importance 

 of the lights, which vary as much 

 as the trees themselves ; these lights 

 must be so managed that all the 

 half tints and darker parts must be 

 made subservient to them. A proper 

 acquaintance with the growth of 

 the stems will assist us in under- 

 standing the disposition of the lights, 

 as by them we must give the indi- 

 vidual character of the tree : in 

 other words the lights, as they fall 

 upon the foliage, are in their extent 

 governed by that upon which the 

 foliage depends, that is, the stems. 

 We shall return to this again ; in 

 the meantime we will place before 

 the pupil an example which prac- 

 tically has more to do with detail, 

 than with the broader manner we 

 shall enter upon in the next lesson. 

 Our object in this arrangement is 

 with a view of showing him the 

 necessity of making himself capable, 

 by this additional example, of enter- 

 ing into details, previous to the 

 practice of the general distribution 

 of light and shade, which, it will be 

 Our endeavour to show, must after- 

 wards receive those characteristic 

 details which belong to trees in 

 particular. Fig. 107 is the finished 

 drawing of a fir-tree, whilst Fig. 10G 

 represents the method we recom- 

 mend in copying it. The sharp 

 angular manner of execution will 

 be noticed in contradistinction to 

 the horizontal and broader method 



\ 



\ 



of the oak, or the drooping and 

 almost perpendicular style of the 

 willow. These should be copied on 

 a larger scale, as a broader and 

 more effective drawing will be ob- 

 tained thereby than if it be done 

 on too diminutive a scale ; and, 

 besides, the details will be better 

 understood, and there will be also 

 greater opportunity for entering 

 fully into all minor particulars, 

 which, if carefully observed, with- 

 out descending to littleness of man- 

 ner, will have so much influence 

 upon the whole. 



As there is in many respects a 

 close affinity between foregrounds 

 and trees, it might be advisable at 

 this stage to enter somewhat upon 

 the treatment of foregrounds, pre- 

 paratory to the remaining instruc- 

 tions we propose to give upon trees. 

 Shrubberies, scattered bushes over- 

 grown with brambles and honey- 

 suckle, very properly belong to 

 foregrounds; their mixed character, 

 being neither trees nor plants, claim 

 most of the remarks we shall have 

 to make upon both. For studies for 

 foregrounds, nature will be our 

 greatest help and resource, affording 

 at all times an endless variety of 

 subjects, which can be more con- 

 veniently obtained than the larger 

 specimens of vegetation. It is an ex- 

 cellent practice, and one that is very 

 common amonorst artists, to collect 







^f-f 



