TCHING FROM NAT I 



SKlllviilNC FROM NATURE.! 



MATERIALS CHOICE OF ffl KTO. 



IN our Lessons in Drawing, to bo fuim<l in tho previous 



of tin- have endeavoured to place 



our pHpiN tln> griirrul principles which belong to and 



ar upiilirjil.lt> to tho practice of drawing from tho flat (that is, 



. and also those principles which guido us in drawing 



\Vo now undertake a more direct application of 



: : n.-tiou then iu given, for the pnrposo of introducing oar 

 pupils to that V.TV interesting and delightful praeti'-'- "!' 

 draw ing, usually termed "sketching from nature;" wo mean 

 l>y this, tho taking up a few simple materials and seeking our 

 subjects out of doors. The phrase " sketching from nature" 

 is a very convenient one, and is generally understood, therefore 



whether it U coxier or more difficult depend* upon the inclination 

 of tho mind, th. practical experience, or, spooking more exactly, 

 the kind of experience tho pupil has been accustomed to. If the 

 grammar of tho art baa been well learned, the pupil will find 

 that a very considerable amount of tho knowledge he luu 

 1 whilst drawing from the fiat will bo of the greatest 

 service when drawing from nature. 



We have frequently met with portrait painters who have had 

 to make duplicates of their pictures, and who have said they 

 would much rather paint them again from the sitter than copy 

 them from the original picture : only those who have experienced 

 it can fully understand how much more feeling and life can be 

 imparted to tho work when nature is tho guide, than when they 

 have to depend npon tho limited expression of a copy. So with 

 landscape: wo have frequently been more pleased with the 



f . V ffififr. \ 



Fig. 1. 



we will retain it, although we prefer tho expression " drawing 

 from nature," as it implies greater care and attention to details 

 than tho term sketching in its usual sense. A loose habit of 

 drawing may bo called sketching, and if this were all that is 

 understood by it, tho practice would be a dangerous one for a 

 beginner ; but as we have already given sufficient cautions upon 

 this point in tho lessons upon Drawing, we will only repeat One 

 piece of advice and pass on "Learn to draw first; sketch 

 afterwards." In tho course of these lessons we shall find it 

 necessary occasionally to refer back to the lessons in Drawing 

 -Irc'ady given, as our object is to apply practically tho principles 

 which have been there stated. How many times has tho ques- 

 tion been asked, " Do you draw '(" And what is the reply in 

 tho great majority of cases ? " Yes, but only from copies ; I 

 have never attempted to do anything from nature, having always 

 considered it so much more difficult." Now, there are those 

 who maintain the reverse, namely, that drawing from nature is 

 easier than copying pictures. Certainly tho former is much 

 more pleasant, and more satisfactory, as all must acknowledge ; 



59 N.E. 



" original sketch," taken upon tho spot, than with the finished 

 picture painted from it in tho studio at home. Although tho 

 " original sketch " was not BO highly finished as the picture, 

 yet it had tho stamp of nature and freshness upon it, which 

 could best bo caught from tho scene itself, and which it is diffi- 

 cult to impart at second hand. As the eye of the student 

 becomes more and more accustomed to Nature, and keener to 

 detect and appreciate her beauties, ho will discover much of 

 which a common observer has but an imperfect perception ; to 

 the latter, a landscape is the same to-day as it was yesterday, 

 ho can only see trees, buildings, and other objects abstractedly 

 through ono and tho same medium ; while the eye of tho artist 

 is continually discovering something fresh, perhaps principally 

 cjni-ii'd by the successive changes of light, or from the positions 

 of objects in relation to each other, and their contrasts in both 

 colour and form. The tree before him in the morning may 

 ci-rtainly be tho same that ho sees in tho evening, but how very 

 different is the effect, and what a multitude of details with all 

 i their beauties, which were imperceptible in the morning, art 



