252 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 



temperature will allow, and to scribble over a sort of artist's shorthand. 

 I use very few colours, and can indicate Prussian blue, for instance, 

 by pr. b., etc. Even in temperate regions you have to use somewhat 

 similar shifts, for you can't sit down to paint a brilliant sunset. This 

 " shorthand " I practised largely in Norway in 1897. One gets into 

 the habit of realizing quickly what colours will mix to give the required 

 shade. 



In Antarctica every topic requires a different method of treatment, 

 and all require accuracy. Now here are some tips that you may find 

 useful. 



Every line is to be criticised as a part of the whole lot, which 

 means you musn't scribble haphazard. It is a good test if you can 

 discover something in your sketch which you did not realize when you 

 drew it. Always try to analyze the gradations and colours ; this power 

 is largely a matter of habit. You can't overdo the exercise of your 

 power of " seeing," and down here the shades are so subtle that you get 

 very good practice. 



No coarse methods will reproduce snow, ice, or distant mountains. 

 All these take time, and I notice that surveyors and physiographers fail 

 here ! 



Now I will try to point out why some sketches fail. 



There is a promising art student present who drew an iceberg. 

 He had not attempted one before, and so did it carefully and success- 

 fully. But beyond this are waves and sky, and he thinks he knows 

 them. So we find him showing the berg reflected in waves ! He 

 should have roughed in bits of the waves and sky and made notes. 

 Here we see the necessity of a first sketch which shows you bits of 

 every feature of the whole. 



The pencil is the only thing to use here, though in other regions 

 you would also make a rapid sketch to show colour contrasts. Don't 

 try to draw with a brush. 



To reproduce your sketches, you use H and F pencils. It is very 

 difficult to grade snow and sky with ink. It is best to use a hard 

 pencil so that you don't get into a smudging way, but make each line 

 distinct. 



Do your outlines in very faint lines so that they will disappear 

 when shaded, and without the use of rubber. If you want a straight 

 line or circle use a rule or a compass. Be careful to get the horizon 

 level or you will spoil the whole sketch. Remember that nature 

 relieves everything by shadow and colour, but not by lines. 



Principles of Sketching. 



You will find Ruskin's book very helpful. One should have them 

 instinctively, as in the case of so many Japanese and all good artists. 

 The rest must acquire them. 



I. Accuracy, by attention to small details and differences. 



