400 Directions Jbr drawing Trees and 



Having prepared the paper, and chosen two black-lead pen- 

 cils, one hard, and the other hard and black, together with a 

 foot rule and a chair, the next thing to be done is to choose the 

 tree and the aspect from which it is to be drawn. In making a 

 choice, the average form, height, and character of the species 

 ought to be taken, as far as practicable; and not a specimen 

 remarkable either for its height, or for its singularity or pecu- 

 liarity ; and the point from which it is to be drawn ought, if 

 possible, to be on the south, south-east, or south-west side of it. 

 The rule is, that the sun ought always to be behind the draughts- 

 man, and rather to the left than to the right of him. All other 

 circumstances being the same, therefore, when a tree is to be 

 drawn in the morning, the draughtsman ought to place himself 

 on the south-east side of it, at mid-day on the south side, and in 

 the afternoon on the south-west side. The next point is the 

 distance from the tree at which the spectator ought to place 

 himself. If he sits, which is, in general, the best mode, though 

 some artists prefer a standing posture when drawing, twice the 

 height of the tree will be a very good distance ; but if he stands, 

 and the tree has a very short trunk, say one under 6 ft. in 

 height, it will be advisable for the artist to add to his distance 

 from the tree once, twice, or thrice his own height ; otherwise 

 the height of his eye above the lowest branches of the tree might 

 cause the branches to conceal more of the trunk than would be 

 desirable. It may be useful to add, that the principle on which 

 the distance is chosen is that of being able to see the tree as a 

 whole, or as an entire mass of light and shade easily compre- 

 hended by the eye fixed in one position, as opposed to that of 

 seeing it in detail and by changing the position of the eye. Ex- 

 perience has shown that the eye cannot comprehend more with 

 ease than the fourth part of a circle, whether we take this circle 

 as a vertical or as a horizontal plane, or as a solid globe, and 

 imagine the eye in its centre. The principle which directs the 

 position of the sun to be behind the spectator rather than in 

 front of him, and at his left hand rather than at his right is, 

 that a portion of the tree may be in light, and another portion 

 in shade, in order to show its general form and rotundity, and 

 that the portion in shade may always be, for reasons above given, 

 on the right hand. In many cases it may be necessary to draw 

 the tree from the north side, and, in many more, to draw it 

 when the sun does not shine: in both these cases, the artist 

 must supply the shade from his knowledge of the manner in 

 which it is supplied by the sun when it shines. For this, and 

 for every thing else relating to the subject of drawing from 

 nature, he will find very useful instructions in HasseVs Camera, 

 or Art of Drawing in Water Colours, edit. 1834, 105. 



The artist having chosen his tree, and fixed his chair at the 



