OUT OF DOORS

HE OWNS THE BIRD SONGS OF THE HILLS; THE LAUGHTER OF THE APRIL RILLS; AND HIS ARE ALL THE DIAMONDS SET IN MORNING'S DEWY CORONET,— AND HIS THE DUSK'S FIRST MINTED STARS THAT TWINKLE THROUGH THE PASTURE-BARS AND LITTER ALL THE SKIES AT NIGHT WITH GLITTERING SCRAPS OF SILVER LIGHT; THE RAINBOW'S BAR, FROM RIM TO RIM IN BEATEN GOLD, BELONGS TO HIM. JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.

The Out-of-Door World in Autumn.

Have you ever been in the country, or in a city park, after the green of the maple-trees has turned to scarlet and gold? If you have noticed the trees in their gorgeous hues, you have probably found that the grass, also, shows patches of color not seen in the summer-time. The sky is often very blue, and its color is reflected in the quiet water of a lake or pool, or in a gently flowing stream. A smoky haze hangs over the distant trees, and softens, though it does not hide, their brilliant coloring.

Study the sketch on this page. Then paint an autumn picture. Show a bright blue sky, a field or hillside,—once green, but now touched with russet and brown,—a path or a pool of water, distant foliage, and one large tree. Save your picture to use in another lesson.

Making and Using a Finder.

If you look on [page 4] you will see three little pictures that seem quite complete in themselves, and yet look like parts of the picture on [page 2]. The upper sketch shows the same big tree by the stream, and the lower right sketch has been taken from the left side of the large picture. A small part near the middle of the large picture was then selected, and this part was enlarged to make the third sketch shown.

You can often find some parts of your large sketches that are more interesting than others. On this page are some drawings of a little device which will help you to do this. It is called a finder, and is simply an oblong opening cut from a piece of paper so as to leave all around it a margin an inch or two wide. It looks like a little mat for a picture, or like a window-frame. Two square corners or L-shaped pieces of paper can be placed together so that the size of the opening can be changed by pushing the uprights nearer together or by pulling them farther apart. An adjustable finder like this (shown in the right sketch) can be used in a number of ways.

Draw on a sheet of 9 × 12 paper, an oblong seven inches high and three, four, or five inches wide. Around the oblong, which is to be cut out, leave a margin of at least an inch. Slip this large finder over the autumn sketch you made in the lesson on [page 2], until you have found the part you like best. Cut this part out, and mount it on a large sheet of fresh paper, leaving a pleasing margin. The class sketches will make a fine exhibition.

Shapes and Growth of Trees.

No one can study out-of-door pictures without wishing to know how to draw trees. This can best be done by observing from a distance some tree as it grows.

The pictures on this page tell you plainly that the willow and the sycamore, or buttonwood tree, were chosen for the sketches, yet not a single leaf is shown as you would see it if you held it in your hand. What is it, then, that tells the story? It is the truthful drawing of the big things—the shape of the mass of foliage, the height and width of the trunk below the boughs, the size and direction of the branches, and the way they grow from the trunk.

In the sketch of the willow, the many small branches are plainly seen, and you can easily understand why it is that the willow bends and sways so gracefully in the wind. The brush strokes show something of the slender, pointed character of the leaves.

The sycamore is not round and regular like the willow, but shows patches of foliage and stretches of bare branches in a ragged and uneven way. Its shape is very different from the shape of the willow.

Make a large drawing with ink or crayon, from some tree out of doors.

Shapes of Bare Trees.

Winter is the best time in all the year to study the growth of trees. Although the leaves are gone and the branches are bare, the trees themselves are beautiful.

It is well to study a tree that is at some distance from you, so that its dark branches may be seen against the light sky. The willow and the sycamore are shown without their leaves on this page, and their shapes stand out clearly. You can see the strong trunk, and the branches that spring from it. The trunk of the sycamore becomes smaller as it throws off its boughs, and all the branches and twigs taper at the end.

Measure the height of the sycamore tree in the sketch,—from the topmost twig to the ground,—and see what part of the whole height the trunk below the foliage measures. Is it half as high, or only a fourth or a third? Notice trees out of doors and see how much of their height is above the trunk. Children sometimes draw trees with tall, stiff trunks and short, stunted tops.

Study and draw a beautiful tree without leaves. Make it of large size and use brush or crayon. Try to tell in your picture just what tree you studied.

What fun it is to gather nuts in the fall!

See the children in the picture. One boy "clubs" the tree until the nuts come rattling down and are half hidden in the grass and dry leaves.

Recall some pleasant time you have had gathering nuts or apples. Draw a picture showing where you were, what you gathered, and the kind of a tree on which the fruit grew. Show distant bushes and trees, and place the main tree so that its branches rise against the sky.

Make your picture tell an interesting story.

Sunset in Winter.

When you painted autumn landscapes, you thought, no doubt, that the world was more beautiful in October than at any other season. Perhaps it seemed to you that the cold, snow-covered earth could never be so interesting to paint.

Look at this winter picture. The sky is bright and the distant trees look violet. Did you ever notice that the snow at sunset does not seem to be white as you look across it to the horizon? If you hold a sheet of white paper in your hand and glance from that across the snow-covered fields at sunset, you will see that the whiteness of the snow has changed to violet-gray. Sometimes, too, the snow seems to be tinted by the rosy light of the sunset. As you study out-of-door objects, you will find that their colors appear different at different times of the day, or as they are near you or far away.

Paint a winter sunset. Try to see and to paint truthfully the color of distant trees, snow-covered ground, a far-off steeple or tower, or a tree near at hand.

A Sunset Picture in Values.

We can show with black crayons, with charcoal, or with brush and ink many pictures of out-of-doors that are rich in color. Even a sunset sky can be shown in grays, so that we will think of the lovely colors that the grays, or values, express.

Here is our winter sunset, shown in values. You will remember that by values we mean the different degrees of light and dark used to express color. Compare the two sunset pictures. The light gray-violet of the snow is shown in a light gray or neutral value in the picture on this page. The trees are very much darker, and the sky is neither as light as the snow nor as dark as the trees. The little rabbit makes a dark spot in the snow, and the foreground—that part of the picture that seems to be nearest—is white. You see that it has taken about four values to express the colors seen.

Draw in values the sunset picture you painted in the lesson on [page 8]. Which of all the colors used do you think should be shown in darkest value? Which in lightest? Make your picture large, and use charcoal, crayon, or brush and ink. Then with your finder select that part of your picture which you like best. Cut out this part, and mount it neatly.

A Different Arrangement of Values.

"O Moon! in the night I have seen you sailing, And shining so round and low!"

When you are out of doors or are looking through a window at some of nature's pictures, think how you would paint or draw in values the different things you see. Notice which objects appear darkest, which lightest, and which might be expressed by a "half-way" gray, or middle value. If you learn to see these light and dark effects in the world about you, pictures, photographs, and out-of-door scenes will become matters of great interest to you.

On this page is the same little piece of the world we saw under sunset skies. The sun has gone to rest, and the bright colors in the sky have given place to darkness. But in the midst of the darkness the moon rises, and sheds its white light over the sleeping world. How beautiful "out-of-doors" is now!

See the darker value of the sky at night, and the pleasing contrast made by the big white moon. A soft gray shadow is over all the snow. The moonlight on the snow does not dazzle our eyes, as the sunshine does by day.

Paint with ink or draw with crayon a moonlight picture.

A Beautiful Composition.

In painting or drawing a picture, it is not enough to put down a number of shapes or lines without regard to their relation to each other. We must arrange or compose them, just as we arrange furniture in a room. We must study to place things where they will best satisfy our idea of beauty.

In the picture on this page, painted by Alexander Harrison, an American artist, the horizon line is placed above the middle, so that the artist might show how the waves broke on the shore, and sent rippling, flowing lines of water along the shining sand. The motion of the water is as regular as if it were keeping time to music. Can you see how the big curves seem to mark the beats?

Notice, too, the arrangement of values—the light foam, the darker sky and ocean, the wet sand, and the solid mainland. Only four things are shown—sky, moon, sea, and shore—but they are so drawn as to give the necessary variety.

Pictures from Our Own Surroundings.

Out of Doors in the City. If all the beauty of out-of-doors were in the country, what a sad thing it would be for the boys and girls who spend their lives in cities and towns! It is true that we think of the country when we speak of the landscape, and many artists go there when they wish to gather material for pictures. But often the things you see out of doors in a city or town are as interesting to sketch as country landscapes.

Keeping a Journal. Did you ever hear of a person who kept a journal, and wrote in it the interesting things that happened from day to day? Have you ever tried it yourself? You need not think your life dull because you do not take journeys or see great sights or do unusual deeds. Some of the best journals we know about have been kept by people who lived quiet lives. They wrote about the little things they saw and heard and did. It was the way in which they told these things that made their journals as interesting as storybooks.

An Artist's Journal. Artists and people who love to make pictures keep a kind of journal that they call a sketch-book. They are always on the lookout for material for pictures. They see much more than people do who are not trained to observe.

Some Leaves from a Sketch-book. Look at the sketches on [page 13]. They are leaves from an artist's sketch-book. He tells of a shady road winding by a little church in a village; of freight-boats on a canal or river; of a view from a high window in a city office building; of a fine stone arch, and beyond it a bridge with a railroad train rushing across it; of a fountain in a city park, and of a grimy, noisy factory, with its long low roofs, its smoke-stacks, and its line of waiting cars. Have you thought of looking for pictures in places like these?

Pictures in Your Own Town. Where are the interesting places in the town in which you live? Is the town near the water? Then there are boats and bridges. Is there a machine shop, a mill, or a quarry? Then you will find something to draw, as interesting as the factory in the artist's sketch. Does a railroad run through the place? There is the station, the switch tower, the engines and the freight cars. Or, perhaps there is a blacksmith shop or a trolley car. Keep your eyes open, and find the things in your town that show the life of the people. Tomorrow, bring a sketch showing some picture you have seen in the place where you live.

The Colors of Springtime.

One of the earliest shrubs that blossoms in the springtime is the forsythia. Its blossoms cover the whole bush before the leaves come, making a mass of yellow in the midst of the green grass. Yellow and green are favorite colors of springtime.

Choose some flowering tree or shrub to paint in a picture. In painting a landscape like the one on this page, one good way is first to draw with a brush line and very light violet color, the shapes that must be carefully placed. Then add the sky and foreground washes and drop on the damp paper the colors you see in the bush or tree. Draw the trunk of the tree, or the branches of the shrub, in dark gray-violet. A path or road may be wiped out of the foreground with the nearly dry brush, and a little red and yellow added to give the color of sandy ground.

Paint a spring landscape, not like the one in the book.

Home Exercises.

Draw an elm-tree as it looks in winter.
Paint a maple-tree as it looks in October.
Use a large finder on one or both of your tree sketches. Decide in which space the tree looks best. Then cut out this selection and mount your picture neatly.
Show a snow man in a winter landscape.
Paint a sunset on the lake or river.
Show in a picture the time of year you like best.
Make a brush drawing to illustrate:

"'Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?' 'Over the sea.' 'Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?' 'All who love me.'"

Green Things Growing.

Oh, the green things growing, the green things growing, The faint sweet smell of the green things growing! I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve, Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing.

Oh, the fluttering and the pattering of those green things growing! How they talk, each to each, when none of us are knowing; In the wonderful white of the weird moonlight Or the dim dreamy dawn when the cocks are crowing.

I love, I love them so,—my green things growing! And I think that they love me, without false showing; For by many a tender touch, they comfort me so much, With the soft mute comfort of green things growing. Dinah Maria Mulock.

Brush Studies of Grasses.

Grasses and sedges are some of the "green things" that need but little encouragement. In fact, they grow to greatest size in some neglected fence corner or in places so wet that other plants do not flourish. Grasses lack the bright colors of flowers, but they are fine studies to draw, because of their simple, direct growth and the interesting shapes of their leaves and heads.

You will enjoy brush drawings, using color or ink, of different kinds of grasses. Select three or four of large size and place them in a bottle. They will then fall gracefully into a natural position. Behind the bottle place a tall background of some kind, so that the shapes of the grasses will be clearly seen. Use paper large enough to show in life size the grass heads and part of the leaves and stems. Before beginning the study, practice drawing grass leaves with one stroke of the brush, without first outlining their shapes. Then draw from the arrangement before you, working freely with the brush. In studying the leaves, notice where the greatest width is seen. Observe the size and direction of the stems, and draw them so that they express the upright growth and the grace of the plant. Grass stems are not like the stems of flowering plants or vines. Try to see and express the difference.

Selecting with a Finder the Most Interesting Part of a Sketch.

Do you see what has been done with the drawing of grasses? A finder was moved about on the sketch until a pleasing arrangement of shapes appeared within the opening. You will notice it was not necessary to show the whole of each leaf and head. The sketch on this page would be quite satisfactory, if it were cut out along the inner edges of the finder and mounted upon another sheet of paper.

Brush drawings of grasses and common weeds are beautiful when drawn in color upon a tinted background. You can tint paper with water-color in much the same way that you put on landscape washes. Dampen a sheet of paper, and then apply a very little red, blue, and yellow, washing the three colors down the sheet. A little practice will teach you how to use the color to get a green-gray, a yellow-gray, or a blue-gray tint. Tint several sheets at one lesson.

Using a sheet of your tinted paper, make a brush drawing in color, from a growth of grass or sedge. Draw in large size, and make a "finder" picture from your sketch.

Autumn Leaves and Berries.

If you have never seen the bitter-sweet vine growing over a dead tree, you have missed a beautiful sight. In the fall its bright berries hang in graceful clusters, and stay on the vine long after its leaves have fallen. The real berry is held in the close grasp of a several-parted case until a sharp frost bursts the outer covering and shows the scarlet fruit within.

The sketch on this page is from a spray of bittersweet before the leaves have dropped.

You can see that in the leaves more yellow than is usual was used, because their color is decidedly yellow-green. Most of the berries are shown, still held in their orange-colored cases. Can you tell what two colors were used in painting the berries?

Sometimes yellow and green alone do not give you the green you may desire; if you add a little red it will soften, or make gray, a green that seems too bright.

Choose a bright spray of autumn leaves and place it against a background. Study the growth, the different shapes of leaves and berries, and the color. Paint in life size just what you see.

A Flower and Its Growth Expressed in Color.

Members of the iris family are found in many places. The dwarf garden iris blossoms very early in the spring, and has short, stout stems, bearing several flowers. The common blue flag found in wet places is a country cousin of the garden iris. Both are related to the flower-de-luce, the stately lily of France. They are unlike other flowers in shape, and are beautiful in color, with sword-shaped leaves.

The sketch on this page shows two different colors of the iris. If you cannot find flowers like them, choose a stalk of blue flag or early garden iris. Flowers of all kinds must be painted with fresh, clean colors, used directly from the box. Do not mix or stir color in the palette. Colors that are "handled" too much become muddy and dead. One color may be dropped in another, allowing them to blend on the paper. You have made stained glass effects in this way. Sometimes two colors may be taken in the brush at once. They will flow together as you draw. For instance, if you fill your brush with yellow and dip it lightly in blue, you can make a brush stroke of green. In painting the violet iris, red may be dropped in blue. Before painting your flower study, practice drawing leaves and large petals in this direct way.

A Flower in Different Positions.

Suppose that in the sketch on [page 20], each leaf had been of the same size and shape. Would you have liked the picture as well? Plants that are regular in their growth, like the fern or the ivy, are seldom chosen for sketches. We like to see a variety of shapes and sizes. Even when the leaves of a plant have the same general shape, their positions make their shapes appear unlike.

So it is with flowers. On this page are three different drawings of the same flower. Can you tell why they are not alike? It is because the flower was held in three different positions. When the flower-head is turned toward you, as in the first sketch, its shape is quite like a circle. In the second sketch, the shape is much narrower from front to back, and some of the petals appear shorter. Can you tell how it was held? The third sketch shows the back or under side of the flower, and the shape is again different. You see, then, that every flower you draw must be studied carefully, to find the shape as it really appears to you.

Take a large flower, like the brown-eyed Susan or the sunflower, and draw it in different positions. Use brush or crayon for your sketches.

Growth and Shapes of Tree Buds.

In the bright days of February or early March, before spring has really come, place some branches of common trees and shrubs in water, and keep them near a sunny window in the house. You can then watch the buds swell, as they waken from their long winter sleep. Every day will show some change in their shape and size. You will enjoy making sketches of the twigs, from day to day, as the buds grow and the little leaves appear.

On this page are some drawings that show us different forms of growth, and the different ways in which Mother Nature protects her tender baby leaves.

Make some sketches from the beautiful tree buds of early spring.

A Study of the Geranium.

In any window box of growing plants, you will be almost sure to see the geranium. It lifts its bright blossoms among the green leaves, and grows thrifty and strong, if its simple needs are supplied.

The sketch shows you a stalk of geranium. The leaves were very similar in shape as they grew, but in the sketch their position has given them four different shapes. When you study your own stalk, see if the leaves show you the same interesting variety. Do you notice that the flower-head does not show each blossom, separate and distinct? The shape of the whole cluster is expressed, with a few petals showing more plainly near the outside of the cluster.

A good way to get the bright scarlet of the flower cluster is to paint it in with a yellow wash; then drop in red. You will need red to soften the green of the leaves, and probably you will see a rosy color in some parts of the stalk and stems.

Paint a stalk of geranium against a background, at some distance from you.

Root Growths of Spring.

On your walks through the woods in the early spring days, you surely have discovered these plant growths from roots which have lived all winter. They are the bloodroot, the hepatica, and the fern.

The hepatica comes first, with its pale violet blossoms nearly hidden under a thick covering of the dead leaves of the forest. Its little buds seem to be protected from the cold by soft garments of fur. All winter long the spotted leaves of last autumn have stayed on the plant. They are beautiful now, in shape and in color.

The bloodroot has a large round leaf which folds close about the flower-bud until the snow-white blossoms open. Its root is a sort of underground stem, and has a bright orange or red juice, from which the plant is named.

Find some of the root growths of early spring. Dig them up carefully, without shaking the earth from the roots, and place them where their whole growth can be seen. Make charcoal or brush drawings of the whole plant.

The Growth of Leaves.

There are certain forms of growth that belong to different plant families. In drawing from flowers and plants, these family likenesses must always be truthfully shown. A rose leaf does not grow like the leaf of a thistle, and a pine needle is not at all like the thick, round pad of a water-lily.

On this page are shown different growths from trees and plants that you know. Find the sketch of the slender leaves of the pine; the palmate or hand-like leaves of the horse-chestnut, with its seven leaflets growing from one footstalk; the honeysuckle, whose leaves sit closely on the stem; the familiar clover, with its three-parted leaf; the rose, and the wandering jew, or joint plant. Study the ways in which these different growths are expressed.

Bring twigs or sprays of different trees and plants, and draw them carefully with pencil. These are good studies for your sketch-book.

Interesting Growth of a Vegetable.

Vegetables from the garden make fine studies to draw and to paint. Almost any fruit or vegetable is more interesting if studied as it grows. We do not often choose to paint or draw a single flower without its stem, leaves, buds, and all of the parts that are included when we speak of its growth. It is the presence of all of these shapes that gives variety to a drawing. Do you not think the sketch of the tomato is much more interesting because it shows the growth of the plant? The leaves, stems, stalks, and the large and small tomatoes make an attractive arrangement of shapes. They were first drawn just as they appeared, and then the finder was moved about upon the sketch, to find its most beautiful part.

Beans, peas, beets, turnips, radishes, and many other vegetables may be brought from the school garden or from the garden at home, to use in a drawing lesson. A growth of cucumber vine would be an interesting study. Make a brush or charcoal drawing from something of this kind, and then use your finder to select the most interesting part. Cut out your "finder" picture and mount it neatly.

The Growth of the Orange Tree.

A Familiar Fruit. When you see the bright pyramids of oranges on fruit-stands or in store windows, do you wonder where the fruit comes from, or upon what kind of a tree it grows? In certain parts of our country there are a great many orange trees, and the children of Florida and Southern California know them as well as the children of the north know apple or cherry trees.

The Orange Tree. Look at the picture of the tree, on [page 29]. It is not a tree that one would choose to put in a landscape, because it is not what is called picturesque—it is too trim, even, and regular. Its chief beauty is in its coloring. Its "spheres of golden sunshine" hang in the midst of glossy, dark green leaves, and sometimes the fruit stays on the tree until the buds and blossoms of a new crop appear. It is no uncommon sight to see an orange tree bearing leaves, buds, blossoms, and fruit, all at the same time. One of the sketches shows you a spray of orange blossoms. They are white and waxy, with a strong, sweet fragrance.

Gathering the Fruit. Sometimes, the trees are so heavily laden with fruit that props are put under the branches to keep them from breaking off before the crop is ready to be gathered. The fruit is not allowed to fall from the tree, but when it is ripe an army of pickers, each one provided with a cutter and a canvas bag, comes to the grove. The pickers do not climb the tree and shake the boughs, as you would do if you were gathering nuts, but they mount ladders, carefully cut each orange from its twig, and put it in the bag. The bags, when filled, are emptied into boxes, which are carried to the packing house. There the oranges are sorted into lots, according to size, wrapped in tissue-paper—each orange by itself—and packed in boxes for shipment. You have seen them in their tissue wrapping, after they have reached their journey's end.

Designs from the Orange. One of the sketches on [page 29] shows the growth of some oranges with their leaves and twigs. Below is a design made by repeating the shapes of the orange, its leaves and stem. Any shape or group of shapes that is repeated in a design is called a unit. Do you know what suggested the unit shown in one of the small sketches above the tree?

Sketch from the growth of any fruit you can get. Try to make from the shapes you find in your own study, a simple unit of design.

People and Animals.

An Out-of-door Picture. On the opposite page is a picture that seems to invite you to close your books and go into the country for a picnic or for a day's fishing. You cannot look at the grassy meadow, the little river, the tall trees, the distant hills and woods, without wishing that you might be there. What fun it would be to sit on those big, flat stones and dabble your feet in the water while you ate your lunch, or to hold your fish-pole over one of the deep pools, "where the gray trout lies asleep!"

A New Interest. If any one should ask you to tell what part of the picture interested you most, what would you say? Would you think first of the stream, its pleasant banks, the tall trees, the large stones, the distant hills and fields? Or would you say at once that it was the presence of the boys in the picture that first attracted you? You wonder where they came from, where they are going, what they are carrying over their shoulders and in their hands. You are glad that there are two boys instead of one in the picture, for in your own sports and games the pleasure is doubled if some one is with you.

Our Companions and Friends. Suppose you were able to live in that part of the world that seems most beautiful to you. Do you think that the landscape alone, or the most interesting of plants and flowers would be enough to make you happy? No matter how much you enjoyed these things, or how much you might love the beautiful country, nothing could take the place of companions and friends. No books or toys or fine houses could keep you from being lonely if you had no one to talk to or to play with. Our brothers and sisters and friends are worth all the books and toys and fine houses in the world.

Our Friends among the Animals. We have many good friends, too, among the animals. It is true they cannot talk with us, but some of them seem to understand what we say to them, and they show us in many ways what they think and how they feel. Do you not know when your dog is glad or sorry, thirsty or hungry, proud or ashamed? How does he tell you?

Drawing our Friends. In the chapter that follows, you will study your playmates,—the boys and girls that you know and like,—and some of your friends among the animals. You will learn to draw them as they look, and to express their action just as you expressed what you discovered about flowers.

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings!"

Drawing from a Pose.

Little children with their bright dresses and picturesque bonnets make delightful studies for us to draw and to paint. They are generally glad to "pose" for a few minutes, while having their pictures taken.

The sketch of this little child was made from the pose, in a school-room. The little girl stood on a table in front of the pupils and held a string, which was fastened to a toy boat. The color and shape of her sunshade and of the color-mass of her dress, the position of her arm, the size and length of her legs and feet, were all carefully studied and drawn. The blue waters of the lake, the sail-boat, and the sandy shore, were added from memory to complete the picture.

Make a pose drawing from your small brother or sister, or from some little friend. A pink or blue bonnet might be used as part of the costume, instead of a hat. Let the pose represent some character or occupation. Add a very simple landscape. Use water-color or colored crayons.

Different Positions of the Same Pose.

In your study of plants you found that the appearance of a leaf or flower depended upon its position. In making a picture of a daisy as it grows, we do not show the exact size and shape of leaves and petals, as they would look if we laid them on paper and traced around them. Such a drawing, while it might show certain facts of the plant, would not tell the truth about its appearance.

In drawing from boys and girls, also, we must study appearances. We know that our model has two eyes and two ears, and that the nose is in the middle of the face. Yet the model may stand so that we do not see all or any of those features. Study the four drawings above, and tell how the girl is standing in each sketch.

One of your schoolmates will pose while you make four five-minute sketches from four different positions of the same pupil. Make large drawings, using charcoal or crayon. Your model should not stand more than five minutes without resting.

Three Steps in Pose Drawing.

When you drew the shapes of trees, you found that if you made a mistake in the proportions of a tree you could not make the picture truthful by drawing the branches, the foliage, or the little twigs ever so perfectly.

So it is in drawing from the figure. Suppose you plan a sketch that is ten inches from the top of the head to the foot. A good way to do would be to draw a light line or place two dashes, to indicate the height. Then decide how much of that height is needed for the head; for the waist; for the length of skirt or trousers; for the legs and feet. Next, think about the width and shape of these various parts, and sketch them in as lightly and brokenly as the lines are in the first sketch on this page. If your work is correct up to this point, you can finish the shapes a little more, as in the second sketch. You will now have studied the shapes and proportions of the things of most importance in the sketch. Then the masses of light and dark may be expressed.

From the pose of one of your schoolmates, try one large sketch, done by the three stages shown above. Use charcoal or crayon.

Some Proportions of the Human Figure.

Although these skeleton figures are stiff and angular in appearance, from them you can learn something about the human figure that you will be glad to know. In each of them the thigh line is exactly half way between the top of the head and the foot. The knee-joint is half way between the thigh line and the foot. The shoulder line is placed at the base of the neck, and the elbow-joint is between two slanting lines that represent the lower and upper arm.

A knowledge of these things will help you in drawing the garments or clothes of a pose. The waist is a little above the thigh line, and is so drawn in Figure 4. The bottom of the blouse in Figure 2 is a little below the waist line, but is still above the thigh line. Stand up and hold your arms close to your sides, and notice where the tip of the middle finger comes, in relation to the knee-joint. Be careful not to draw the arms too short or too long.

Draw two skeleton figures like Figure 1. Make them at least four inches tall. On one skeleton draw the garments of a boy, carefully studying the clothes worn by a real boy. The other is to be dressed like a girl.

Actions and Attitudes of the Human Figure.

Action and attitude, as well as proportion, can be expressed by the simple line figures on this page. You do not need the second and fourth sketches to tell you of the action expressed in the first and third.

In the figures on [page 35], the lines were nearly all vertical and horizontal; the figures were standing still. In Figure 1 on this page, you notice that every line is slanting; the figure expresses action. Stand erect, and think of the direction of lines that your body takes. Then push hard with both hands against a wall. You can feel that your erect position is changed. The vertical lines become slanting, or oblique.

Study the lines and their changed relations in Figure 3. Draw several line sketches that express a familiar action, such as walking, jumping, running, lying, or sitting. "Clothe" these action sketches.

Hands and Feet.

You have drawn from the figure long enough to find out that hands and feet are by no means the easiest things in the world to draw. Like almost everything else, they change their appearance with every change of position. We cannot learn to draw a hand or a foot so that we can use it in all kinds of poses. We can only learn to see the different sizes and shapes which each new position shows, and try to draw them as they appear.

The sketches on this page are good studies for you to copy. When you can do this well, try to draw the hands or feet of one of your friends. Sometimes a pair of boots or rubbers may be placed in exactly the same position that they would be in were the pose actually standing. Practice drawing from studies like these until you are better able to see shapes, and to draw them truthfully.

An Animal Pose.

Have you a dog that will sit up and beg, or carry a basket? Perhaps he would not object to posing in school, with his master or mistress.

If your teacher can arrange for a lesson of this kind, choose large paper, and sketch rapidly with charcoal or crayon. Begin with the dog, for he will change his position soon, and you must get quickly the main lines that will show his attitude and shape. Then you can sketch the figure of the boy or girl after the dog has grown tired.

Do you notice in the picture, the fine arrangement of light and dark? The boy's light waist contrasts well with his dark trousers and cap. The little dog, too, is more attractive because of his white spotting. Finish your drawing by adding dark masses, as suggested by the pose.

Actions and Attitudes of Animals.

You will enjoy making skeleton sketches of animals. On this page are shown three different positions of a dog. Very few lines are used in Figure 1, yet they are so placed that you know at once the animal that is represented, its attitude, and its shape. Lines that tell the important facts about an object are called leading lines. The skeleton figures we have been studying show us the leading lines in certain attitudes of people and animals. If the leading lines of any object are correctly drawn, the finished sketch is almost sure to be good.

From the pose of a dog, or of any other animal that you can study, make leading line sketches. Before you try to clothe these skeletons, study carefully the proportions expressed by your first drawing. If a mistake is there, correct it. Then study and draw the shapes and sizes of head, legs, tail, ears, etc. Sometimes parts of your leading lines can be used, as parts of the finished outline. Use pencil or charcoal for work of this kind. These are good studies for your sketch-book.

The Spotting, or Light and Dark Values, of Animals.

When you wish a more finished sketch of an animal, you should first study and draw the leading lines, just as you did in the lesson before this. The proportions and shapes of all parts of the sketch must be true, before any thought is given to the planning of eyes, ears, nose, or any other small feature. If you are able to express quickly, with a few lines, the most important facts, it will not matter so much if the pose moves about or changes position. We cannot expect a dog or a pigeon to keep one position until we have made a finished sketch. The quick use of eyes and pencil will enable you to make notes of something that you can work on after the pose has changed position.

Study an animal pose, and plan to make a large sketch that will show its coloring, or values of light and dark. A black and white cat, or a spotted rabbit will do as well as a dog. Let the animal take a natural position on a table before the class. Sketch the leading lines that show this position. Then draw the shape of the head and body, the legs and tail. When all these shapes and proportions are truthfully expressed, add the dark masses that show the spotting of the animal.

Study of a Pigeon.

In the beautiful city of Venice is one of the most celebrated cathedrals in the world. It is called the Cathedral of St. Mark. The front of the building faces a large open space, which is surrounded on three sides by ancient palaces of marble. These old buildings, with their arches and towers, and the nooks and crannies of the cathedral, form fine nesting places for pigeons, and hundreds and thousands of them are found flying about the square. Years ago, the pigeons were fed at the city's expense, and any one who injured or killed one of them was fined or put in prison. The people thought that the pigeons brought peace and prosperity to their city, and kept it from being swallowed by the waves. If you should visit the square today, and should bring with you one of the little bags of corn that the street venders sell for a penny, you would be instantly surrounded by pigeons.

Study a pet pigeon, which some one will bring to school. Notice the oval shape of the body, the beautiful curve of the wings, and the lovely spotting of light and dark values. The legs are set far back on the body, and they and the little feet are as red as a rose.

Draw the leading lines with a brush stroke of light gray. Study carefully the proportions of head, body, wings, tail, legs, and feet. When these are correctly drawn, add the dark and middle values, to show spotting.

"Life and Action" Shown in a Masterpiece.

Of all pictures in the world probably none are more interesting to us than those which tell us of the lives of people; of their work, their times of rest, their joys and their sorrows. You probably know many of the pictures of Millet, who painted the simple country life of French peasants, as they worked in the fields, watched their flocks, or cared for their children at home. Millet's pictures make us feel great respect for a man or woman who works.

The picture shown you on this page is from a painting called "Loading the Cart," by Anton Mauve, a native of Holland. He, like Millet, was a painter of quiet country landscapes and farm life. In this picture, notice how few are the shapes and masses he has cared to paint. He seems to have thought only of the big things—the sky, the ground, a clump of trees, a bending figure, a patient horse, a loaded cart. It is the artist's task to show us the beauty which lies in a simple country scene like this.

Anton Mauve was born in 1848 and died in 1888. He made his first exhibition of paintings in America at Philadelphia in 1876.

Home Exercises.

Paint from the pose of a little girl dressed as Red Riding Hood.
Make six brush drawings showing different positions of any pet animal that you have at home.
Make a "skeleton" drawing in illustration of the following:
"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick."
Illustrate in a brush or outline drawing any one verse of "Old Mother Hubbard."
Show in a drawing the game you like best to play.
Show by a "skeleton" drawing the action expressed by the figure of the man in the picture on [page 42].