LAND SLOPING TOWARDS THE OBSERVER. QUALITY OF LINE. RELATIONS.
Each line drawn has its own characteristic meaning—its own individuality, so to speak. It not only represents direction, but carries with it a certain quality of effort or mentality, as indecision, fear, courage, certainty. (See [Fig. 6, a. b. c.]) We also see in it the habitual mental attitude of the delineator. This is plainly seen in the quality of line used by the timid, contrasted with that of the fearless—by the unstable or changeable mind in contrast to one who is clear in his thought (who “knows his own mind”) and positive in his expression. (d. c. e.)
It follows, then, that to draw a firm line with ease and rapidity, one must have a positive knowledge of what one desires to express, just the length of the line and its relation to all other lines; that is, one must see things or objects in their right relations. All things in the universe are related to each other—nothing stands alone. The mountain is closely related to the valley, it has given of its substance to build and enrich the latter, and its streams have carried nourishment to help swell the river at its base.
In its delineation, therefore, one must keep in mind the relation of its height to the width of the valley, and to the plateau on which it may stand; the declivity of its slopes, and their relation to the vertical direction, which may be seen as an imaginary line drawn from the center of the base to the zenith.
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The trees beside the hill in [Fig. 7] show the latter to be very high. In [Fig. 8] the hill becomes low because of the relation of its altitude to the height of the trees in the foreground.
The delineation of more or less detail also helps to determine altitudes; as, to draw grasses, boulders or out-cropping rocks on the hill side, would show that we were near enough to the hill or knoll to see them in detail. Hills in the far distance would be represented without much detail, for they are too far away naturally for us to observe it.
To represent land sloping towards us as in [Figs. 7, 9], and [10], the foreground must be broken up, that is, represented in more or less of structure detail. [Fig. 9] shows low hills at the foot of the mountain range sloping toward the level land in the immediate foreground. [Fig. 10] a steep alluvial fan indicating the nature and character of its structure by the direction and quality of line used. The crumbling sandstone rock, showing the effects of weathering, is indicated by short nearly vertical strokes, with the thought of stratification also in mind. The flowing sand is represented by vertical and oblique lines drawn in the direction in which sand would naturally flow. We have here three examples of land sloping towards us. One represented by nearly horizontal lines, the others by vertical or oblique lines. Grasses grow many blades from one root. Their tendency may be vertical but many influences combine to turn them from that direction. Use an edge of the chalk with an upward or downward motion. Knolls of any contour may be represented by drawing grasses in the direction of the slopes as in [Fig. 8].
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