Ladies' manual of art; or, profit and pastime. / A self teacher in all branches of decorative art, embracing every variety of painting and drawing on china, glass, velvet, canvas, paper and wood the secret of all glass transparencies, sketching from nature. pastel and crayon drawing, taxidermy, etc.

by Anonymous

No garland more fair than her beautiful lines.

A LESSON IN DRAWING.

Before going into the field to make a sketch, it is essential you become familiar with the different lines used in drawing, the less difficulty you will have in sketching from nature.

The first effort will be to get control of the hand and pencil, or pen, which is the leading essential in learning to write or draw. Secondly, a right understanding of the straight and curve lines used cannot be dispensed with. A neglect of these first principles, and the want of a thorough drilling by an experienced teacher, in our educational institutions, is the leading difficulty in the advancement of students in these branches, and has often been a subject of comment.

There are three leading lines in drawing, the straight horizontal line, thus:

made by carrying the pencil from left to right, and vice versa, beginning and ending abruptly; then perpendicular ones, commencing at the top, draw the pencil down; then a straight oblique line, with 52 deg. slant, which is about the proper angle for writing.

The right and left curve is used as the beginning and ending of all the small letters.