The Mysteryes of Nature and Art / Conteined in foure severall Tretises, The first of water workes, The second of Fyer workes, The third of Drawing, Colouring, Painting, and Engraving, The fourth of divers Experiments, as wel serviceable as delightful: partly Collected, and partly of the Authors Peculiar Practice, and Invention

by John Bate

Graving.

The Art of Drawing is in it selfe most excellent, and most worthy commendations in whosoever it is; yea it is an Art so necessarie unto all ingenious Artists, as that in no wise they can be without it, and my selfe haue found it to bee true, that the sight of a good draught is more unto an ingenious person, then a whole Chaptor of Information; Wherefore I have, according unto my knowledge and practise therein, faithfully penned the same; for the use of all such as beare affection unto the Art, and are desirous to be instructed therein: And for that divers persons cannot attaine unto it, or perhaps are loath to bestow any time to practise it: whereby they might come to a requisite perfection: for such I have set downe certaine directions, and those so facile, and easie; that persons altogether unskilfull, may (having a patterne) worke very well; But before I begin, it behooveth that I prescribe what things are to be had in readinesse to worke withall: first therefore provide good smooth and cleare paper, divers plummets made of blacke leade, oker, or blacke chalke, or else Charcoals made of Ash, Sallow, or Beech, split in sunder, and pointed; also a wing: having provided these your implements, you shall thus begin to worke. First, let the thing, whose pourtrature you intend to take, stand before you, so that the light be not hindred from falling upon it, and with a pointed peece of charcoale draw it rustically; which when you have done, consider a while whether all the parts thereof are proportionable, and whether it carry the semblance of the thing that you drew it from, which if it do not, wipe it out with your wing, and begin anew: but if it be faulty in one part onely, wipe onely that part out, and draw it againe; whensoever it liketh you, or that you have so drawne it, that you can finde no great fault in it: wipe it over gently with your wing, so that you may perceive the former strokes: then with your blacke chalke, or blacke lead plummets; draw it as perfectly, and as curiously as you can, and shadow it according as the light falleth upon it; This way is workeman like, and the most difficult of all, yet by a little practice may easily be attained unto: so that the persons stand well affected unto the Art. Instead of white paper, you may take light coloured blew paper, and draw upon it with charcoale, and white chalke pointed, which will shew very wel: but note, that after you have made your draught, you must wet it in faire water, and let it dry of it selfe; this will make the drawing to hold fast on, which would otherwise easily be wiped off. This may serve for such as are contented to take some paines to attaine so noble a Science. But for others there are divers other helps, which follow in order.

How to take the perfect draught of any printed, or painted Picture.

Take a sheete of Venice (or in stead thereof) of the finest white paper that you can get: wet it all ouer with cleane sallet oyle: then wipe the oyle off from the paper, as cleane as you can, so that the paper may be dry, otherwise it will spoyle a printed picture by the soaking through of the oyle: hauing thus prepared your paper, lay it upon any painted or printed picture, and you shall see the picture through the same more perfectly appearing, then through glasse, and so with a blacke lead pen, you may draw it ouer with ease, and better first with a soft char-cole, and then with a pen. After that you haue thus drawne the picture upon the oyled paper, put it upon a sheete of cleane white paper, and with a little sticke pointed, or (which is better) with a feather taken out of a Swallowes wing: draw ouer the picture againe, and so you shall haue the same very prettily and neatly drawne upon the white paper, which you may set out with colours, as shall be taught hereafter.

Another way.

Having drawne the picture, first open the oyled paper, put it upon a sheete of cleane white paper, and pricke ouer the same drawing, with a good big pin, then from the cleane sheete, that is pricked, pounce it upon another: that is, take some small coale, powder it fine, and wrap it in a piece of Tiffanie or such like, and binde it up therein loosely, and clap it lightly ouer all the pricked lines by little and little, and afterwards draw it ouer again with a Pen or Pencill, or otherwise as you please.

Another way very pretty and easie to be performed.

Take some Lake, and grinde it fine, and temper it with Linseed oyle, and afterwards with a pen, draw with this mixture (in stead of Inke) all the out stroaks of any printed picture, also the muscles: then wet the contrary side of the picture, and presse it hard upon a sheete of cleane white paper, and it will leaue behinde it all the stroakes of the said picture that you draw ouer.

Another way much like the former.