Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/213

 silhouette, do not despair, try again. Make another start&mdash;sketch a fresh model. Do not expect to succeed without practice, for remember you are up against a difficult problem. You are not merely trying to depict 'a nose,' 'a face,' 'a head'; but a very special nose, face and head. Moreover, there is another excellent reaosn for many attempts. There is no satisfactory method of correcting a silhouette. If we make a false step and give too long a nose, too thick lips, too square a jaw, we cannot afterward amend our mistake. It is of course possible to take a brushful of thick white paint and fine down our outline. We can also use a scraper (a very sharp knife) and scrape at the surface of the paper. But neither method will be satisfactory. The pure, hard, sharp outline is the hall-mark of a good silhouette. The one unforgivable sin is the ragged edge.

It is a thrilling moment when we can trace a likeness between our model and our silhouette. And I can truthfully say that, given a little patience and intelligent application, there is no reason against, and every reason for, that happy result.

The drawing of likenesses in silhouette (for there are many other subjects to which we can apply this fascinating little art&mdash;sprays of leaves, birds, or fluffy animals, grotesque and quaint figures, landscapes of fantastic description, to quote but a few) has this advantage. It hides defect.

The double chin, the dragged lines of eye, mouth, and nostril, the wrinkles of forehead and face, the untidy head of hair&mdash;all are softened and veiled with the kindly brush.