Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/33

 paler yellow! How deep the shadows of the tangerine appear when compared with those of the lighter-hued lemon! For the lemon we must seek out our cool blues and pale golds; for the tangerine, warm crimson, and even touches of bronze and brown.

If we wish to handle our pencils intelligently (to get from our pencil many varied touches), we should draw objects which are variously composed. In other words, made of more than one material. And here again we must don our thinking-cap.

We need not go very far. A few homely domestic articles would furnish us with some useful models.

Take a feather brush-that is, a brush composed of feathers, leather, and smooth polished wood; hang this up at a level with your eye, feathers downward, and sketch it with your pencil.

Draw a long line to represent the handle, and indicate the rough fan-shape of the lower part. If the handle is grooved and turned, do not worry because you cannot get both sides exactly alike. First sketch the largest shapes and remember to keep the stick slender; next the three-cornered piece of leather which neatly hides and binds the ends of the feathers together; lastly, the feathers themselves, spreading out in a loose, plumy fan.

Having sketched these shapes, darken the handle, which is polished and black. Leave the white paper to show through to provide the lights. Try to represent the polish of the surface by drawing with firm sharp touches.

The leather, being of a more pliable material and of a duller surface, needs a higher treatment. If it has a dull tint, give it a shaded tone; if it has folds, draw these in shadow.

Next the feathers.

A feather is one of the lightest of all substances. We say "light as a feather" when we wish to suggest something of the airiest description.

But although it is so unsubstantial, it is not feeble. It has a definite shape.