LEARNING TO DRAW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 252, 24 October 1931, Page 2 (Supplement)

LEARNING TO DRAW.

SOME SIMPLE HINTS

A well-known authority on sketching declares that learning to draw is learning to see. That; is one of the reasons why drawing is such a joy. It makes one observe everything with infinite care and attention, and one notices thus all tha lights and shades which are otherwise missed. When attempting what is termed a "still life," for example, supposing. this be some tea things, a teapot, cups and saucers, etc., first of all you will notice that the teapot is fat and round, and then, more important still, you will remember that the window from which the light comes • is either on the left or the right hand side. If the light is coming from the left all the shadows will be on the right; if on the right they will bo on the left. When an object is solid, and not transparent, it stops some of the light that falls on it from going any further, so one side of the object is darker than the other'; also a shadow falls on the table or the ground on the side away from' the light. A transparent object, on the other hand, reveals reflections of light and shade which are often twisted out of shape. And here comes in the importance of "learning to see." 'It is not a bit'of good trying to imagine how these twistings will go and trying to draw them out of your head; you must look carefully at the vase, and put down what you see, not what you think you ought to see. The shadow side of a round object is, of course, darker than, the light 'Side, but most things. reflect light. As a matter of fact, it is by the light which they reflect that we see them.- The table cloth underneath and all round the teapot is white, so it reflects some light back into the shadow on the right side of the teapot. You must always look for these reflected lights; they, nearly always exist, and they help to suggest that the round shape goes on going round.

That brings us to one: of the most important points in drawing-—the shape of tilings. The French artist Gezanne, who has had such a great deal of influence on modern painting, said that the shapes of all objects were only very little different from the simple shapes / in elementary geometry.' Such -shapes are the ball or sphere; the solid, that is called by a long name in geometry, but which can just as easily be called boxshaped; the cone, the cyclinder, etc. Then there is perspective. If you look down a long straight street, for example, you will note that the two sides of the street seem to come together a long way away. The street does not seem to be nearly as wide there as it is near to you. If you are going to draw the street, therefore., you must imitate this on paper. ' Also ' you will notice that, although the street may be quite level, the far end of the,street seems to be a little higher up than it is where you are standing; Again, when you look out over the sea, or over a big level plain, the far-off line that seems to be the end of the sea or of the plain is called the horizon. If you are standing on the beach that line seems only to be as high as your eyes, 1 If you climb to the top of the rocks., on the other hand, you will notice that the horizon seems to climb up too; it still seems to be at the height of your eyes, -which are ever so much higher than they were before. The fact is that the horizon is always at the height of your eyes. It is very important to decide just how high up on your picture the horizon, line conies. It is important for the following reason—because all the lines, whether above or below the horizon line, meet on it. " Those which are above slope downwards to it; those which are below slope upwards to it. ■ One of the greatest difficulties that the young artist usually encounters is to notice things'which "will make good pictures. This, however, is not really difficult at all, for the only things to draw are the things which interest you.