CHAPTER II.
The first thing to be provided is an easel, which is used now entirely for drawing, it being considered much better practice to work in an upright position than in the old-fashioned way of leaning over a table.
This easel may be of the simplest character, and is made of three straight bars of pine wood jointed so as to stand upright, with holes perforated through two of the bars about two or three inches apart. Through these holes pegs are stuck upon which to hold a narrow wooden tray. Upon this the stretcher, drawing-board, or portfolio is placed.
This board is made from any light wood,and should measure about 20×24 inches square, and be as thin as it can be made without warping.
THE EASEL.
THE EASEL.
In place of the drawing-board, many artists prefer to use a large pasteboard portfolio made with covers stiff enough to serve as a foundation in drawing, while its convenience as a receptacle for the reserve sheets of paper and finished work is obvious.
The portfolio which is now most in use, is generally covered with smooth mottled paper outside, and should be large enough to hold without folding the regular sheets of charcoal paper; 20×24 inches will be sufficient for this.
There are a great many varieties of charcoal and crayon paper, some smooth, some rough. For ordinary purposes, such as making studies and life drawings, the rough French charcoal paper is the best. That used in the French schools is of two kinds; the roughest is called the “Michelet†paper, and the other is known as “Lalanne.†They are, however, very similar in texture, and either one will servethe purpose. These come in sheets of uniform sizes, costing from three to six cents each.
For more careful drawings, such as finely finished portraits in charcoal and crayon, a more expensive paper is to be preferred. This comes in much larger sheets and should be stretched before using.
Whatman’s rough crayon paper is among the best for this purpose. In all cases, both for studies and finished portraits, the white paper, generally a yellow-white, being preferable to blue-white.
Paper is stretched and mounted for this work in the following manner: A simple frame of wood is made an inch or two wide and three-quarters of an inch or more in thickness, according to the size of the drawing to be made. This is covered with cotton cloth stretched as tight as possible and tacked all along thefour sides. The cloth is turned over and tacked on the outside of the stretcher, not on the face of it, which should present a perfectly smooth, flat surface.
The paper having been cut the proper size, that is, large enough to turn over nearly an inch all around, is dampened on the wrong side. To do this take a clean cloth dipped in cold water, lay the paper flat upon a table and pass the cloth rapidly all over the surface, wetting it evenly.
Have ready some good flour paste and put this all around the edge of the paper for about an inch. Now begin to spread the paper while still damp upon the cloth-covered stretcher, starting at the bottom and working upward, carefully smoothing out with the hands all creases or air bubbles. Turn over and press down the edges of the paper which have been covered with the paste, holding them till they stick to the cloth, and cut a V-shaped piece from each corner of the paper, so that it will fold over neatly.
This takes time and experience to do well, but is worth the trouble, for crayon portraits especially.
For ordinary studies and drawings, the Michelet or Lalanne paper fastened to the portfolio or drawing-board with thumb tacks is quite sufficient.
There are many different kinds of charcoal offered by dealers. All that is necessary, however, is a medium quality of imported charcoal, such as the Fusains Venitians, costing 30 cts. a box of fifty sticks. Finer and more expensive kinds are the Conte and Rouget charcoal.
Among the various manufactures of crayons that most generally preferred by artists is the French crayon Conté. This comes in several numbers, and is to be had in two forms. First, the wooden pencils, which are very convenient, and again, the short sticks of black crayon,which are sold by the dozen. These are much cheaper than the pencils, and are fastened in a holder while using. The Conté crayon No. 2 is sufficient for all purposes, therefore it is unnecessary to have the several different numbers so often recommended.
Another kind of crayon is also used by some artists in addition to the stick crayon. This is a fine, black, powdered crayon, called the “sauce crayon,†and comes put up in little tin cases. It is very useful when large masses of dark are necessary, and is rubbed on with a stump, while the stick crayons and charcoal sticks are sharpened to a point before using.
Stumps are made variously of leather, chamois-skin and paper. The most useful in charcoal and crayon drawing are the paper stumps, which will be found to answer every purpose. The paper stumps come in two forms; first, the gray, rough paper stumps with points on both ends; these are made in various sizes, from the smallest, which measures only about onefourth of an inch in diameter, up to those measuring an inch and more.
STUMPS.
STUMPS.
The other form of paper stump, known as the tortillon, is made of strips of paper rolled to a point like spills, and sold in bundles of a dozen for a few cents. Some artists prefer these, but for general purposes, the double-pointed paper stump is the best. About six of these are necessary: two large, two medium, and two very small ones; for it is always better to have a clean duplicate of each size.
A supply of the soft part of home-made, if possible, or good ordinary baker’s bread, one day old, is indispensable. This should not have any butter, or even milk, in its composition, otherwise it will grease the paper, which naturally should be avoided, as grease spots are most difficult to overcome.
The bread is used for rubbing out charcoal or crayon, erasing mistakes, and for taking out lights from a mass of dark. The soft crumb is rolled between the fingers until a point is formed, and thenapplied to the paper. It is surprising what brilliant effects can be obtained by means of this simple process; its full resources can only be understood by practice.
This consists of a long, narrow bar of fine artist’s rubber, ground to a point on each end. It is used for rubbing out small spots in places where the bread can not be so easily managed, and where a firmer point is needed.
It is also useful in modeling fine details of the features, and in places where, the surface of the paper being worn by rubbing, the bread will not act satisfactorily.
These cost from five to ten cents each, according to size.
A fine, soft cotton rag is one of the most important adjuncts to our outfit, as it is impossible to work without one. The rag is used sometimes to dust off charcoalfrom the paper, and if the charcoal has not been very heavily used, the rag is often sufficient, neither bread nor rubber being necessary.
A rag is also useful when too much charcoal or crayon has been rubbed on a tone.
Let us say, for instance, a shadow appears too black. A soft rag is passed gently over the surface, taking care not to rub too hard, and the superfluous charcoal or crayon will come off, leaving a beautiful soft tone of much lighter quality behind.
This tone can of course be darkened somewhat, or worked over in any manner desired.
The rag is often used in sketching landscapes, to spread a smooth, even tint for the sky. Many artists prefer it to a stump for this purpose. A fine, soft cotton rag is rolled in a long, smooth roll, and applied lightly to the surface of the paper.
The charcoal may be powdered in sucha case if preferred, or for crayon drawing the “sauce crayon†is used.
Charcoal will of course rub off, and drawings become smeared and defaced if left unprotected. For that reason it is customary to “fix†the drawing by the application of some preparation to its surface.
This should be done with much care, and only the very best materials should be used for this purpose. Amateurs and students sometimes endeavor to manufacture fixative for themselves out of shellac and alcohol. This may succeed in fixing the drawing, but will be very liable to turn the paper yellow in time. Artists, therefore, prefer to buy an imported fixative, which is made by a reliable manufacturer. That most generally in use, and which we have found by experience to be in every way satisfactory, is theFixatif Rouget, which comes in good-sized glass bottles, costing at retail fifty cents each.
There are two methods of fixing drawings. First, that in which the fixative is applied to the back of the drawing. This is preferred by some artists; and the French students, who are only anxious to preserve their drawings, without regard to the changing of color in the paper, use milk, with which they wash over the back of the drawing.
In cases where a large design or cartoon is made in charcoal for temporary use, this way will answer perfectly, being very much less expensive than the other. The fixative Meusnier, which is imported by all dealers, is also applied to the back of the paper with a large brush.
The other method, and that generally preferred, is to apply the fixative to the front or surface of the drawing.
This process should of course be managed with care, as too much fixative will cause the charcoal to run down in streaks, while too little will cause it to come off in spots.
The fixative for applying to the surfaceof the drawing is sprayed through a glass atomizer by blowing through one tube while the other rests in the bottle containing the liquid.
These atomizers are now sold by all art dealers, and may be had from the simplest and most inexpensive kind up to those represented by quite a costly apparatus. The cheapest consist of two small tubes of glass, pointed at one end and straight at the other. These are connected by two bands of metal, which in turn are fastened together by a small hinge or pivot.
This is so arranged that the two tubes of glass meet at a right angle, the small pointed ends coming in contact, but so as to leave both orifices open.
One end, as already mentioned, is now placed in the fixative, while through the other the breath is blown. This causes the liquid to mount in the lower tube and dissolve in a cloud of spray which is so light as not to dislodge the delicate particles of the charcoal and yet willattach them firmly to the paper, so that ordinary rubbing will not efface the drawing.
Great care should be taken in blowing through an atomizer to make the breath as steady as possible, avoiding short, unequal puffs. The atomizer must not be held too near to allow the particles to vaporize sufficiently, or else the fixative will run down in streams and ruin the drawing. Again, if held too far off, it will vaporize too much, and will fail to fix the charcoal at all.
The more expensive vaporizers, while conducted on the same principle, are supplied with air from one or sometimes two rubber globes or balls, which have the advantage of transmitting the air in a regular stream, and one is thus saved the fatigue of blowing with the mouth, which, in case of a large drawing, becomes very tiresome.
These atomizers are generally made with metal tubes, which will become clogged and useless unless washed out afterusing each time, with warm water. The simple glass atomizers must also be kept clean in this way, for they are very easily broken if a pin is used to clean the openings, and the slightest break at the joints renders them useless.
Charcoal is used by artists for sketching out of doors in preference to any other material, as by its means such quick results are obtained and large effects produced with comparative ease.
As one never knows how long a tramp will be necessary before the proper subject or view appears, it is well to make every thing as compact as possible.
A small sketching easel which can be reduced to a thin bundle of sticks is considered indispensable by some, but as this is rather awkward to carry, most artists prefer a block.
This consists of a number of sheets ofcharcoal paper, cut exactly the same size, laid together and pressed so as to greatly reduce the bulk of the paper in its ordinary shape. These form a block or table of sufficient substance and firmness to be held comfortably upon the knees while sketching.
The upper leaf is used for the drawing, and is then loosened with a penknife passed around the edges, which are held together with a band of paper. This leaf is then easily detached from the block, and being fixed is laid aside while another drawing is commenced on the clean sheet exposed on the top of the block.
These blocks can be bought already prepared at any good art dealers at reasonable prices, which vary according to the size and quality of the paper.
A block made of ordinary French charcoal paper measuring 4½×6 inches costs at retail, 25 cents. A small block like this is only good for pocket sketches and notes. A more useful size is 6×9, which may be obtained for 35 cents.
A still larger one, measuring 10×14, can be procured for 70 cents. Any thing beyond this must be made to order, and will in that case be more expensive in proportion.
A small camp stool is necessary to the sketching outfit, and this should be made as light as possible. These are made in various shapes, so as to fold up as tightly as possible, and are provided by all dealers at from fifty cents up.
Some are even to be found combined with the sketching easel. These are very convenient, being made in so compact a form as to occupy very little more space than either an easel or camp stool separately.
Such an apparatus costs $5.50 at retail. The small, light folding easel for sketching, which is only 4½ feet high, costs $2.50, while a stool which stands upon three legs when open and folds into the shape of a thick cane can be bought for $1.00.
A sketch can not be truthful to nature and carefully studied, with the sun shining in one’s eyes or upon the paper; it is therefore well to be provided with an umbrella.
The sketching umbrella is generally of creamy white or very light gray cotton. It is so constructed as to be separated from the long stick upon which it is arranged when in use, this stick itself being divided into two or more parts, according to its length. These are arranged to fit into each other firmly, the lower end terminating in a long, sharp iron point which is to be planted in the ground.
The umbrella itself is furnished with a rather short handle, and is attached to the long staff by a movable screw joint which permits of its being arranged at any angle necessary to protect the sketcher from the sun.
The whole outfit complete with a waterproof gingham umbrella costs $8.00.
The long folding stick is sold separately. This is 6 ft. high with an adjustable joint to which any ordinary umbrella can be fastened. These cost about $3.00.
A long and narrow tin box with compartments completes the outfit. This holds the charcoal, crayon, stumps, bread, rag and rubber. The charcoal and crayon must always be kept shut up in their separate compartments, or failing that, in respective boxes, as, if allowed to knock around loosely in the box, they will soil the stumps, rubber and rags.
The paper generally used in sketching blocks is the ordinary grade of French charcoal paper with a rough surface already mentioned. This paper comes in a variety of tints, the most popular being the cream-white and the gray. The white paper is generally preferred for serious studies involving careful drawing and correctness of value.
Some artists, however, prefer to use gray or light brown paper in sketching, as if one is skillful a very effective resultmay be obtained with little labor by using the local tone of the paper for the half tints, quickly rubbing in the shadow with charcoal or crayon, both being sometimes used.
The high lights are then cleverly touched in with white chalk or pastel. Chinese white water-color paint is sometimes substituted for the chalk in putting in such lights. It has the advantage of being more permanent in one way as the chalk rubs off, but in the course of time this white paint so used has a tendency to turn yellow, especially if the sketch is shut up in a book or kept from the air.
On the other hand, the white chalk will turn yellow if fixed, so that the high lights must not be put in the sketch until it is all finished and fixed, which is of course a disadvantage to the artist who wishes to study the relations of his tones as he proceeds. This method will be explained at length later on.