ell rendered, will enable you to disentangle masterfully the
living leaf-patterns of a thorn thicket or a violet bank.

62. Observe, however, in drawing any stuffs, or bindings of books, or
other finely textured substances, do not trouble yourself, as yet, much
about the wooliness or gauziness of the thing; but get it right in shade
and fold, and true in pattern. We shall see, in the course of
after-practice, how the penned lines may be made indicative of texture;
but at present attend only to the light and shade and pattern. You will
be puzzled at first by _lustrous_ surfaces, but a little attention will
show you that the expression of these depends merely on the right
drawing of their light and shade, and reflections. Put a small black
japanned tray on the table in front of some books; and you will see it
reflects the objects beyond it as in a little black rippled pond; its
own color mingling always with that of the reflected objects. Draw these
reflections of the books properly, making them dark and distorted, as
you will see that they are, and you will find that this gives the luster
to your tray. It is not well, however, to draw polished objects in
general practice; only you should do one or two in order to understand
the aspect of any lustrous portion of other things, such as you cannot
avoid; the gold, for instance, on the edges of books, or the shining of
silk and damask, in which lies a great part of the expression of their
folds. Observe also that there are very few things which are totally
without luster; you will frequently find a light which puzzles you, on
some apparently dull surface, to be the dim image of another object.

63. And now, as soon as you can conscientiously assure me that with the
point of the pen or pencil you can lay on any form and shade you like, I
give you leave to use the brush with one color,--sepia, or blue black,
or mixed cobalt and blue black, or neutral tint; and this will much
facilitate your study, and refresh you. But, preliminary, you must do
one or two more exercises in tinting.

EXERCISE IX.

64. Prepare your color as directed for Exercise VII. Take a brush full
of it, and strike it on the paper in any irregular shape; as the brush
gets dry, sweep the surface of the paper with it as if you were dusting
the paper very lightly; every such sweep of the brush will leave a
number of more or less minute interstices in the color. The lighter and
faster every dash the better. T