PLATE 23
Reading edition
The strokes used in the birds are exactly like those described in the previous lesson.
Sketch first an egg shape, No. 1, using half or two-thirds of a stick of chalk, and pressing a bit upon the outer end, letting the stroke blend into the board.
Add to this a few blended strokes representing the form and position of head, tail and wing. The sketches at 2, 3 and 4 indicate upon which end of the chalk the pressure should come. Be careful to keep the delicate gray or middle tones.
After such drawings as those at 2, 3 and 4 are made, then add the characteristic details with the chalk and charcoal. It will be seen by studying these finished drawings that only a few touches are necessary to complete the sketches.
In order to obtain a contrast between the background and the head of the bird in the lower sketch, a little chalk was massed upon the board as a background. See plate 12.
The Birch-tree. On the brink of some wood-nestled lakelet.
Lowell—
I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven, Singing at dawn on the alder bough.
Emerson
Plate 24