Page "hobbies" Paragraph 690

`` When working from one of my sketches I square it up and project its linear form freehand to the watercolor sheet with charcoal.

When this linear draft is completed, I dust it down to a faint image.

From this point, I paint in as direct a manner as possible, by flowing on the washes with as pure a color mixture as I can manage.

However, first I thoughtfully study my sketch for improvement of color and design along the lines I have described.

Then I plan my attack: the parts I will finish first, the range of values, the accenting of minor details -- all in all, mechanics of producing the finished job with a maximum of crispness.

The longer I work, the more I am sure that for me, at least, a workmanlike method is important.

Trial and error are better placed in the preliminary sketch than in hoping for miracles in the final painting.