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Grasses and sedges are some of the "green things" that need but little encouragement. In fact, they grow to greatest size in some neglected fence corner or in places so wet that other plants do not flourish. Grasses lack the bright colors of flowers, but they are fine studies to draw, because of their simple, direct growth and the interesting shapes of their leaves and heads.

You will enjoy brush drawings, using color or ink, of different kinds of grasses. Select three or four of large size and place them in a bottle. They will then fall gracefully into a natural position. Behind the bottle place a tall background of some kind, so that the shapes of the grasses will be clearly seen. Use paper large enough to show in life size the grass heads and part of the leaves and stems. Before beginning the study, practice drawing grass leaves with one stroke of the brush, without first outlining their shapes. Then draw from the arrangement before you, working freely with the brush. In studying the leaves, notice where the greatest width is seen. Observe the size and direction of the stems, and draw them so that they express the upright growth and the grace of the plant. Grass stems are not like the stems of flowering plants or vines. Try to see and express the difference.

Selecting with a Finder the Most Interesting Part of a Sketch.

Do you see what has been done with the drawing of grasses? A finder was moved about on the sketch until a pleasing arrangement of shapes appeared within the opening. You will notice it was not necessary to show the whole of each leaf and head. The sketch on this page would be quite satisfactory, if it were cut out along the inner edges of the finder and mounted upon another sheet of paper.

Brush drawings of grasses and common weeds are beautiful when drawn in color upon a tinted background. You can tint paper with water-color in much the same way that you put on landscape washes. Dampen a sheet of paper, and then apply a very little red, blue, and yellow, washing the three colors down the sheet. A little practice will teach you how to use the color to get a green-gray, a yellow-gray, or a blue-gray tint. Tint several sheets at one lesson.

Using a sheet of your tinted paper, make a brush drawing in color, from a growth of grass or sedge. Draw in large size, and make a "finder" picture from your sketch.

Autumn Leaves and Berries.

If you have never seen the bitter-sweet vine growing over a dead tree, you have missed a beautiful sight. In the fall its bright berries hang in graceful clusters, and stay on the vine long after its leaves have fallen. The real berry is held in the close grasp of a several-parted case until a sharp frost bursts the outer covering and shows the scarlet fruit within.

The sketch on this page is from a spray of bittersweet before the leaves have dropped.

You can see that in the leaves more yellow than is usual was used, because their color is decidedly yellow-green. Most of the berries are shown, still held in their orange-colored cases. Can you tell what two colors were used in painting the berries?

Sometimes yellow and green alone do not give you the green you may desire; if you add a little red it will soften, or make gray, a green that seems too bright.

Choose a bright spray of autumn leaves and place it against a background. Study the growth, the different shapes of leaves and berries, and the color. Paint in life size just what you see.

A Flower and Its Growth Expressed in Color.

Members of the iris family are found in many places. The dwarf garden iris blossoms very early in the spring, and has short, stout stems, bearing several flowers. The common blue flag found in wet places is a country cousin of the garden iris. Both are related to the flower-de-luce, the stately lily of France. They are unlike other flowers in shape, and are beautiful in color, with sword-shaped leaves.

The sketch on this page shows two different colors of the iris. If you cannot find flowers like them, choose a stalk of blue flag or early garden iris. Flowers of all kinds must be painted with fresh, clean colors, used directly from the box. Do not mix or stir color in the palette. Colors that are "handled" too much become muddy and dead. One color may be dropped in another, allowing them to blend on the paper. You have made stained glass effects in this way. Sometimes two colors may be taken in the brush at once. They will flow together as you draw. For instance, if you fill your brush with yellow and dip it lightly in blue, you can make a brush stroke of green. In painting the violet iris, red may be dropped in blue. Before painting your flower study, practice drawing leaves and large petals in this direct way.

A Flower in Different Positions.

Suppose that in the sketch on page 20, each leaf had been of the same size and shape. Would you have liked the picture as well? Plants that are regular in their growth, like the fern or the ivy, are seldom chosen for sketches. We like to see a variety of shapes and sizes. Even when the leaves of a plant have the same general shape, their positions make their shapes appear unlike.

So it is with flowers. On this page are three different drawings of the same flower. Can you tell why they are not alike? It is because the flower was held in three different positions. When the flower-head is turned toward you, as in the first sketch, its shape is quite like a circle. In the second sketch, the shape is much narrower from front to back, and some of the petals appear shorter. Can you tell how it was held? The third sketch shows the back or under side of the flower, and the shape is again different. You see, then, that every flower you draw must be studied carefully, to find the shape as it really appears to you.

Take a large flower, like the brown-eyed Susan or the sunflower, and draw it in different positions. Use brush or crayon for your sketches.