they will then mingle together in a slight degree and produce a pleasing variety of undetermined tints. This process, however, requires expedition, or the first wash will become too dry to enable the practitioner to effect his purpose. He should also avoid mixing the colours with the brush, as the damp state of the paper, in this instance, will induce them to unite and harmonize together without destroying the tints; and when these tints are dry they will probably suggest the idea of corn fields, ploughed land, and meadows, of which an ingenious artist will readily avail himself and mark out the details with the gray described in my last Letter. The strength of the colour must be gradually increased as the scene advances, bearing in mind at the same time that they are seen through the medium of a warm atmosphere, which will make it necessary to exclude all crude and positive colours that may interfere with the general warmth and harmony of the effect. Of these the green tints, unless judiciously intro

duced, will probably be the most injurious; particularly such as partake too much of the bluish cast, and when this occurs, a slight wash of Indian Yellow with a little Pink Madder will restore them to a more agreeable tone.

I am, &c,

E

MY DEAR SIR;

HAVING terminated my last Letter with instructions for colouring the middle distance, I will in this endeavour to convey some further information with respect to such objects as gradually approach the foreground. If wood should form a part of the composition, and in advance on the middle distance, it will require a slight increase of colour in consequence of its nearer situation, and some decrease of atmospheric influence. To produce this, Raw T. Sienna with a small proportion of Indigo, and nearly as much of Burnt T. Sienna as will sustain the mellow tone that ought to pervade the whole scene, will be sufficient for the purpose, and should be carried over the whole of the wood; and when it is dry,

Indigo and Burnt T. Sienna will make a tint for those parts which are in shade, and for marking the details. As the trees immediately upon the foreground will make the application of a strong and positive colour necessary, Gamboge must be substituted for the Raw T. Sienna; but should this, with the Indigo, produce too cold a green for the glow which would be diffused over the whole by the afternoon sun, the addition of a just proportion of Burnt T. Sienna will restore it to the proper tint; or if a wash of Burnt T. Sienna with Gamboge be passed over the green, when it is dry, it will answer nearly the same purpose. Indigo, judiciously added to these colours, will form a tint for the darker sides of the trees; Vandyke Brown, in lieu of the Burnt T. Sienna, will make a strong and rich colour for the dark recesses or hollows within the boughs; and a few forms, or smart lights, may be produced, when it is desirable to have them, by touching those parts with plain water, and then

with a rag wiping it off, as described in a former Letter: and if these lights are glazed with a suitable colour, they will have a very transparent effect. The colours for the stems will depend upon the kind of trees selected for representation. Those of the birch, for example, are particularly picturesque, from the variety of tints which they exhibit, partaking chiefly of the purplish gray, diversified occasionally with light and silvery tones, which when opposed by the velvet-like moss that usually grows upon them, and frequently in large masses, produce a striking and beautiful effect. To imitate this stem, it will be necessary to prepare the following colours: Cobalt with Brown Madder and a little Vandyke Brown. These will make the purplish gray, and with the addition of Cobalt, will produce the cooler tints. Some parts should, however, be left nearly white. Plain water should be first passed over the stem, and when it is in a damp state, the several tints may be touched upon it, when they will blend