154. By blending is meant the linking together (uniting) of the different blemishes which have been evened up with their immediate surroundings, and bringing them gradually into correct relation with the different planes (tones) of lighting on the face.

155. Having worked over a number of negatives, you now should have gained considerable experience and be thoroughly familiar with the way to remove blemishes in the most effective way and with the least number of strokes. The next step is to blend and build up the little shadows and the patchy, blotchy effects which still remain.

156. Your previous work on the practice negatives, eliminating spots, lines, etc., to a certain extent produced others; i. e., by filling in the blemish even with its surroundings, you have done so regardless of the tonal values of the face. Thus the eliminating of a group of little spots on a certain patch of the face left spaces between these spots untouched, which may or may not blend evenly with their surroundings. The blotches usually being of a neutral tone do not appear conspicuously until the more prominent blemishes have been removed or eliminated. Then they begin to show quite blotchy, and it is these that you must now connect together and build up, blending them in correct relation with the different tones of light on the face.

157. In carrying out the work of this lesson, select one of the practice negatives, or in the absence of glass

negatives you may use the practice-charts, from which you have previously removed the blemishes. If you have not previously done so, make a good strong proof-print from this negative, after which remove the work applied to the plate and again make a proof from the negative in its un-worked stage. Carefully file these proofs for your guide in the work of this lesson. With both proofs made you again prepare the plate with the retouching medium. This may be done at the same time that you remove the work of the retouching already done on the plate. By applying retouching medium to remove the lead applied, you at the same time again prepare the plate for work.

158. With the plate prepared you can now proceed to remove blemishes in exactly the same manner as previously instructed, only that, after eliminating a number of the most conspicuous spots on a small space, you begin at once to blend together all of the work in this space, gradually building up to the highest surrounding tone.

159. It is always advisable to begin work upon the strongest high-lights, gradually working downward, blending evenly into the shadows. As the forehead bears the highest point of light, we will begin our work here, first eliminating all the little spots, specks, lines and blemishes that are conspicuously visible in the forehead. With these blemishes removed - filled in, etc. - sit back from the easel and observe the general appearance of the space you have worked over. Notice that while all conspicuous blemishes and spots may be eliminated, their elimination has caused larger blotches to appear, which were previously invisible, or, at least, unobserved. These blotches are represented by the spaces between the numerous more pronounced spots. Until these spots are removed, the normal blemishes between the conspicuous spots are not revealed. Therefore, by filling in and eliminating the more noticeable blemishes, you, practically speaking, create larger ones, which become noticeable and must be blended together. This blending produces an even surface to the whole space you have worked over.

CHILD PORTRAIT STUDY.

Study No. 3 J. Will Towles.

PORTRAIT STUDY.

Study No. 4 John H. Garo.

160. While the work of blending requires careful application, yet the actual work is most simple, as the necessary strokes for the blending may be much longer and more irregular in form. In fact, the only precaution is to avoid working heavily; the blending must be done very lightly. Practically speaking, you may work promiscuously, using straight lines, curved lines or zig-zag lines - preferably the latter.

161. When blending a space, always lean back from the easel so as to obtain a general view of the space you have worked, then freely but lightly apply the lead. Don't be afraid of mistakes, for confidence plays an important part. One should aim to acquire this confidence and it can be gained only by working firmly. At this stage you can proceed in a free and apparently careless manner; in fact, make no effort to produce any particular stroke, but work to produce results.

162. Experiment by employing different movements, even though you feel the work already done will be ruined. The right method can be obtained only by this experimenting, and as the failures, such as applying the lead improperly - on places where it should not be applied - or overworking the space, are readily apparent, it is easy to judge when the space is evenly blended. After some little practice you will be able to apply just the amount of lead necessary to produce the required results.

163. As stated in a former chapter, the pencil will invariably lead the hand when you have gained confidence in yourself and unconsciously you will apply the right amount of lead to the right place. At this stage you can do no better than practice any movement, even allowing the pencil to take its own course, but keep it within the limits of the space you wish to blend. After a few attempts and perhaps erasing your work once or twice, you will be able to apply the lead properly.

164. After having blended the forehead satisfactorily, proceed to the cheek on the light side of the face, working in exactly the same way as you did on the forehead. Al-

ways begin on the highest point of light - the most opaque portion - and work from this point downward to the deepest shadows, first removing the most conspicuous spots and then blending the cheek with the forehead. With this accomplished, continue on the remainder of the cheek, working in patches of say half an inch at a time, blending each patch to the work previously done.

165. You will observe the light on the face is not all of the same tone. There are strong lights and middle lights, as well as deep shadows. The various degrees of light between the highest light and the deepest shadow are termed half-tones, all of which have their value and must be preserved in their relative order. Therefore, when working in the strongest lights bear heavier on the lead than when working in the half-tones, or middle lights, and very lightly in the deepest shadows. When blending you must hold to the tonal values of the face, thus preserving all the tones or values of the lighting as well as the likeness of the subject.

166. There are times when negatives of subjects with sunken cheeks or hollow eyes may be improved by building up these hollows and blending them gradually to the next higher tones. Complete instruction regarding this will be found in a more advanced chapter of this volume.

167. With the forehead and high-light cheek nicely blended, next proceed to the upper lip, then the chin, working down into the shadow and over onto the neck. This will complete the high-light side of the face. Next proceed to blend the shadow side. Blending on the shadow side of the face is a little more delicate work and requires very careful application of the lead, as the negative is much more transparent and the pencil strokes will show on the surface unless you apply the lead very lightly. Do not expect to eliminate the spots with one or two strokes when blending them, for it may require considerable work. Bear in mind, when working on the shadows (thin transparent parts), you must work lightly and the pencil marks must not be visible when viewed on the plate in the easel, but the effect of the work applied should become apparent

by the disappearance of the blemish. It may require a number of strokes to show any perceptible disappearance of the spots or the necessary blending of the blemishes. Therefore, when working on the shadow cheek follow the same method as employed on the high-light side.

168. Begin on the highest point of light on the shadow cheek and first remove the most transparent spots; then connect the cheek to the forehead by blending with a longer, but much lighter, stroke of the pencil. The shadows being more transparent than the high-lights the spots will appear more transparent, yet they are not so deep and do not require so much work or application of the lead to build them up to their immediate surroundings. For this reason a lighter stroke is employed to eliminate these spots and also to blend the blemishes to the regular tone.

169. When you have the first patch blended with the work previously done on the forehead, make a proof print from the negative and then proceed to build up all additional patches, connecting them as you work along.