sacrifice of other things of equal or greater value to you, then
modify it, or take advantage of it as much as will give you the
balance of qualities you most want. There is one way to get light and
brilliancy and life into your color: adapt it to your purpose if you
need it.

This is the application of color juxtaposition to mixing. The placing
of complementaries so as to increase contrast is another way of adding
to the brilliancy of light. You will find this most useful when you
want to give the greatest possible emphasis to the effect of sunlight
and shadow. If you keep your shadows cool, your lights will be the
richer and more sparkling because of that contrast. If you want more
strength in a note of color, get its complement as near it as you can.
Look for their iridescence of edges of shadow, and of the contours of
objects. You will get greater relief of light and shade by contrast of
warm and cool than contrast of light and dark.

Do not misunderstand me. I am not advising you to be an impressionist.
I wish only that you shall see what there is in this way of looking at
nature and of representation of certain effects of nature, which will
be of use to you in the painting of landscape. I would have you know
what means are at your command, what is possible to accomplish in
certain directions, and how it is possible to accomplish it; then I
would have you make use of whatever will most directly and completely
serve your purpose.

Do not use any color or colors, any method or point of view, because
of any advocacy whatsoever. Know first what you want to paint and why.
Let nature speak to you. Go out and look at landscape. Study and
observe; see the effect which makes you want to paint it, and then use
the means and method which seem most entirely adapted to it. Don't ask
yourself, nor let any one else ask you, Is this So-and-So's method?
or, Does this belong to this or that school? Don't bother about
schools or methods at all. Look frankly to see, accept frankly, and
then work to render and convey as frankly as you have seen. Be
sincere--sincere with yourself and with your painting: then you will
surely work at whatever you do from conviction, and not from fad; and
whether it makes you paint as an impressionist or not is a very minor
matter, because sincerity of purpose is the most important thing in
painting, and method of representation one of the least.

=Atmosphere.=--A universal characteristic of nature w