061r - - - - - [continued]
and even it well then and once quite dry, they draw their picture & layer their natural flesh color, leaving the space for shadow, like the side of the forehead, & the cheek, & the area around the eyes blank & dry until they have filled in the rest. Next they put their shadows separately, which they do not make as dark as they could not naturally be. In sum, they do not put shadow on flesh color nor flesh color on shadow, but white on white & black on black Thus & each on their own. In this way their work is neat & the colors do not die.
Flesh colors
You need to make two kinds of it, one more red to make the main layer, the other more pale for the highlights, as around the eyes. And then on this last flesh color, you will lightly touch the main daylight with a little lead white. But avoid putting too much of it for this will look like the face of a dead person. The beautiful Florence lake makes a beautiful vivid flesh color that approaches the complexion of rose alexandrine & incarnadine.
at left top margin
Certain colors do not want to be ground like minium and massicot. The ashes do not want to be ground at all.
Rounding off
If you want to highlight well, arr soften round things by rounding them off with the point of the pinceau & the rest with the flat part if it is flat, & thus for the others according to their nature, & lightly with the point of the dry & flattened pinceau & with patience.
Lead white
Without this, you cannot work on a small scale for which one needs to soften with great care. But you cannot do it with ceruse because it does not have enough body.
Lights
Your pinceau shows it to you by casting a shadow which must always follow the back of your hand, not in a straight line like this,
Figure
for the light would be too crude & too harsh, but obliquely & as if at an incline, thus: Figure