may be simply a pine one, which can be purchased from any dealer at the cost of about one dollar. More elaborate easels are, of course, more expensive; but as the merits of a picture do not depend upon the easel which holds it, a common pine one will do. =The Palette= should be light in weight and not too small; oiled and not varnished. A very light-colored wood is not desirable; one of walnut or cedar, about eighteen inches long, is the best to use, and will cost from thirty to sixty cents. =Brushes,= both of sable and bristles, are used, but we would advise a beginner to work with bristle brushes only, for the first attempt should be to obtain a broad style of painting, without the finished details which the sable brushes are used for. About four different sizes of flat bristle brushes are needed to commence with; there should be two of each size, the largest one inch wide, and the smallest not more than a quarter of an inch in width. =The Palette-Knife= is used for taking up color on the palette, for cleaning the palette, and sometimes for scraping a picture after its first painting. It should be flexible, but not too limber. The cost will be from twenty-five cents upward. =Oil-Cups= are fastened on to the palette, and are used for oil and turpentine. The double ones range in price from eight cents to twenty. The single ones, without cover, can be bought for five cents. =A Paint-Box= for holding colors, palette, and brushes will cost from one dollar and twenty-five cents up. It is convenient to have one, and necessary when going out sketching, but for painting at home any kind of tin box will answer for the paints. The palette can be hung up, and the brushes put in a vase or jar, handles downward, which will keep them nicely. =Mediums.= Boiled linseed-oil or poppy-oil, siccatif Courtray, and turpentine. =Canvas.= In selecting canvas choose that of a warm-gray or creamy tone, for it is difficult to give warmth to a picture painted on a cold-gray canvas. The German sketching-canvas is quite cheap, and does very well to commence on. It is best to buy it on the stretcher, as a girl’s fingers are seldom strong enough to stretch the canvas as tight as it should be. A very good sketching-canvas, 18 × 24, can be bought in New York City for twenty-five cents. Several clean pieces of old white cotton-cloth are necessary for wiping brushes, cleaning knife and palette, etc. =The Light= in the studio, or room in which you paint, should come from one direction only, and fall from above. This can be managed by covering the lower sash of the window with dark muslin, or anything that will shut out the light. A shawl will answer for a temporary curtain. Most artists prefer that while painting the light should come from behind over the left shoulder. Our advice to beginners in all the departments of art is the same: commence with simple subjects.