In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Use a hard pencil to create a light sketch of your subject. You can do this directly onto the canvas or onto tracing paper, and transfer it using a carbon copy. When you're drawing your subject, keep in mind the composition and use of negative space. Composition is the placement of items on the canvas. Choose the best placement so that the eye is drawn around the entirety of the canvas, rather than left to linger on a single spot. Negative space is the space around an object. If you are using an item in real life and are drawing it onto your canvas, draw difficult areas by looking at the space around the figure rather than at the figure itself. Consider what you will fill the negative space with once you start the painting in order to make your subject pop. Make note of overlapping figures, as these add depth to your composition. If your subject doesn't have any overlapping shapes, consider rearranging until you do. This will add realism to your painting. To create a realistic painting, you must have obvious patches of light and dark. Look at your subject and determine the angle at which the light is coming from, and where shadows and highlights are located. All light sources cast shadows, but if they are directly above the subject it can be difficult to see them. Try moving your light or your subject so that the shadows and highlights are more obvious. You may not have incredibly dark shadows or incredibly bright highlights. In fact, you likely will have a range of values that are all very near each other. Don't be concerned if your light source isn't creating a strong definition of shadows and highlights. For new painters, it is often very difficult to match the colors of their subject to the colors they mix with their paint. This is because the brain provides an idealized color value; you see the sky is blue, so you mix blue paint, only to realize that your paint is much brighter and colorful than the actual sky. The trick is to get past the symbols of color our brain uses, and examine the actual colors being used. This will change the brightness of your paints. A painting set at night will be darker and richer than one during the day, which is most likely brighter. Check the color of the light source; on a bright sunny day, your subject will have a golden glow. On a gray day, the light is diffused through the clouds giving your subject a gray tint. You may also have actual colored lights - such as neon signs or tinted light bulbs - that affect the colors of your subject. Are you painting a still life with little to no movement? Or is your figure in a field on a windy day, creating a lot of motion? Paying attention to the movement of your subject is important for planning your brush strokes. Realistic paintings have brush strokes that create movement, or a lack thereof.
Summary: Create a rough sketch. Find the light source. Consider your colors. Look at the movement of your subject.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Cockatielsand male birds especiallycan develop aggressive behavior if their wing feathers are fully grown out. If you notice your male cockatiel going through sporadic periods of increased biting or pecking, try trimming the feathers on the tips of its wings. If you haven't trimmed your bird's wings before or do not feel comfortable trimming them yourself, take the cockatiel to a vet who can perform the procedure. Trimming your bird's wing feathers will also prevent them from being able to fly away. Cockatielslike any breed of parrotneed enough space to feel comfortable and not cramped. This means that their cage needs to be large enough to comfortably accommodate the bird. If the cage that you're currently housing the cockatiel in is too small, it will become agitated and much more likely to bite you. If this is your first time owning a cockatiel, plan to buy it a medium to large cage. Cockatiels have impressive crests and large tails, and so need more space than you might think. A cockatiel's cage should be at least 20 inches (51cm) wide, 20 inches (51cm) deep, and 24 inches (61cm) tall. Your cockatiel will enjoy the added entertainment that these objects in its cage provide, and will experience fewer aggressive moods. Perches come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and textures, and can be made from natural or synthetic materials. Cockatiels prefer softwood perches, so look for this variety at your local pet store. To encourage your cockatiel to spend more time playing in its cage, try giving it items you can find around the home, including: toilet paper rolls, large Lego bricks, buttons, and shiny objects like metal bells. If your bird tries to eat plastic perches, remove them immediately and replace them with stainless steel perches. Cockatiels tend to produce breeding hormones during times of seasonal change, such as from summer to fall. Cockatiels can become more aggressiveand bite more oftenwhen they are experiencing breeding hormones. Both male and female birds can before territorial and defensive, and defend any areas that they may consider nesting sites. To diffuse these behaviors in cockatiels, lower the temperature in the room in which the cockatiel is kept. As an example, if your house is usually 75F (24C), lower the temperature to about 65F (18C) in the room where you keep your cockatiel. Don't lower the temperature too much though, or the bird could get sick.
Summary: Trim the cockatiel's wing feathers. House your cockatiel in a larger cage. Add perches or toys to your cockatiel's cage. Cool your home during breeding season.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Pre-emergent herbicides act by forming a chemical layer at the surface of the soil. As crabgrass seeds germinate, they take in the herbicide, which prevents them from sprouting and ultimately kills them. This should coincide with the blooming of the forsythia. Buy an inexpensive soil thermometer if you don't know when to time your herbicide application. Always apply the herbicide along with a starter fertilizer. Fertilizer helps thicken the turf, which in turn snuffs out crabgrass seeds that weren't killed by the fertilizer. Apply a starter fertilizer along with your herbicide and you're getting more bang for your buck. As small as the print is, you will find valuable information on time of application and safety precautions. Look for herbicides that use the following active ingredients: dithiopyr, prodiamine or pendimethalin. The herbicide that you use to snuff out unwanted crabgrass is the same stuff that will lay waste to the soft, pretty grass you actually want to cultivate. That means you have to seed during one season and use herbicide during another: Seed during the early fall and use herbicide during the spring, making sure to keep a buffer of at least 50 days in between. These will kill your grass as well so only use if you have more crabgrass than lawn or thick patches of it.
Summary:
Prevent crabgrass from growing in the first place with pre-emergent herbicides. Apply pre-emergent herbicides in the late winter/early spring when soil temperatures stabilize at 55F at a depth of 4". When using herbicides, be sure to read the label carefully. Reseed or use the herbicide, but never both. Apply post-emergent herbicides in the summer, if you see crabgrass.