Some J-l£mis io 



\, 



Colour is sometimes rather a snare to the 



student ; he is apt to be led away by its 



beauties, and to be slipshod in his expression 



of form. There is a most dangerous pitfall 



for the unwary. It is true that many great 



artists can give a wonderfulh- realistic idea 



with a few bold touches of a brush, but for a 



student to attempt to paint on the same lines 



would only show disastrous results. Ruskin 



.speaks very strongl)- on the subject. His 



remarks are at too great a length to quote 



here fully, but the substance is this : that 



nothing is to be learned, especially in 



sketching, b_\- precipitation ; and he de- 

 nounces, in a most decided way, those 



manuals on Art professing to give hints on 



"touch" and "style" to amateurs and 



students. He says most of them " praise 



boldness, when the only safe attendant of a 



beginner is caution ; advise velocity, when the 



first condition of success is deliberation." 



Suppose a student in a school of Art, 



just promoted to the dignity of the Life 



Class, had been to get ideas and inspirations 



from, say, the masterly portraits of Sargent. 



Suppose that in his first studies from the 



living model he tries to imitate the broad 



brush-marks he admired in the master's work, 



would not the result be terrible ? But this 



fatal imitation of style, or rather miserable 



attempt at it, often happens. Who could 



e.xpect, on a first trial, to imitate the 



dexterit)' of a man who has given years of his life to attain that 



dexterit)- ? It would not be good for us if we could, for it is only 

 b_\- careful and patient observation of Nature for ourselves 

 that we can ever hope to understand her, and by doing 

 so, produce work, if not great, at least possessing the 

 elements of individuality and truth. 



Therefore, although it is a great thing to aim at 

 broadness of effect and simplicity, the student must not 

 fall into the error of imagining that this is analogous to 

 a careless and hurried disregard of accuracy of form. 

 The conscientious student who has perhaps somewhat 

 yrw-claborated his drawing has often gone further towards 

 a true understanding of his subject than the more superficial 



he 



y tree un?oIds 

 beauty; the 

 tstnut uplifts 

 r flame 

 hitc 



and red ; 

 the vine droops 

 with the new- 

 formed grapes ; 

 the larch extends 

 arms of longing : 

 and I break into 

 praise. 



E. Gibson. 



Fioirer ricturc 



97 



