THE WOMBAT. 41 



to produce an agreeable combination and balance of lines, 

 curves, light and shade, so that the interest is mainly an 

 artistic one rather than centred in the thing itself. 



However, like lovely woman, though of course in a less 

 degree, a symmetrical vessel is a thing of beauty, and its 

 mobility and graceful motions and semi-feminine character- 

 istics generally exempt it to some extent from artistic law. 



But with regard to landscape, symmetry and elegance 

 are apt to produce formality and to clash with and subvert 

 more important desiderata ; moreover, symmetrical objects 

 do not lend themselves as a rule to the most artistic dis- 

 tribution of light and shade. In distances, however, such 

 symmetrical objects as church towers and spires and even 

 factory chimneys and the formal lines of any building may 

 produce an agreeable diversity, and even near the foreground 

 a little formality may enhance the general effect. 



A fine tree, a building, or a bridge may constitute a good 

 subject in itself, but rarely does it make a good foreground 

 object in a picture of which it is not the centre of interest. 

 Common-place objects of comparatively small dimensions are 

 best for foregrounds, and some subjects should have nothing 

 obtrusive in the foreground. In any case no foreground 

 object should rise very high in the picture, nor should it 

 intercept much of the view. The lofty objects should be, if 

 practicable, in or near the middle distance. 



For my part, I think some of the most artistic results in 

 landscape are produced from common-place and even in 

 themselves unsightly materials, but the result (i.e. the picture) 

 is not common-place. 



I make one suggestion as to process, and that is that I 

 think, though I have not yet tried the experiment, that it 

 would be a good plan, especially in windy weather or in bad 

 light, to make a number of rapidly consecutive instantaneous 

 exposures on the same plate, provided the shutter is suitable 

 or the camera sufficiently rigid. Even an ordinary " cap ' T 

 would fairly answer the purpose. My idea is that it would 

 obviate blurring of foliage and grass, and yet give practically 

 a due exposure, besides perhaps suggesting the "multitudinous 

 ripplings " of grass and trees, and avoiding to some extent 

 the weird rigidity I have already referred to. Of course it 

 would not answer for objects in progressive motion. 



These suggestions are necessarily somewhat bald, owing' 

 to limitations of space, and the numerous considerations 

 involved ; nor are they, perhaps, directly instructive. To excel 

 in any branch of art each one must do his own thinking, 

 although advantage may be derived from comparison of thought 

 and methods. As regards the latter, Opie's famous " With 

 brains, Sir," is the best of all recipes. 



