The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-03-20
Elementary Drawing.

ton or profession in which it may not prove
Of service. If the boys and girls of the las
: generation had been taught TO draw, W
should now live in better, more tasteful, ant
more convenient houses. We should b'
surrounded with better and more tasteful
furniture, and those things on which the eye
would rest with the greatest satisfaction
would most likely be the result Of our Owl
handiwork Had drawing been generally
taught, our cities would be more beautiful
We should have more public gardens and
statues, and many ugly buildings would
have been allowed to remain as useful luln-
Der, brick and stone, or else used so as to
please, not offend, cultivated taste. II
drawin had been taught to the people Of
the last generation, those of the present
would have enjoyed thousands Of pleasant
and profitable hours, which, as things are,
have passed indolently, uselessly, or mis-
chievousy. Had drawing been taught to
those who were naturally inclined 10 it, ma
ny youth who now wastes much of his lei
sure time in whiting pine stick, or the
edge oi the nearest table, would most likely
have possessed the ability to carve 6 decent
scroll to ornament some piece Of homemade
furniture. Were this useful art generally
taught we should have better pictures and
more Of them; our girls would dress in bet
ter taste, with less oSteutation and with
some regard to harmony Of colOrs.
/ Drawing induces a habit of observation.
1t leads Us to observe objects presented to
I our view, instead Of furtively gancing from
/ one thing to another without obtaining dc
/ finite idea Of the form and details of any
/ The difference between those who look at
! things, and those who see them, is greater
than most people imagine. The main diff
ference between the skilled and unsEillcd Ia
oorcr is, that one has an educated eye and
hand, while the other has not. The one is
/ wei, the other III paid. There alw4y. was
and always will be need for hewcrs Of
wood and drawers Of water, but each parent
should 90 his utmost to prevent his ch ID from
Z being this and nothing more, Those youths
/ who are intended for architects, scuIp;ors,
I painters build T., designers, machine, pat
/ tern. or furniture makers, %c., VIII be likely
to succeJd N the exact degree IA which they
become skilled in the use Of their pencil
the simplest tool with which we work, hence
the one best fitted to commence with. Only
those who are skilled can hope to succeed,
and those who are most Skilled will best sue
ceed.
Drawing IS the humble attempt 70 initiate
the beautiful forms the Almighty has made;
it may be a straight line, or the face of
cheyub. His forms are perfect; the more
We knox Of them the more delight we feel
in their contemplation, because Of the great
er reason We have to admire the infinite
forms of beauty they present. and the ad-
Iu;rable fitness Of each to answer the end for
winch L was designed. In our atteI pts 10
understand their details and initiate their
forms we are calling into activity Il any "a
culties Of our nature whose develop nent
cannot but add TO our happiness and useful
ness, but which often, unhaPpily, stIltlfy
the soul by being allowed 10 lie dormant
Drawing should be taught, not only because
it viii make better and more skiiful work
men, but because its tendency is to improve
and instruct all. You cannot look upon a
rose without recognizing its great beauty
but YOU raw never discover why i. is so
beautiful unless you attempt 10 draw 1t
Then the soft tenderness Of its graduated
tiats, and the extreme dclicacy with which /
each OF the many folds Inelts into light, or
ret;-es into shade, and which you VII! III
vain strive to initiate, will lead you to see /
why the rose, as compared with other now !
ers, is so pre-emnently beautiful.
This art ,s useful and important because /
Il iS the skill which drawing gives, combined /
witt laior,-n,uch more thar the material I
on which the skill ard labor are expended - /
that gives value to a production. have /
seen what was once piece of board, about /
a foot square and perhaps two inches thick,
wrought hy an Italian artist into group oil
pendant flowers of such marvellous dehcacy, |
that it was hard 10 believe SO much beauty |
could Laye been concealed in dull block OF
wood. This piece of board, which could !
once have been bought for five cents, when |
wrought into this form of exquisite beauty, |
was purchased by Sir Joshua Reynolds tor |
the Duke of Devonshire, in whose palace at |
CLstsworth saw it, for sum SAID to ex-
cecd five thousand dollars. :
Another thought which may be presented
to the young to influence them to give tne
necessary patience to produce good work,
is. that only those things which are the re.
snIt of much skill and labor are deemed
worthy 10 live for any length of time. IN
Fnoland and the still older countries OF Eu-
rome it is readily seen that those buildings on
which most skill and labor have been eA
pended. exist the longest. Ihis may IN
some measure be due TO their being oulit oi
the best available materials, ana 10 the care
exercised in the selection OF each bloch o!
stone or piece or timber, but much more 10
the exact and faithful manner IN whicn the
work was done, to the accuracy wlth Which
which it was fitted into its place; but most
Of all nerhaps. to the beauty which the ar
cbitect and workmcn drew from the stone,
(rbich has caused ti:c;n TO live to excite
nan's admiration and reverence through the
f-osts and storms of hundreds, and in some
cosos thousands of wears. Such Is the re-
s,I, of GOOD work that men delight IN pre-
servinr it century after century, that 1t may
Ii,.a tn tell of the faithfulneSs OF him VINO
made II. Good work, whether II be IN
stone metal, wood, or on canvas, is almost
sure to live TO good old age, because the
world over it is treated with loving re-
sncct What are the things which your
| child treats with most respect, oe your nome
rich or lowly? Are they not those things
which have been produced with the greatest
| amount of skill and labor? our watch,
| the good picture, the well-bound book, the
| best piece of furniture, inspire k'hd oi
! consideration much resembling the reYc'
renee paid to living worth. -.
A.other reason why beautiful things iite'
is, that they are reproduced by mos iGs
have taste to appreciate their beauty.
foolish man happens to be ricii anu
uc,y houxe no one initiates his worn, u",ees
there should happen to be anotic' "' iJo'.' I..
| az himself, but il a wise man Jun"
,;f,, bni,se. dozen or n"hu'eu PSop'e'
liiui hnua mUu the means, will try to build one
r;,-o :, Statues that were mace, ana pniio-
,Mo ;nos that we're erected by the Greeks two
tbousand years ago, are so beautiful that we
have not ceased to copy them down to the
nresent time. If a sculptor like Powers, the
Cincinnati boy, makes beautiful statue II
is reproduced in thousand different ways US
1t is made of different materials, and OF dii-
| II -.
per, stone and wood, and millions OF copies
are nrinted and millions Of people arc gra-
tilted and benefited by sight of it in some
form or other.
Let the young be encouraged in their ear,
ttts ,,, thew feel that only skill and