Huntsville gazette., 1891-12-05
I'm WOMAN'S BEHALF.
WOMEN IN ART.
Always a Good Opening for Girls Who
Have thu Ability and Energy.


Always a Good Opening for Girls Who
Have tho ability and Energy.
In the rush toward things artistic to-
day, too many persons untitled for the
career adopt the profession of an artist,
with light heart; that as years roll
on, too often grows to be very heavy
one Before deciding whether ones
taste for dabbling IN paint or plaster is
likely to outlast the necessary drudgery
of the first years of study, it is well to
be quite sure that not only the will but
the power is there. Usually the first
efforts of a girl, who shows some
knack of handling brush or pencil, are
greeted with chorus of praise; those
who know better withhold the sharp
criticism the prentice's attempts de-
serve; while those who do not know in
sist that with such genius it would be q
shame to remain content with mere
common place pursuits. So the victim
to circumstances listens greedily to
prophecies of future fame and fortune,
and decides 10 become another Rosa
Bonhenr. In rare cases the decision is
right, and both the individual and the
world e ain thereby. But in the large
majority of failures one wishes that
some kindly friend could have stayed
the waste of time and energy by telling
the truth in time.
To decide whether clever girl has
or has not the talent-without which
success is impossible, or, at best dis
honorabie-is not easy. If she turns to
friends and acquaintances, their polite
ness forbids plain speaking; if she ap-
proaches local teacher, the chances
are that the natural eagerness to secure
another pupil makes him discern hidden
talent where otherwise he would fail
to find it. Nor is it easier to obtain
valuable advice from a stranger; it is a
serious responsibility to stay the career
of one who may be great some day,
and so, mindful Of the romances of un-
appreciated genius, we all shrink from
saying-''You have no shadow OF a
chance of eminence as an artist; aban-
don the attempt wholly"
To begin, with, their is no royal road
to art; genius alone can not paint a
great picture. knowledge of drawing
and anatomy; skill in technique. in
brush-work and the laying on of color
are all gained only by hard and seri-
Gus study. To copy good paintings is
help; but nothing replaces the teacher.
A serious objection to many art schools
is that the level of the class is lowered
to avoid showing the utter incompe-
tence of the worst. The first steps are
40 10 nd NH fa-
cility is gained, the young miss Tor
mastery sallies out to conquer the
world. Possibly dealer buys few
sketches; personal friends offer small
commissions, and the students head is
turned. Ignorant of her own want of
knowledge-the deepest of all ignor-
ance-she paints daubs that defy every
law of art, but attract certain class of
admirers; and so, content with her be-
ginning, goes on to find a younger
novice forestalling her, and the ap-
probation of those worth having, lost
forever.
What has been called divine dis
content is at once the artists sorrow
and crown The ideal aimed at must
always be far ahead of the result; salts
faction, beyond a certain point, with
ones finished work is the deadliest in
dication of all. If before great paint
ing a young artist secretly feels she
could paint as well, in one case out of
million she may be right; but in the
others it is dead certainty that both
the humility of real genius and the
genius itself are lacking.
But besides the lack of that supreme
talent men call genius, there are other
secondary qualities that must be hers
who would succeed in art. Of these, a
power of steady application, keen OBJ
servance of natural facts, love of ma
ture, and real delight in color and the
beauty of things seen as well as things
painted, are among the most Important;
but energy, patience and study can
alone make them fruitful
Difficult as it is to ascertain whether
a beginner has solid reason to hope for
success, there are a few rough and
ready tests that, if unflinchingly APP
piled, would weld out the most hopeless
incapables. Note first whether the
would-be artist is clever at copying, or
tries to invent her pictures. If her
sketches are full of every technical
fault and yet show honest attempts to
draw or paint what she sees, there is
room for hope. If, however, her pic
lures are all mere copies of the work OF
other artists, though done ever SO well,
they prove nothing; beyond the lower
faculty of imitation, that is only a
small part of the equipment OF an
artist.
Such an one may go to nature and
yet paint her scenes after previously
learned formula. If all her sketches
gray days or sunny days, autumn or
spring-have similar chromo-like col
oring, it is proof positive that the vision
Of the real artist has been denied her.
The choice of subjects is another
test. A real artist makes everything
paintable; the most unpromising scene