The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-04

INTO my work. doubt if any one could
"otk mere carefully. l paint and erase,
and repaint and Ie-erase Why, | have
spent weeks and weeks on less than a
single inch of canvas TAX about Meis
sonier! doubt IL Messonier was any,
lhlng Ike as conscientious as | am
sometimes. DO not rnn awav with
the Impression that it is just because
take too mnch care that l don't sue
coed. Ihaye, tried all sorts of methods. /
have tried the lmpressionist. method-two
splashes, smudge and a smear. and that
KIND OF thing. | d6E't know what other
men make of it; l never could make any,
thing at all-not a little bit And when
any one was looking.at an Impressionist
picture of mine, and observed that it might
haye been. better if / had taken more
trouble with ii, felt that In what he said
there was perhaps grain OF truth. And
sometimes l did not see how a man could
copseientieusly expect to paint picture,
say. nine feet by six. in less than twenty
minutes. / o listen TO some men you would
think that, as regards the amount OF wall
space they can cover, whitewashers aren't
in it.
So when 1 gave up impressionist meth
ods L took 10 taking pains. That seems
10 be aDont all l have taken to as yet /
once painted a picture of an interior.
called If The Cottager's HearthstOne." l
spent nearly nine months upon that hearth
stone. One day, after had given the thing
the finishing touches, l showed it to a
friend.
what DO you call it?'' he asked.
/ told him The Cottager's Hearthstone."
He looked dubious. l have often seen
people look that way when they have been
looking al pictures of mine.
Where's the hearthst0ne"
could have shown him where il was il
had heart enough TO do it. When man
ha a n
picture, and has spent nine months on IL in
order TO make II as unmlstakable as pos
sible, 10 be asked to point cut the part of
the picture in which II is supposed to be,
that is a dlsc0uraging request, from the
point Of view OF the earnest struggler in the
tolls of art.
Do not run away with the impression thai
| have never received the least encourage
ment, or that l have never sold picture. l
have | was once in Cornwall, before the
NewlYn School was ever dreamed of and
that Is not so very long ago. | was staying
st little place between St. Ives and Cur
nard's Head, sort of place at which people
did sometimes go and stay. When | had
been there about six months there came TO
the same place a man and a woman. He
was a pretty middle-aged man and she was
q pretty middle-aged young woman. And
that's the truth, although they were on
their honeymoon. They both OF them rather
took to me. l think that was because there
was nothing else to take to. Poor creatures
they must have been tearfully bored. Ii
was fine country, but 1t was uncommonly
bad weather; aud, at their time of life. they
liked 10 keep OUT of the rain. l fancied they
had been engaged somewhere in the neigh
bOrhood of thirty years. II seemed hard that
they should be rsined on after all. But life
is funny-if you like to laugh, as do, when
the tears are in your eyes.
They used TO ask me questions about nv
work aud they looked al nv pictures and,
so far as nay experience goes, they made
themselves peculiarly agreeable. And one
day-it WAS the day before they went
Crockett came to me and said-his name. was
Crockett:
do You want to sell any of your pic
lures, Mr.. Keddle?"
Ny names Keddle. l assure you that
when he asked that question n lump came
into my throat, but passed it of.
well, Mr.. CTOckett, I'm not an amateur.
I'm a professional artist you see"
oh! He looked az me in what SCENE a
rather curious manner. You are profess
sional artist. l see. Now, what is the price
you ask fer your pietures~
l smiled a superior smile
1T depends l do not price all my can
vases alike. To which of my works were
yOu particularly referring?"
| used for paintng-room loft which
was over a stable. 1t was rOomy If the
light was not sometimes all that might have
4
to make point of a good north light; cir
| cumstances have been against me. When !
asked Crockett to point out the work to
which he was particularly referring, there
came over him, as lie glanced al the line Of
| csnVases which hung on the wall, an IN
mistakable shuddeT. The door was wide
open-I had TO have 1t open for the sake of
| the Highland fancy il was trtie chilly.
He hesitated. Then, with what seemed a
I trembling hand he pointed 10 a canvas
which hung IN the darkness near the end If
the line How he could make il out from
where we stood was more than l could
understand. l could not.
That" observed. lis not quite fin
ished"
Il was fine work. though rather study
than picture. l called il "a Pitch Black
Night at Sea" Even regarded as a mere
study in impressionism, it was q bit unfin-
ished. In the stats it vas should not have
quite cared to see il hanging in a gallery
with my signature attached. He gave
! what seemed q sigh OF relief when l re-
| marked that it still needed some finishing
! touches.
"I'm sorry for that The-tbe one next to
| 1.-THE one beyond, | mean"
II fancy, Mr.. Crockett, that where you
! stand the light is bad. The canvas beyond
! is blank.
$50 it is; the light is puzzling. It's the
/ canvas this side, l meant"
| That canvas was the failure of my llfe
| called it "a FIshy Harvest" 1t was tishy
| picIure-uncommOnly. l had intended ii
| to represent heap Of pilchards. They
were as much ike pilchards as they were
! like erocodiles. never could paint fish.
THAT canvas" l remarked trifle stifly.
| as not for sale.
imagine that he perceived that there was
! something in my voice, because he le4 of
! choosing
Now which canvas, in confidence, Mr..
/ q ff,,rl
10 my notice."
The question. Mr. Crockett, Is a some
/ what inYidiouS one. L had supposed, from
what you said. that you had already fixed
! upon work in your minds eye. However.
! here is work which, regarded-what shall
| say? Pas tour de force, is, | think. not
unworthy serious attention. | may be
wrong. but, speaking as the artist, such is
| frankly my opinion"
| pointed to picture which l had finished
the day before. / called it "a Seasoned
| Craft" 1t was a study of an old fisher
mans face. The picture was all lace. Rem.
| brandt all over. Rembrandt treated in a
| novel, that Is, In an original, that IS, In nv
| way.
Mr.. Crockett looked at it, it struck me. a
| little obviously,
"a very remarkable work, Mr.. Keddie
! looked, the more dubious he seemed 10 grow.
Now. what-what, for instance, is the sub
jeet2"
"The subject Mr.. Crockett. speaks fol-
itself"
TIT certainly does. Jast so. Very
very remarkable" | never saw man look
more fuddled. "What are you asking fol-
! the work, Mr.. Keddle2"
| ratified my keys. did not want to ask
| too much at the same time / emphatiealIy
| did not want to ask too little. The mischief
was that, until that moment, | never had
been asked what l wanted for one of my
| pictures.
What are you prepared to offer, Mr.
| Crockett"
Would $50 be near the figure?"
| 'Well -"
l don't know what he thought was going
TO say, because while / was wondering
| what TO saw hs sprung another flyer