The evening times., 1898-06-10

pared. so then you fidget around until
she does drop in, perhaps fully an hour
late. She always has a luncheon engage
ment at o'clock, so that you really get
not more than an hours work with her
when you should have had two.
"Of course. when one gets to be a fa-
nous artist and can charge thousands
instead of hundreds for picture, l sup
pose the women are not SO careless. Bus
mess men are always prompt. They
come to time. get right to work in busi-
nesslike way and stick to 1t until time is
up. l must say. however. that men who
are gentlemen of leisure and therefore
in the same class with the society women,
have been just exactly as unpunctual and
hard to manage.
at is the old ladies who pose the best.
They have long ago ceased to worry
about putting their best foot foremost.
They just settle down as sweetly and
quietly as you please and don't give you
a bit of trouble. How about children?
Oh. 1 love to paint them. but it is often
very hard to manage them. l had one
small boy who was proof against all of
my beguilements save one. l had that
big sword you see hanging there. and
one day in despair 1 took it down and
told him to play he was a Roman soldier.
1t worked like a charm. although had to
Uidke up SlOElcS dDout Aschiah scAo4SA >
every time he came.
You see not only have to do the paint
ing. but 1 have to be a sort of private
entertainment at the same time With
the children 1 have to tell fairy stories
and keep them good natured and inter-
ested The grown people need just as
much managing. Occasionally you can
let someone read aloud or talk to the
sitter, but generally YOU want the sitter
q ten n
someone else do the talking. Then, too.
IL is better to do the talking yourself.
In that way you can direct the couver-
sation so as to bring into your sitter s
face the expression you want there. You
mustn't be too funny. for II you are your
sitter will laugh too hard, and her feat
ures will go all to pieces. Her eyes will
almost disappear. her nose screw up, ana
her mouth go all over her face. You see
a portrait painter has hard lot
Another peculiarity of people who
want their portraits Is that they want the
picture to represent them standing up.
but they want you to paint 1t thus while
they are sitting down! What do we dol
Oh, we have to use them for the head and
hands and get a regular model to pose
for the details Of the dress and the figure.
Some OF the great ladies who have their
portraits painted would be surprised II
they knew who have worn their fine
gowns It simply has to be done. you
know. We'd never get the figures II we
didn't have other models besides our sit
ters. They ought rather to be called
sQuirmers, anyway.
1.-The best sitters are those who have
studied painting. They know what Is ex-
pected Of them and have some cOnsidera-
tion for you They see colors the same
way you do yourself and don't ask you
ito make them pink and white when they
know their coloring is full of yellows and
browns. And. by the way. IL woman
has ever been told that she has any yell
low or red In her hair she expects to find
1t sticking right out Of her portrait. and
is thoroughly aggrieved because you say
that, in the light In which she sat, the
yellows and reds were not in her hair.
She wants you to put them there anyway.
IT don't like to paint the portrait Of a
total stranger. There are several advan-
tages In being acquainted with your sit
ter. You know the attitude and express
sion most natural to her. She knows you.
too. and SO well that she doesn't show of
to you. She knows 1t wouldn't be worth
while. The painter soon learns. though
what is underneath the company face
and manners. As I said before. when !
have painted a PERSONS portrait know
that person through and through. h.--New
York Sun. .4Ti