Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-04-05
The barer the room, the more work

The barer the room, the more work
done in It,"
He walked over to a curious con.
trivance resembling small hand.
press, examined 1t, surveyed the empty
easel, against which were leaning.
face In. number OF pictures, all Of
a size, and turned half dozen Of
them over, ranging them and stepping
back for examination. Standing before
them, he whistled long passage,
from La Boheme, and had started to
rewhistle 1t In another key. when the
artist broke in with some impatience,
"Well?"
Good work." pronounced Kent
quietly, and in some subtle way the
commonplace words conveyed to thsfr
hearer the fact that the man who
spoke them knew.
Its the best there Is In me, AZ
least" said Sedgwick.
Kent went slowly around the wallis,
keenly examining, silently appraising
There were landscapes. genre bits
studies of the ocean in it's various
moods, flashes of pagan imaginingB,
nature studies; wonderful picture Of
wild geese settling from flight; no
less striking sketch of mink,
startled as he crept to drink among
the sedges: group OF country chill
dren at hop-scotch on the sands; all
the varied subjects handled with
deftness Of truth and drawing, and
colored with clear softness quite in.
dividual.
Have you found or founded new
system of coloring?" asked Kent % he
moved the little masterpieces No:
don't tell me- He touched one OF the
surfaces delicately. Its not paint,
and it's not pastel. Oh, l see! They re
all of one size-of course" He glanced
at the heavy mechanism near the
easel. They're color prints" ,...:s
Sedgwick nodded. "Monotypes,
said he. II paint on copper, make one
impress, and then-phut! sponge
across the copper makes each one IN
original
"You certainly obtain your Effects
The printing seems to refine the
color. For instance, moonlight on
white water. thing I've never been
able to approach, either in straight
oils or water. See here"
From behind cloth he drew q
square, and set 1t on the easel. Kent
whistled again, casual fragments Of
light and heavy opera intermingled
with considerative witches OF his ear.
ITS the first one I've given name
to-" said Sedgwick. II call 1t The
Rough Rider
A full moon, brilliant amid blown
cloud-racks lighted up the vast pro
cessfon OF pillows charging In upon y
near coast. In the foreground a corpse.
the face bent far up and back from
the spar to which it was dashed, rode
with wild abandon headlong at the on
locker, on the crest of a roaring
surge. The rest was infinite clarity Of
distance and desolation.
THE Rough RIDER" murmured
Kent; then, with change Of tone,
For sale?" a
II don't know" hesitated the artist.
Fact Is like that about well enough
to keep" ~
"1'll give you five hundred dollars
for it,
Five hundred! Man alive! "A hum
dred is the most I've ever got for any
Of my prints"
1.-THE offer stands"
"But, see here, Kent, can you afford
it? Government salaries don't make
men rich, do they?"
"Oh,, I'm rich enough" said the
other impatiently. Il told you I'd made
inventions. And can certainly afford
to buy 1t better than you can afford
to keep it here" s.s
What's that?' asked the painter,
surprised.
Kent repeated his final sentence,
with slow emphasis. do you under
stand what mean?" he asked, looking
flatly into Sedgwick's eyes.
"No, not in the least. Another sug.s
gestion of mystery Do you always deal
in this sort Of thing?"
Every seldom. However, II you
don't understand, so much the better.
When did you finish this picture Z?
Yesterday"
Him. Has any one else seen 1t Z" e
THAT old fraud Of a plumber, Elder
bennett, saw me working on 1t yes.
terday, when he was doing some re-
pairing here, and remarked that II
gave him the creeps."
bennett? Well, then that's all up,
said Kent, as II speaking to himself
There's streak of superstition Ia all
these New Englanders. He'd be sure
to interpret 1t as confession before
the fact. However, Elder bennett left
this morning for trip to CadystowIl.
That's so much to the good" v
"He may have left for a trip to
Hadestown for all care" stated
Sedgwick with conviction. What's II
all about. anyway"
"I'll tell you, as soon as I've mulled
1t over a little. Just let me cool my
mind down with some more of your
pictures" He turned to the wall
border again, and faced another pic
ture out Whats this? You seem to
be something Of dab in black and
white, too" Y
"Oh, that's an imaginary face" said
! Sedgwick carelessly.
| Imaginary face studied from
various angles commented Kent. ITS
a very lovely face, and the most visit
full I've ever seen. A fairy, prisoned on
earth by cockcrow, might wear some
1 - ~ ~ lad suyrN 0P{uW