Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1914-11-05

Portable camp. as we'll as cooking all
his meals.
Perhaps he stays in the woods for
month or more. living under the most
comfortable circumstances. He has
observed many things with his eyes,
but in all that time he has not felt
the things that the guide has felt, nor
does the guide tell the artist his feel
ings. not being in the habit OF talking
much.
Then the artist goes back to the city
20 his luxurious studio and starts to
work putting picture of outdoor work
on canvas. He pleases people who do
not know much about outdoor life,
much the same as a gay cOlOred chro-
mo attracts the eye of a child. And
he paints all these pictures under the
most comfortable circumstances.
Along comes a wealthy man who
says: "You are great painter of wild
life. Paint me a picture of a moose
in summertime" The artist has al
ready painted a picture Of a moose in
the fall and winter in the snow. The
color Of a winter moose is decidedly
different from that of the summer
moose. The antlers the artist has seen
are hard and perfect, but the antlers
of the summer moose are soft and vel
vety, because the blood is circulating
from the body of the animal up
through every part of his horns. Sum-
mer moose look no more like winter
moose than a caribou looks like a deer.
What is the artist going to do? He
doesn't even know what kind of
country the summer moose inhabits
or where he is found. The summer
moose does not live in the same kind
Of place as the winter moose Hf
does not eat the same food nor eat In
the same way. He is of different col
or, different shape. and he acts differ
emily. So the reader will see how easy
it is for the painter Of outdoor life to
slip up on this sort of thing.
The true portrayal can never come
from the brush of an artist who has
not lived close to nature, and who has
not felt what he paints. To my mind
this fundamental training is a big fac
tor in art. 1t is something big-some-
thing apart from the constant swap
ping of ideas from one teacher to an
other.
While such an artist may not have
the technical training of the schoOled
artist he has the truth of his work,
and no painting is ever great if it lacks
truth. Being part of nature will fit
a man to portray nature truthfully
when he comes to paint it.
1t doesn't matter what the picture is
on the surface. nor does it make any
difference what you paint it on or
what you use for a brush or color. 1t
is the touch. A man who views a pic
ture rightly looks below the surface
Of it. He goes down deep into it.
The painter of truth pictures is un-
conscious of what brush he uses or
what color he employs. The only thing
in his mind is the touch of life that
he has seen on the head of some wood
creature or the reflection of a sunset.
They are the things that appeal to him
as striking. and he works on and on
until he has obtained the effect that is
in his mind. He knows instinctively
when be has found it. and he knows
that be is right. He has given soul
to the painting. 1t takes a man who
knows life from practical experience to
read the soul in another mans picture.
A picture without a soul means moth
ing.
This was one of the reasons why
went into the woods in the first place.
l hoped in a small way to get the peo-
pie to recognize nature in art.
| began my art in the woods of
northern Maine. At various times
while | was guiding men from the city
through the woods | would draw
sketches for them on pieces of fungus.
They kept telling me l should develop
such a talent. and this pleased NE.
l drew considerably after that. but
always hid my stuff. Sometimes peO-
pie would find it and say it was good
and that with a little training | would
enc day be an artist. l knew that l
lacked technical training, SO l thrust
myself upon every artist l came i'll
contact with. | observed them close /
~, and nothing escaped me. l Won
dered then if | would ever be able to
do anything like the work they were
doing.
However. the repeated suggestions ,
of people about my developing my tall |
ent encouraged me some. and l stuck !
to it, One day a magazine wanted to
buy a cover design had drawn. That
was the biggest thing l had reached. !
l said to myself. Here is a chance
for me to draw a picture for the pub
lie with my name signed to it, 1t
meant a great deal to me.
But inside l felt that | was not on
equal footing with other artists be-
cause | hadn't had the training of the
schools. | didn't dream at that time !
that a man could start out with what
talent he had and make a success on
his own resources. l didn't have the
money to study. SO the only thing for
~x-or- 70 Ezoorl on n0infiDU and