Evening star., 1927-11-24
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TR4CEW ELL.

! artistic ventures, which gave such
| satisfaction to the young artists. it
! is amazing to recall and to realize
| that they had no relation whatever
| to the actual art work taught in
| the classes.
The latter was confined, 6 one re-
members, strictly to such subjects as
branches of pussywllow in a vase,
! Autumn leaves and other subjects" of
no appeal to boys. real or otherwise.
! Somehow or other. teacher never
seemed to feel that ship was
| scemly subject for art work.
| Perhaps our sailing vessels were
crude in the extreme. but they had
our interest behind them. which the
more artistic pussywilow in a neat
vase never had. Even to this day we
! ind ourself lightly passing such
studies" to look at the sea pictures
| in the deal windows.
Nor did the sight Of a large OK
heart, which we exacted from a
butcher on the payment of 1o cents,
and brought to the class in the study
| Of physiology, help us bit in N,e
study of human anatomy.
| Our ella andestine drawings of men
and women talso behind the covers Of
that amazingly helpful geography
never attained the lucidity of our
ships at sea. There was movement to
our ships. verve and dash to the long
streamer of smoke from our steam
| ers, whereas our men and sweet
ladies were very wooden In face and
| figure.
As we recall, we gave up the hui
| man figure in disgust, being particu-
| larv displessed with the arms and
hands. which appeared to be only so
many boat hooks.
We had "a compa nion. strangely
| enough. who later went to sea and
became one Of the best officers in
| Uncle Sans Navee, who specialized
| in drawing sweet ladies', and who,
| finally. by sheer perseverance. man.
aged to achieve a really good speci.
men by the simple expedient Of eras-
ing every curve that did not look
right. At the end of month OF hard
manual labor ne had A drawing that
even the drawing teacher would have
labeled Excellent"
A continuation of these early efforts
along the right lines, would have
| enabled us to keep up our enthusiasm
and at the same time increase our
ability, so that today we might be
pencil as well as with typewriter.
The ability to jot down quick
sketch, as we'll as few notes. would
prove invaluable to any man in bust
ness or in most of the professions or
trades. Yet very few men possess it
| And it would seem something OF
a shame that they do not, because
the desire to draw is instructive
Children take to it long before they
learn how to read and write.
| Our point is not that every child
| should be turned into a painter or a
cartoonist, but that each one should
draw straight lines straight, circles as
real circles, to put in light and shade
| deftly, not in drawings Of daffodils and
| leaves. but in the thousand and one
subjects that interest growing boys
and girls.
| Only a few, Of course. would get
that firm grasp of the subject which
would allow them to become real ar
lists with pen or pencil. but all, we
maintain, might be taught so that in
after life they would be able to draw
a ship as we'll as they did in grade
school.
| Perhaps the fault was our own
we have no doubt in the world that
it was-but the fact remains that such
fundamental activity as drawing,
coming down to US through the cen.
| turies, from our cavemen ancestors,
ought to be better developed in most
| adults than it is.