cture, and not a mere canvas which has been of no
use to you, nor can be of any satisfaction to any one else who knows a
good picture (copy or original) when he sees it.

=Why Copy.=--There are only two good reasons for making a copy,--to
study the original as a problem, and to have something to serve as an
example of the master on a work which you like. And in either case
such a sincere manner of copying as I urge is the only possible way to
get what you want. To "get a picture," regardless of whether it really
does justice to the original, is the wrong way, and this leads always
through bad copying to bad painting, and you are fortunate if you
escape an entire perversion of your point of view.

You may be able to make some money now and again by doing this sort of
thing, but you will never learn anything from it. On the contrary, it
is the surest way you could find of closing your eyes to all that is
worth seeing.

=Get to Nature.=--If you would really learn to paint, to see for
yourself, to represent what you see in your own way, you cannot get to
nature too soon. Don't bother about what the thing is, so long as it
is nature herself. By nature I mean anything, absolutely anything
which exists of itself, not painted. Whether it be the living figure,
or a cast, or a bit of landscape, or a room interior--all things which
actually exist must show themselves by the facts of light falling upon
them: the relation of color, and the contrasts of light and dark.
Whatever you see is useful to you in this way, for these bring about
all the qualities and conditions which you most need to study. But
models are not always at command, interiors do not easily stay a long
time at your disposal, and bits of landscape which interest you are
not always easy to get at; for a student is apt to be either far
advanced or unusually ardent who will find interest in the first
combination which falls under his eye. Therefore the most practically
useful material for study, which is always "nature," is what we call
"still life,"--_"morte" nature_, dead nature is the better or more
descriptive name the French give to it. By this is meant any and all
combinations of objects and backgrounds grouped arbitrarily for
representation. Bottles and jugs and fruits, books and bric-a-brac;
all sorts of things lend themselves readily and interestingly to this
use.

The great value of still life for the student lies in the variety of
combinations of color