Celibates | Page 9

for her to begin, and on a chair by the side of
the easel was her paint-box and brushes. He told her where she would find him, in the
Turner room, and that she must not hesitate to come and fetch him whenever she was in
difficulties.
'I should like you to see the drawing,' she said, 'before I begin to paint.'
'I shall look to your drawing many times before I allow you to begin painting. It will take
you at least a couple of days to get it right.... Don't be afraid,' he said, glancing round;
'lots of them can't do as well as you. I shall be back about lunch time.'
The picture that Mildred had elected to copy was Reynolds's angel heads. She looked at
the brown gold of their hair, and wondered what combination of umber and sienna would
produce it. She studied the delicate bloom of their cheeks, and wondered what mysterious
proportions of white, ochre, and carmine she would have to use to obtain it. The bright
blue and grey of the eyes frightened her. She felt sure that such colour did not exist in the
little tin tubes that lay in rows in the black japanned box by her side. Already she
despaired. But before she began to paint she would have to draw those heavenly faces in

every feature. It was more difficult than sketching from nature. She could not follow the
drawing, it seemed to escape her. It did not exist in lines which she could measure, which
she could follow. It seemed to have grown out of the canvas rather than to have been
placed there. The faces were leaned over--illusive foreshortenings which she could not
hope to catch. The girl in front of her was making, it seemed to Mildred, a perfect copy.
There seemed to be no difference, or very little, between her work and Reynolds's.
Mildred felt that she could copy the copy easier than she could the original.
But on the whole she got on better than she had expected, and it was not till she came to
the fifth head, that she found she had drawn them all a little too large, and had not
sufficient space left on her canvas. This was a disappointment. There was nothing for it
but to dust out her drawing and begin it all again. She grew absorbed in her work; she did
not see the girl in front of her, nor the young man copying opposite; she did not notice
their visits to each other's easels; she forgot everything in the passion of drawing. Time
went by without her perceiving it; she was startled by the sound of her master's voice and
looked in glad surprise.
'How are you getting on?' he said.
'Very badly. Can't you see?'
'No, not so badly. Will you let me sit down? Will you give me your charcoal?'
'The first thing is to get the heads into their places on the canvas; don't think of detail; but
of two or three points, the crown of the head, the point of the chin, the placing of the ear.
If you get them exactly right the rest will come easily. You see there was not much to
correct.' He worked on the drawing for some few minutes, and then getting up he said,
'But you'll want some lunch; it is one o'clock. There's a refreshment room downstairs. Let
me introduce you to Miss Laurence,' he said. The women bowed. 'You're doing an
excellent copy, Miss Laurence.'
'Praise from you is praise indeed.'
'I would give anything to paint like that,' said Mildred.
'You've only just begun painting,' said Miss Laurence.
'Only a few months,' said Mildred.
'Miss Lawson does some very pretty sketches from nature,' said Mr. Hoskin; 'this is her
first attempt at copying.'
'I shall never get those colours,' said Mildred. 'You must tell me which you use.'
'Mr. Hoskin can tell you better than I. You can't have a better master.'
'Do you copy much here?' asked Mildred.

'I paint portraits when I can get them to do; when I can't, I come here and copy.... We're
in the same boat,' she said, turning to Mr. Hoskin. 'Mr. Hoskin paints beautiful landscapes
as long as he can find customers; when he can't, he undertakes to copy a Turner.'
Mildred noticed the expression that passed over her master's face. It quickly disappeared,
and he said, 'Will you take Miss Lawson to the refreshment room, Miss Laurence? You're
going there I suppose.'
'Yes, I'm going to the lunch-room, and shall be very glad to show Miss Lawson the way.'
And, in company with quite a number of students, they walked through the galleries.
Mildred noticed that Miss Laurence's nose was hooked, that her feet