Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/26

 CHAPTER I How to Begin. Simple Subjects for Drawing and Painting

Have you a pencil, a box of chalks, ora paint-box ? Because, if you have even one of these things, you can open the door to such jolly times.

Do you remember Alice finding in Wonderland the little closed door, and how she longed to open the door and walk into the charming garden? Well, there’s a garden just as fascinating as the one seen by Alice, and the keys to it are your pencil and brush.

This garden, like Alice’s, is full of wonderful surprises. You never know what is lying in wait, what quaint, curious, and beautiful things are to be found. Would you like to go into it? Then come with me. You have the keys in your hands.

But first I will ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the story of the shepherd-boy of Vespignano ?

Once upon a time there lived in Italy a little shepherd-boy who was so passionately fond of drawing that he would pick up a stick and draw with it on the dusty roads and sandy rocks.

You might ask why he used such rough tools; it was all the material he could call his own, Paper and parchment were far beyond the reach of shepherd-boys. But Giotto, for that was his name, drew quite happily with his pointed stick upon the ground, and he had all the hillside from which to choose his subjects. He drew the flowers, the grass, and the pine-trees. Best of all, he liked to draw his sheep, and 20

ID: you like painting? Does drawing interest you?