Page:Landscape Painting by Birge Harrison.djvu/224

LANDSCAPE PAINTING something stirred among the shavings at the back of the bench. It was a live turtle which had served the carver for a model. The poor man was all blushing confusion. "The honorable gentleman will pardon me," he said. "I am a simple artisan. Had I been an artist I should not have needed the turtle here to copy from." One of my own most interesting and illuminating experiences was an interview which I once had with an eminent Japanese artist. At the time of my visit he was at work upon a large screen of which the principal motive was a crouching leopard ready to spring. I watched him as with three or four long supple sweeps of the brush he placed the beast upon the silken background, a marvel of sinuous and savage force. "It is a wonder!" I exclaimed. "How do you do it?" [174]