. John Pettie, , ; . ts—William McTaggart, Hugh Cameron,Tom Graham, and George Paul Chalmers in parti-cular—Pettie formed ties of warm friendship whichremained unbroken through life. All were hisclose companions during the years which he spentin Edinburgh. With Chalmers he had much insympathy, for Chalmerss start in painting wassingularly like Petties own. He was originallybound apprentice to a general grocer and ship-chandler in Montrose, and after covering the wallsof the shop where he worked with sketches madeby means of a cheap colour-box, he set to workin oil with the common s
. John Pettie, , ; . ts—William McTaggart, Hugh Cameron,Tom Graham, and George Paul Chalmers in parti-cular—Pettie formed ties of warm friendship whichremained unbroken through life. All were hisclose companions during the years which he spentin Edinburgh. With Chalmers he had much insympathy, for Chalmerss start in painting wassingularly like Petties own. He was originallybound apprentice to a general grocer and ship-chandler in Montrose, and after covering the wallsof the shop where he worked with sketches madeby means of a cheap colour-box, he set to workin oil with the common ship paints that came readyto hand. When Pettie and he were young students,they would sometimes go home after the eveningLife Class to the high tenement in North St. DavidStreet where Chalmers lodged; and Pettie wouldstay talking till he had to remain for the night. Sothey would retire to bed, still talking till they fellasleep; and, says Chalmerss biographer, theirtalk was all of colour. THE HOUR (Size of original, 40 x 34.). EDINBURGH DAYS 19 At the very outset of his career Pettie astonishedteachers and fellow-students by the indomitablevigour and energy which he threw into his set about everything with impetuous en-thusiasm. Mr. C. E. Johnson, , tells how inthose days he could not even walk from schoolto studio— he was always on the trot. For twoor three years he worked untiringly at hard training in the schools he acquired thattriumph over technique and that freedom andhappy audacity of draughtsmanship which carriedhim to success, where the toilsome elaborationand patient concentration of another artist failsbecause it leaves the onlooker cold and acquired then a power and directness of draw-ing which enabled him afterwards to draw withhis brush as freely and correctly as another mancould with the point. In later days he could dasha portrait or a figure straight upon the canvaswith scarcely a touch of preliminary drawing,and then so m
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