Mr. F. Hopkinson Smith gave the second lecture of his course last night on the subject of Out-door Sketching before an audience even larger than that of the night before. He said that every artist has his own ideas on out door work, and therefore what any one man can say must be rather his own ideas than a general treatment of the subject. Of course there are certain fixed laws of color and perspective, but as to how these may best be applied there is room for much dispute.

Everyone sees nature differently,- on some people it is only the strong contrast of light and dark that makes an impression, to some every detail stands out, while to others only the general effect of massing is apparent. So in sketching as in astronomy there is always a personal equation. The object of a sketch is, all painters agree, the presentation of truth, to make a picture exactly like the real. Embellishments from the painter's imagination not only are never needed but always spoil a painting. Nature is itself beautiful enough.

The first rule is always to have a centre of interest. Every detail must point towards the centre and must add rather than detract interest. When a good central subject has been chosen the next step is to find the point from which that subject may be most clearly brought forward. It is a good plan to make rough sketches from 10 or even 20 points, then lay them all out, and the most untrained can at once choose the best. The second rule is never to express in a painting more than the eye can take in at one glance. To put in more confuses and crowds the picture. It is very important before the sketch is begun to pick out the darkest and the lightest points. Even in the dullest subject it is invariably true that one point is a little darker than all others and that one special point is the lightest of all.

The question of local color is the hardest that comes to the artist. Things are not really the way they look. When we paint for example a summer scene, putting in all the rich greens and other bright colors, we get nothing approaching the true effect. Those artists who have been most successful in catching the salient points of a scene and in making it all true, use always soft colors, gray and yellow ochre. The best examples of this sort of work are the wonderful paintings of Cazin.

Most important of all things is rapidity of work. The sketch must be finished at one sitting, generally in not more than four hours. Even if the light should be the same on another day, it is impossible to expect that the mood of a painter should be just the same. So he cannot see things in just the same way. To an expert a painting done on different days is a perfect almanac. So the artist must work quickly. His strokes must be accurate and he must know that they are right. Such little details as time of day, temperature, season of the year, and locality always are as plain in the work of a master as they would be to a man standing where the artist stood. Enthusism is invaluable. A man must be in love with his subject and must really long to tell other people the beauty of what he sees. With a feeling like this a painter cannot help giving his pictures life and truth.