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Show MaKing A Home A Mansions I ml I Masterpieces Are Copied or Walls, even a Rug Is Painted on the Floor by Ii House Decorator Who Puts i n ' Winter Months I Beautifying H i s B Own Rooms. yJTLy HE home of C. B. Ander-V. Ander-V. jfk son of Edwards" ille, 111., a house painter is an incentive to the V s man of moderate means who enjoys anil loDgs for the works of art found in the palatial pala-tial mansion of some wealthy resident of his home town. Wealth does not always mean luxuries, and neither is it essential essen-tial for the enjoyment of art. A love of art, with some ability to draw, a knowledge of mixing and blending-colors, with lots of persistence, are the fai tors necessary for the poor man, the man who toils, 1o own a home which might make a millionaire proud. For five years Anderson has been decorating dec-orating his home of seven rooms, and :t will take another two years to finish the task. Already he has reproduced eight Well-known pictures on the plaster walls of the house, like the painters of old. Beside these he executed a great deal of other work to carry out nis ideas. One would naturally think that af'er the painting season for outside work was over Aanderson would sit by the fireplace, enjoy his pipe, read the war news aud while away the long winter mouths until the return of spring, the dowers and birds would cause him to get out the paint pots, brushes and oils for another summer's work. Not so with Anderson lie is too full of life and too industrious. Also he lias a great love for his home. When the weather will not permit Outside work or he is not employed on another job, and when the light is just right he paints away at home. He thinks little of the future in his work The bridges are not crossed until reached, and that is the reason, he says, his painting is a pleasure. In the European countries and Anderson An-derson was born there, at Landskronn, R-ajoilen the workingman and his Csm-fly Csm-fly are familiar with art. They visit the galleries frequently, and for that reason soon become acquainted with the ANDERSON $8m A famous pictures of the old masters. Studied Old Masters. AT LANDSKRONA all of the public buildings, the schools, railway station, sta-tion, business houses and shops, residences resi-dences of the rich and some of the poorer were artistically and elaborately decorated. Across the bay at Copenhagen, Copen-hagen, Denmark, a two-hour trip by steamer, was the Copenhagen Art Gallery, Gal-lery, rilled with many pictures, and it was there he dreamed his dream of some day owning a home, with walls covered with pictures by his own labor. Whenever he had an opportunity he visited places where he might sec a pretty picture. Days were spent in the art gallery, gazing on the masterpiece:, and fixing them in his mind so they can never be forgotten. Anderson was of a long line of seafaring sea-faring ancestors. His father was a pilot, who placed the son in a trade school when quite young. T was at that school that Anderson decided that his trade would be 1 painter and dec orator, and there he learned to mix and blend the primary colors, red, yellow, blue and black, to produce the color he desired. He received instructions in graining ami staining, in fact everything every-thing pertaining to his trade, but nothing noth-ing about art and the formntion of pie-1 pie-1 nres. At 22 years of age he came to America, Amer-ica, filled with an ambition to make his mark in the world, lie followed his trade in a number of cities. Three years of the time were spent in St. Louis, and for a while Anderson lived in Chicago and New York City. In those places his visits to the a1 galleries gal-leries were most frequent Tie attended the Chicago and St. Louis world fairs, where he haunted the art displays for days at a time. After his marriage to Miss Maria Johnson of Petersburg. 111., in ri". he was again taken with the desire to own a home which he mighl decorate along the lines of his birthplace. Fifteen years ago the family went to Edwards- ville. His finances would not permit the building of a home, ami foi ten years the couple rented houses. During the period he did a great deal of paint in" on canvas. lie had married a thrifty wife, and a portion of his earnings were tucked away, until five years ago, when the Andersons saw the way clear to build a home of their own. A three-acre tract on North Fillmore street, just inside the city limits, was Hiosen as the ideal spot for his future abode. From the outside the home is a mod- i at one. It is on a knoll and partly surrounded by woodland. A hundred feet below is a stream, and its babbling Over the pebbles may be heard during the summer months, when the family and their friends sit on the porch or lawn in the cool of the evening. Works Five Winters ou Home. Till" last live winters have seen Anderson An-derson hard at work each day when the light will permit, putting the finishing touches to the interior. "It may appear hard to the qu-onlookcr, qu-onlookcr, " said Anderson, as the reporter re-porter watched the brush as it was guided over the surface of the walls with rapidity and dexterity, "but a thing man wishes to accomplish is not work: it is mere play, no matter how tedious. "1 have this room to decora fe, mid one more painting to be made in the dining room, and then my home will be finished. I have enjoyed it since the I began, but the pleasures increase ns the pictures are given the final strokes, it is probable that all will be completed this winter, and I will ie ready to begin my regular work next spring with tin- thought that the desirr of my 'He has been fulfilled.' Anderson's greatest regret is that he is unable to originate his compositions, but is force. to copy. He has shown skill in Laying OUt his work. The colors are harmonious, the drawing is exact and well-proportioned for one who h;is had no special training in art. His line work in decoration is very accurate. "In planning the work I had no definite defi-nite idea in mind," he said, "but. did it as fancy or necessity directed. The small children passing up and down the stairs were liable to leave finger prints on the plaster, and so T determined to paint the walls of the stairway first." The lower portion is painted in imita- I ftmm J- I1 ft ... - I I FISHERMAN'S F?ETUI?N I tion marble and the upper part is paneled pan-eled with a tropical bird near the center cen-ter of each panel. Upon reaching the top landing and turning to look backward, back-ward, there is on the opposite wall a life-sized lioness posed on rugged rocks surveying the surrounding The Sunday newspapers assisted Anderson An-derson in carrying out his ideas. During Dur-ing and after the St. Louis fair a reproduction re-production of some of the best-known pictures were issued as Sunday supplements. supple-ments. They were in the colors of the originals. These pictures were filed away for future use and the painter has about 200 of them. "The Pilgrims," a picture 5 by 7 feet, a famous Cerman production, and a scene in the Tyrolean Alps, has been painted on the Avail of the parlor, and occupies a conspicuous place. An entire winter was required to paint it. There are shown sixty-live men, women and children in the painting. The expression expres-sion of the faces from the little fellow with a hobby horse to the white-haired grandfather have all been faithfully copied. Before attempting the copy, Anderson Ander-son took the printed picture and made a drawing the size he wished. It was next carefully traced on the wall and the coloring undertaken. This winter Anderson began designing design-ing the decorations for the bedroom of himself and wife. After its completion the final picture in the dining room will be undertaken. He has not decided upon the subject to be used. The entire interior is to be given a coat of varnish to preserve the pictures pic-tures and make their cleaning more easy. They may now be washed with water or even better cleaned with a raw-Irish raw-Irish potato. The potato is cut in halves and lightly rubbed over the painted sections. It will gather the dirt and a thin slice may be removed from time to Besides these pictures, Anderson has something like twenty stored away in one of the upstair closets. Some are his earliest efforts. Anderson has five children. The oldest, old-est, Miss Agda Anderson, has done considerable con-siderable work in water colors and has assisted in making a mansion of their home. She has been active in work at the First Presbyterian Church and ita 60cietie8. t |