He was destined by his father for his
own trade of a barber, which he carried on in London, until one day
the sketch which the boy had made of a coat of arms on a silver
salver having attracted the notice of a customer whom his father
was shaving, the latter was urged to allow his son to follow his
bias, and he was eventually permitted to follow art as a
profession. Like all young artists, Turner had many difficulties
to encounter, and they were all the greater that his circumstances
were so straitened. But he was always willing to work, and to take
pains with his work, no matter how humble it might be. He was glad
to hire himself out at half-a-crown a night to wash in skies in
Indian ink upon other people's drawings, getting his supper into
the bargain. Thus he earned money and acquired expertness. Then
he took to illustrating guide-books, almanacs, and any sort of
books that wanted cheap frontispieces. "What could I have done
better?" said he afterwards; "it was first-rate practice." He did
everything carefully and conscientiously, never slurring over his
work because he was ill-remunerated for it. He aimed at learning
as well as living; always doing his best, and never leaving a
drawing without having made a step in advance upon his previous
work.
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