The
brilliant Hungarian artist, Philip Alexius de László, demonstrated
his dashing technique in a series of photographs, while answering
questions posed by the writer A.L. Baldry. The photos and
text were published in 1934 by The Studio Publications of
London, in volume six of their "How to Do It" series.
7. The General Effect
The gradual development of the main masses.
Q: Do you really mean that you begin straight away with the brush?
"Why, of course. With my brush I paint in a few lines to indicate the placing of the figure on the canvas. As a first step this is essential since the way in which the figure is placed in the space available is vitally important in the decorative arrangement of the picture. It is the foundation of the whole design."
Q: What next?
"I begin to deal with the head, seeking to express by means of light and shade the construction of the skull and defining accurately the larger planes. In this I aim always at as correct a realization as possible of the tones of nature which I see before me, and I strive constantly to establish the exact relation between the head and its surroundings. All this is a process of gradual building up, but, mind you, it must be done rapidly and directly."
8. The Evolution of Detail
Indicating the
general form
of the mouth.
Q: I take it that at this stage you are dealing
only with the general effect; when do you begin
to concern yourself with the details?
"How can you separate details from the general effect? The details are a part of the general effect and come gradually and naturally as I develop it."
Q: But surely you cannot get correctness in your forms without drawing them precisely?"
"Can't you see that I have been doing nothing else but drawing from the beginning? I draw by putting lights and shades in their right places, expressing the forms thereby."
Q: It seems to me that you have been painting all the time, not drawing.
"Certainly you have seen me painting all the time, but whatever I do in the way of putting down lights and shades in their correct relationship to one another develops naturally both likeness and character, and that is what I call drawing. Don't you realize that I draw with the brush and that all my painting is drawing?"
Q: I am sorry to have been so dense, but I think I grasp your meaning now. May I suggest, though, that while we have been talking, your sitter has got very tired and ought to have a rest.
"You are quite right, a rest is overdue. I do not usually go on long enough to bring my sitter so near to collapse and on this occasion I fear that I have been too exacting. But my excuse must be that I was especially anxious to secure a record of the fascinating movement and expression which Miss Ffrangcon-Davies is giving me before any change was made in the pose."
To be continued
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