DLA007-0005  Transcription

Ravensworth,

Redbridge Lane,

Manstead.

Essex.

May 26th 1913

Mr. P.A. László

Sir,

I am very ambitious. I would like to become palette scraper to a great artist for a few days that I may learn how to paint

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portraits for I am a would-be portrait painter but alas being only a woman my aspirations are but smiled at.

But please great artist, will you be kind enough to listen to a few facts.

I’ve never been

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taught yet and paint portraits from life.

I can always get striking likeness because drawing comes easy to me.

My chief difficulty is that I know not exactly which colors to use to get certain flesh tones and the people to stand out properly from

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the background. I just dabble till the desired effect more or less comes.

If only a great artist could put me right in one lesson or two before I return in June to my home in the northern Wilderness of Quebec Canada.

It was suggested to me that as there

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are so many styles of portrait painting now-a-days I should go to the Academy and decide whose style I most admired.

I preferred yours. I like Rembrant, Vandyke, Franz Hals of the old painters. I just

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mention this, that you may see my taste is not for the chocolate boxy or futurist.

Sir, I apologize for writing you so long a letter but if you could allow me to for instance, just paint the same sitter you’re painting and then to show me how to finish it how much would you be doing for even if you could allow me to come but once: you could put straight on the path to portrait painting –

Yours most humbly

Isabel Flynn