The colors were composed of Turpentine, stand oil and linseed oil, mixed fresh each morning in specific proportion. The colors were very thin, ?slippery? if you will. When these colors were applied to the canvas they showed no sign whatsoever of having been applied by a brush. This resulted in a finished painting composed of precisely arranged areas of light and color. Every stroke was applied perfectly . . .once. J.C.?s brush control and mastery of his talents are legendary still today.
He might not of used photo reference, but he did extensively use models. His most famous creation, the Arrow Shirt man, was modelled by his live-in assistant (and, most likely, lover) Charles Beach.
His assistant who modeled for the ArrowShirts something was his boyfriend. I read he threw a fit when he visited Norman Rockwell because he saw him use photographs. Rockwell was a big fan of Leyendecker.
Using photographs: The Taboo that just doesn't stop.
I saw a Leyendecker exhibit in Stockton at the end of the year. It was awesome. It was near the end of the exhibit so they didn't even have any pamphlets left.
In the norman rockwell autobiography, there's a big section on how he admired leyendecker as an artist, and he goes into some detail about the whole assistant situation. Very interesting.