Grace

Grace
Charcoal, Graphite; 3 1/2" x 6 1/2"

I’ve been drawing these kinds of spiky formations for years- I don’t ever seem to get tired of them. I like their solitude, their strength, their delicacy. I like the sense of enclosure and intimacy of this drawing’s mist; and I like the clean, spare, quiet composition that resulted. I’m continuing, I think, to learn how to better capture and describe these kinds of places. And I don’t imagine I’ll stop dreaming, exploring them anytime soon.

This drawing developed in two stages: The formation and trees took two or three sessions; the mist took a few more. I didn’t note working times, but I finished the drawing in a little over a week. Ideally, I’d like to spend more time exploring, less time refining. But bringing a drawing to the level of finish and consistency I want usually requires at least a few hours of slow patient smoothing and polishing.

Most of said smoothing and polishing was done here with graphite pencil; there’s more graphite in this one than most I’ve done lately. The formation and trees are charcoal, but the mist is mostly graphite pencil work- Dixon Ticonderoga pencils, grades 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4.