Venus #1

Pastel and Carbon Pencil on White Paper

8" x 9 3/4" SOLD

I don't know why, but I have always been fascinated

by classical sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome.

I have spent a great deal of time doing drawings of

them in many different media. My favorite is pastel,

however, which I usually do on acid-free sketch-weight

paper, using veils of color, vine charcoal, carbon pencil,

and several different types of fixative.

I start out with a layer of Nupastel (hard) in some color that

I like, and draw into that with a very skinny piece of vine

charcoal. The great thing is that if you don't like what you

draw, you can just keep covering it up with more pastel

until you get an image that you think you can work with.

At that point I will usually spray it with Workable Fixative.

Not too much, but just enough to make changes if I want.

Then I start adding more colors, more drawing, more vine

charcoal. I use the carbon pencil (Conte), because it doesn't

smear like charcoal pencil does.

After awhile, I will deliberately spray this with Crystal Clear

or Matte Finish, or other Krylon Fixative (outside of course!!), or

even Sennelier Fixatif Latour, which, being made from a citrus

base, I can spray right in front of my face, but it has a tendancy

to wrinkle the paper, as it has some water in it, I think (it can also

deposit some spots, but this can be a very happy accident sometimes!).

At this point I am deliberately trying to make the picture darker.

Then I continue to work on it with the same materials, until I have gotten

to a place where I am happy with it.

Next to my post is a small example of a larger drawing that I was very happy

with that is not for sale, because it is part of my private collection.

Thank you for viewing my work today.