Objective: This tonal drawing was created using charcoal pencil in an additive process, building value with no erasure and no visible line. The theme of the piece is “quiet” and reflects what quiet means to me.

Material: 18” x 24” drawing paper. Variety of soft to hard charcoal pencils.

Process: Quiet to me is the feeling I get when I am in the outdoors; it is an inner quiet I feel as a peaceful connectedness with nature. This feather collected in my yard came from a hawk that frequents my neighborhood.

Drawing the feather while holding my pencil at an angle and using my hand like a fulcrum was challenging but, focused my attention on what I was doing and reduced my anxiety about what the final outcome would look like. It made me realize that one of the study methods that I shared with students – “focus on the process and not the product” – applies to art! Deciding on a background was a process. I first considered having part of the feather off the paper.  Another option was using an actual frame but, I decided that looked too harsh for such a delicate object.  I ended up selecting styrofoam which created a 7” by 9” dotted matrix to anchor and frame the feather. The small drawing was positioned slightly above the horizon center line of an 18” x 24” piece of drawing paper.

Critique from Class: positive comments about the backdrop chosen, delicate appearance of the feather.

Take Away: I see the value in this technique but, need more practice to feel comfortable holding my pencil at an angle and using my hand like a fulcrum.

Completed: October 2022