The Process, One Layer at a Time
Every drawing begins the same way. I lightly sketch the subject using a white pastel pencil on Clairefontaine Pastelmat. It’s nothing fancy, just enough to map out the shapes and proportions before the real work begins.
From there, it’s all about layers.
I slowly build the drawing one pencil stroke at a time, adding color, adjusting values, and refining details as the piece starts to take shape. Sometimes I’ll add pigment. Sometimes I’ll take it away. I’ll use the fine point of a ceramic blade to carefully move tiny specks of pastel exactly where I want them. It’s a slow process, but it’s one I genuinely enjoy.
There really aren’t any shortcuts. Every feather, whisker, scale, or strand of fur is built gradually until it starts to feel alive.
Living with Multiple Sclerosis has taught me that progress doesn’t always happen on the timeline we’d like.
Simple tasks often take me longer than they once did, and creating artwork is no exception. There are days when fatigue, muscle stiffness, or uncooperative hands mean I have to stop before I’m ready. What might take someone else a single afternoon can take me days or even weeks.
Oddly enough, that’s one of the reasons I love drawing.
When my body won’t let me do many of the things I used to enjoy, creating art still gives me something to look forward to. It keeps my mind engaged. It gives me a challenge to solve. It reminds me that even when progress is slow, it’s still progress.
I still find myself smiling when a drawing finally comes together. Not because it went exactly as I’d liked, but because I created something that didn’t exist before.