Frank J.Lohan

I glue a small piece of sandpaper in the cover of a small box, and also glue a piece of paper towel there. This keeps the graphite dust in the box and off my drawing, and gives me a towel to wipe the lead on each time I sharpen it.

Pencil allows rapid tonal treatment of masses; a few broad strokes define the mass, with a sharp line or two to suggest the edge of the form. Light areas are often simply left untouched by the pencil.

A loose pencil sketch of the same chickadee. The form and mass are captured quickly with little attention to detail.