Dearest Cleo

I hope you are well, I will not get to see you until Sunday this week but I am quite looking forward to our trip to the woods now that spring is in the air.

I have carried on with my experiment this time using hot pressed watercolour paper it is easier to use than the Canson and solid enough to take quite a bit of a battering with my fingers and the rubber and the charcoal seems to stick to it better. I created this which is named after that old country song, My Apollo Belvedere looks like Elvis.

Figure 1 (17 04 07) My Apollo Belvedere looks like Elvis Charcoal on A5 Hot pressed watercolour paper

I varied the technique a bit and went for a grey tone first that I carved into with the putty rubber before adding the darks at the end. I was much more comfortable with this way of working and it felt easier to judge the tones. Looking at it on screen now it feels like a lively drawing with lots of energy and a variety of mark making techniques. I think I have found my paper of choice and I think working on a bigger scale will be very beneficial to the graduations I should be able to achieve.

Looking forward to seeing you at the weekend and I will post this week’s sketches before then.

Lots of Love

Mickos