Black and white art is cool. It’s dramatic. It’s dynamic. It’s expressive. It’s also messy. But I love it.

It took numerous sketches to find a look I liked. With the Blue Jay drawings, I finally found it. I started with a very blurry vine charcoal image, blended it out with a brush, refined it with erasing, and added details with a carbon pencil. The softness comes from blending and using a touch of powdered charcoal with a brush. I use a white charcoal (chalk or pastel) pencil, too, but haven’t yet found one I like.