Pencil on paper:

I always use good quality paper, normally slightly off white. An eraser becomes a drawing tool because I like to get the marks quickly on the paper and then build it up until it’s more refined. This will depend on whether it’s a loose sketch, or a tighter likeness. I just absorb myself to get a feeling for the pose or the scene.

Charcoal on paper:

My preferred monotone medium is charcoal because of its immediacy. Again an eraser is used more prominently because putting the charcoal on the paper quickly is my favoured technique. You get the rich blacks straight away. If it’s a more delicate picture I sharpen the end of the charcoal to get fine lines. This is costly as it uses the charcoal up quicker and creates such a mess on the studio floor! The thickness of the charcoal can stretch from very thick like a chalk stick, to very fine like a matchstick. I like to get the composition down quickly. Some of my most refined drawings start life on paper as quick sketches, then they slowly become more and more finished. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes to the detriment of the work as it perhaps looked best at an earlier stage. Knowing when to finish is not an easy thing sometimes!

Pastels on paper:

In the past I have worked intermittently with pastels but in the last couple of years I discovered pastels in a pan format (like theatrical makeup). Initially, after sketching out the composition, maybe with chalk or white pastel pencil, I use pastels on off white paper. With the pan pastels, I apply them with a sponge starting with a thick sponge to get the first colour down if it’s a coloured piece. Sometimes I use them for a monochrome image. Rather than charcoal, I use black, white and grey pastels applied with a sponge. This is illustrated in my videos where you see me working with thicker to thinner sponges and using pastel pencil for the more delicate parts down onto the paper.