These images were created with No. 2 and Ebony pencils (though not together in the same drawing) on Lanaquarelle and Fabriano Artistico 140# Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper. They were completed between 1993 and 1998.

It is amazing what you can draw with a no. 2 pencil -- my primary drawing implement. (As you might imagine, getting very deep black areas with a no. 2 is virtually impossible. For drawings that require very high contrast and deep black, I often use Ebony pencils.)

The drawing tool is the easy half of the equation. The real variables come with the choice of paper. I like to use a fairly hard paper with a surface with a little give and tooth (light texture that "bites" into the tip of the pencil). These criteria allow for a wide range of markmaking and they are very forgiving in rendering the lightest and darkest areas of the drawing.

The paper that best fits this description to me is Lanaquarelle 140 lb. Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper. (It also has a neutral white color.) You will notice this paper in the drawings Face to Face, Maple Island Park and Postmodern Smirk among others.