[Debra Jones]

This is scraps I found in Joann's craft stores. Is made both by cresent and bainbridge and it a mat board with a truly sueded texture. I have tried velours and most prepared pastel surfaces eat my sticks and I am cheap. Velour seems rough and as I once commented to great amusement, like the top of an antique Ken doll head. The final result is very similar, but what I am discovering with this is an amazing adhesion. It does not leave dust in my tray! The board holds it all, at least with my buttery Terry Ludwigs sticks. When I use hard sticks, they need a lot more work but are not bad. The best effect so far has been to work mostly with soft and use hard for blending. It is quite intellectual, because I must remember I am blending down to the support so in this one, as I blend, I am going dark to blue. If I use a lighter shade it will blend down to the color of the board as it knocks off the soft color.
I swear using soft sticks, this stuff never fills! It keeps taking color until it is flat.
And the final debate as to colorfastness is summed up with this being a product for matting, which stays under the same glass and uv protection the painting would. It MAY discolor in light, but I believe my canson and other standard papers will fare much worse.

About my positioning. That is all she wrote. I like to work touching four sides. It may be my downfall, but as this is in open studio, they tend to grow rather organically to the edges. Also nice on the board that I don't need tape or a clip as it is a board and can fill it up.
Aroung the sketch group I am known for the minor amputation around hairline. I tend to focus too much on the features and love being relieved of the necessity to render clothing and hairdos.
And honestly, I feel a lack of energy when I see one of my heads haloed with that horseshoe of blank above. Hate background so I try to make it more of the composition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.