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Thanks Michael. I've loved the drawings of Prud'hon since first I saw them in a Prud'hon retrospective at the Met years ago. Unlike his paintings, the drawings are so dynamic, alive and powerful. The organic way he developed his drawings is so appealing as opposed to the more common way of drawing outlines and filling them in. When I've had time I've played around with trying to get into his head and try a similar approach, not stylistically but in basic essence.
It's a great way to develop the form, using the tone of the paper as a value based Mason-Dixon line. The key is the gradual build-up of the tones while keeping the black charcoal and the white pastel from overlapping each other. I love the way that the drawing is so easily adjustable. It's amazing to see the dimensional aspect manifest. As the drawing progresses even the most subtle tiny touches make things pop like crazy. t's very much like painting but without having brushes to wash out at the end of the day.
I also find that by keeping the linear aspect to a minimum I'm able to create a real sense of atmosphere. Once my students are given a proper explanation it's unbelievable to see how effective they become while maintaining their own sense of drawing style. And best of all, it strengthens their painting prowess considerably.
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