Preparatory Drawings
Because of the unforgiving nature of the metal point process and the complexity of the surfaces that I am depicting, I always begin with a preparatory drawing. Working directly from the still life I use soft graphite pencils on mylar, which allows me to freely compose and make changes as necessary. Once I am satisfied with the design and proportions of the drawing, I carefully trace the basic composition, using a 24K gold stylus. Being that the mylar is a translucent material, I use a light table, projecting light from beneath so that the drawing is visible on the prepared metal point paper. After the entire design is traced, I return to the still life and begin the actual metal point drawing. A completed metal point drawing can take over 100 hours to complete.