More figure drawing, new paper

Here’s a quickish life study where I tried out a new paper – Canson’s Ingres in grey. It has a high rag content, which I found made it pretty durable, although it is quite thin. The best thing though is that it is only £1.50 per sheet. Compared to £10 per sheet for Roma, I’m very pleased with it.

If you’ve used Fabriano’s Ingres paper, you’ll find that it is of a similar texture, although somehow more forgiving to use. I could move charcoal around with ease, and it lifted really well (perhaps too well) where required. It was interesting to use stumps, brushes and kitchen paper to see the marks that could be made. I decided it felt like a really painterly paper with regard to the slip / grip of the surface.

I liked the drawing earlier on when it was loose and sketchy, but I wanted to keep going to see what the paper would do with further working. Some of that early energy has been lost, but all in all, I’m pleased with it. My only irritation is how I pushed the bottom a bit too low over the course of the drawing and now have a back that is too long in relation to the thighs. It would be a relatively easy fix if I was inclined to make it. But I’m not. On to the next project!