In the early 1880s, pointillist Georges Seurat stopped painting to concentrate on drawing.  Using just massed areas of charcoal on rough textured watercolour paper, he produced a body of monochrome drawings that explored light and form without using line at all.  This novel approach of gradually building an image with layers of darkness on a textured surface is like mezzotint – but in reverse.  These drawings are my exploration of Seurat’s technique, using either a graphite stick or compressed charcoal.

Tone Drawing 1: Charcoal on textured paper
Tone Drawing 2: Charcoal on textured paper
Tone Drawing 8: Charcoal on textured Arches paper
Tone Drawing 3: Charcoal on textured paper
Tone Drawing 4: Graphite on textured paper
Tone Drawing 5: Charcoal on textured paper
Tone Drawing 6: Graphite on textured paper
Tone Drawing 7: Charcoal on textured paper