ADDITIVE AND REDUCTIVE DRAWING: Erasers vs. Charcoal

Stevie Young

In addition to everything covered to date, the objective last night was to explore use of the "eraser" as a drawing tool. The white eraser is your "work horse". It can remove or at least diminish bold, dark areas of value. The kneaded eraser may be shaped but more importantly you may "stamp" with it lightening tonal areas. In the drawing above, Stevie has very effectively used both of these erasers to create the highlights but even more impressive is the textural qualities. The values of this drawing are rich and contrasting illustrating a great sense of volume and dimension. She has accurately addressed the categories of light and local values of the two objects. In addition, the two objects exhibit different textural compositions of wood and metal achieved primarily with the eraser complemented with additive charcoal.