2nd entry for Sept 20, 2012

These are some 5-minute and 10-minute studies doubled up on the top three sheets, which are 18 x 24" Canson Recycled Sketch paper.
The fourth one is on the same sized paper and is a 15-minute study.
The lower three are all on 90 lb rag paper; the 5th & bottom ones are on 23 x 34" sheets of Woolfitt's `mystery rag', and the second from bottom is on a 22 x 30" sheet of Maidstone paper.
For the first part of the session in particular, I was conscious of just wanting `to draw', as opposed to `making a drawing'; process over product.
The second and third studies from the bottom were drawn with HB conte crayon; it has been a while since I have used that, and not on this paper, so I've been testing it out here and there. As I suspected, the fibres of the rag paper make for a more grainy texture.  I rubbed over the drawings afterwards with my hand and some paper towel, which did cut down the stark graininess. The majority of the conte stayed just where I put it.
On the lowest one I went back to the hard Nobel charcoal, but over a loosely applied layer of willow charcoal. The soft rag surface was so fuzzy that it was hard to evenly spread even the soft willow, despite much circling with some paper towel.