Burt Silverman

(C) 2015 Photograph Dale DiMauro

When my wife and I were in Washington, D.C. this week, we visited many of the Smithsonian Institutions (appreciating their lack of fees), and we were most drawn to the art museums. We visited the National Portrait Gallery twice, as it contains such a large collection and requires time to properly absorb the offerings.

I was particularly fond of this drawing by Burt Silverman (b. 1928) of the novelist Philip Roth. He used charcoal and white chalk on paper for this piece done in 1983. Clearly, he used toned paper with white for the highlights, to great affect.

This picture interests me in part because recently I bought several charcoal drawing pencils, which I was told do not smear. This is a revelation, because charcoal traditionally smudges and can be hard to handle without making a mess. In fact, I have much experience applying spray fixative on charcoal.

This new charcoal product comes in white, black, sanguine, and sepia from Jerry's Artarama, which claims it will not smear. So far, I love working with these pencils, but I have not finished a drawing with them. When I come up with a nice and juicy portrait, I will post for all to see.