Here is a small update on my drawing “Die Ältesten” 9 x 12 graphite pencil on Bristol Smooth paper. My focus on this piece is photo-realism, emotion, light and shadow. observation and patience for me is the key to photo-realism. Being able to be dedicated enough to add as much detail as possible, to be able to go beyond any reference or photograph. I’m using Pentel GraphGear 1000 mechanical pencils with 4H, 2H, H, HB, 2B, and 4B. I was going to use charcoal but I decided not to because I sand the tip of the lead of the pencil to a needle point so that so can get into the grain of the paper without actually damaging the tooth too much, this allows me to add several layers of graphite to build up the tone to a nice deep black - I don’t really feel a need to use charcoal, as least not right now. More to come soon!