This is a still-life charcoal drawing of a desk in my bedroom for a basic drawing class. I was in 11th grade, around November of 1986.

It was done from life, using Koh-i-noor hard charcoal on 18 x 24 inch Strathmore paper. First the large shapes are blocked in,using only 3 or 4 basic values (black, white, and gray). The size and proportions of these shapes are checked against the actual scene and compared with one another until they are in the correct relationship.

Then an intermediate level of shapes is added, using about 5 values of gray. Again, the size and proportions and value of the shapes are all checked and corrected repeatedly. Detail is added last.

Charcoal is my favorite medium, because of the quality and texture of the charcoal on the paper. The the computer is more forgiving of erasures, though.

The ink drawings on the wall were ones I had done. The door lead to a walk-in closet. My family moved out of this house less than a year later.