You can draw with your eraser‽ (Sketch of the Week for Week 8 of 2026)

I’ve been drawing for the last month, just not posting, because I’ve been really busy, and not really happy with many of my sketches.

In the middle of last week it dawned on me that instead of just layering up graphite on blank paper, I could start a sketch by laying down a more-or-less uniform mid-tone of graphite over the entire area. Then I’d be able to draw in darker darks in the shadows, and draw in brighter highlights with the eraser. 💡🤦‍♀️ (I am besought by extremely obvious revelations. Ask me how old I was when I first realized that the “Little piggie that went to market” wasn’t, like, wandering the aisles of a grocery store pushing a cart.)

Anyway, the end result are sketches with a dynamic range of tonal values I’m much happier with, where I work faster and find the work much more soothing overall.

My son’s pick for the week was the bottom sketch. He liked the lips.

Three pencil sketches of women. Top is loose gesture drawing of a dancer in profile, one hand held high and aloft, the other lower forming a strong diagonal line. Her forward foot is delicate pointed to touch the ground.

The second is a quick gesture drawing of a woman crouched on the ground in the shadows holding a glowing orb.

The final sketch is a quick portrait of a woman gazing up and away from the viewer.