Charmain Wheatley
Arches Furey
Paper: Arches watercolour paper, rough, 400lbs

"Everywhere I go, I carry a set of Schminke watercolours, brushes and the fine lined pens because I prefer to draw from life. I was at Trash bar (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and Ms. Erica Furey (subject of this portrait) and a couple other seductively attired artist friends were performing daredevil acts like walking barefoot on broken glass, playing with fire, shoving huge long nails up their nostrils. Ms. Furey wanted me to draw her, so she sat still for me for about 20 minutes at the bar. I liked drawing on this paper because it?s so thick and stiff, almost wooden. I didn?t need a clip board. The tooth of the paper gave my markmaking resistance. It instantly absorbed the water from my watercolours, easily creating a dry brush look. The paper doesn?t buckle. This drawing is different from my other work. I usually make very detailed comic strips on white Arches Platine, 310gsm. Platine has a smooth finish so it?s perfect for my super fine old fashioned 0.13 Rotring pen nibs. Arches Platine isn?t fibrous like S