Tenderly

About this work

Rendered in pencil on A4 paper, this intimate portrait of a cat distills the artist's exacting observation into a single medium. Subtle gradations of graphite trace each strand of fur, while the bare paper surface supplies luminosity in the highlighted passages. Stripped of the layered glazing and opaque pigments that characterize the artist's oil paintings, the drawing foregrounds the primacy of draftsmanship—a quiet concentration of attention that gives visual form to the tenderness implied by its title.