Robert Fawcett on his process: "It is a method which I recommend to no one."

"I start the drawing quite boldly with brush and ink on a board designed to take plenty of punishment, and from then on I watch it develop."


"Nobody is more surprised than myself at what occasionally results."


"After the picture is pretty well established in black, I introduce dilutions of gray, colored inks, analine dyes, and grease crayon."


"I thumb it, scratch it with razor blade, and finally employ gouache to articulate those passages which require it."

"It is a method which I recommend to no one, for the failures are more numerous than the successes."


"The only advantage is that the drawing is kept in a fluid state and can progress as a whole rather than be completed piecemeal. I think that working in transparencies allows a greater tonal range, and, for me at least, a more spontaneous result."


"I admit that working in this way often results in periods of confusion, but I don't consider this altogether bad."


"Through these I often arrive at a solution which is far more interesting to me than those drawings which evolve with no labor pains."

- Robert Fawcett in a 1946 interview for American Artist magazine

Below, a few more pieces by the artist.











* My Robert Fawcett Flickr set.

* Many thanks to Heritage Auctions for allowing me to use the scan of the cars parked at the diner in this post.

* There is a show of 25 Robert Fawcett originals opening on Saturday, May 22nd at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA.