El Capitan, winter (Yosemite, CA)

My challenge in this drawing was to darken the values of the shadowy pine trees at the foot of El Capitan enough so the morning-lit rock face would stand out against a sky shrouded in mist.

I loved drawing the soft contours and shadows of the snow mounds on the riverbank in the foreground, and suggesting the frosting of snow on top of the rocks peppering the semi-frozen Merced River.

I tried for a rich variety of pencil lines to suggest a landscape of enormous contrasts and variety, using a Design Ebony jet black, extra smooth drawing pencil.

I started sketching the scene very lightly, and gradually built up the light / dark contrasts with shading, cross-hatched lines and smudging.

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