Artists traipse through grades and junctures throughout their journeys. I see it as I meander through the Facebook artist pages and spy on my favorite celebrities. I see it in historical accounts of the masters. I see it by examining my early work up to the present. Right now, though I am still fixing colorful and intense pastel dust to my French sanded papers, I am exploring a more basic style and medium. I alternate from Renaissance style to Post Impressionist scratchy scratching, but one thing is for certain: I love graphite and charcoal! My first medium — starting when I was in fourth grade — still satisfies my soul. So long as there are intense value changes, black and white makes the statement I wish to make. It is enough for me…for now.