A big part of why this drawing works is because I used dark blue paper. That dark ground color makes any color laid on top of it sparkle, so in this case the sand and washed up seaweed looks so much brighter. I had struggled with how to make the seaweed look like seaweed and not just dirty sand.

In the painting Pamet Seawall I had made and attempt to represent the seaweed left at the high tide mark, but I am not sure how successful it was. In my painting Corson’s Inlet I was much happier with my attempt.

I took what I learned from doing Corson’s Inlet and used it when I made this drawing. What I had learned was to use more varieties of brown and green. In that painting I primarily used Bohemian green earth from Williamsburg Paint. In the pastel drawing I used a green from Unison Pastels, labeled YGE #18. The paint and pastel are very similar and have become my crutch color. Now whenever I need a color to help push the value darker without making the temperature too cold (as can happen with a blue or black) I use my magical green.