Evelyn Woods

Evelyn Woods show of charcoal drawings represents the artist’s inaugural show at Davidson Galleries. Woods makes masterful use of a subtractive technique for defining her forms. Her source materials for the images draw heavily on discarded objects separated from their original utility. "I have the freedom to pick and choose the objects that resonate within my psyche for any given composition. They become my cast of characters, create a specific mood and set the stage in the studio. I am enticed by their abstract formal qualities over their purpose or function and stimulated by the beauty of found objects taken out of their locational context."

About her process, the artist writes, "Over the years I have developed a subtractive process which is unique to my work. In preparing the drawing surface, I staple paper to a wall, apply two coats of gesso and let dry. I then wet the whole surface with a solvent to which charcoal is applied. While still wet I brush the charcoal, which leaves a uniform, black surface. After the solvent dries the paper is ready. By using brushes, erasers, X-acto knives and sometimes sandpaper, I draw in reverse, beginning with black and erase my way through the value system to white.