Untitled

Untitled

Nancy Graves

1977

pastel

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting looks like a loose, scribbly sketch. The colors are mostly pale—soft yellows, greens, and pinks—with some darker lines in red and purple. The shapes don’t form anything clear; they’re more like quick, uneven strokes and smudges. The edges of the paper are outlined in thin purple and red lines. The artist added pastel directly onto the etched print, making the colors blend in a messy, almost accidental way. It feels like something drawn fast, without a plan. Next, check out pastel to see how artists use it for loose, sketchy effects like this.

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