Fearless Drawing

Drawing as

Frottage

Frottage is essentially a posh way of saying

“rubbing”—it’s taking a textured surface, placing a

sheet of paper on the top, and using a soft pencil,

crayon, charcoal, or pastel to color over the paper and

reproduce the texture below. It is a great introduction

to printmaking as it’s quick, clean(ish!), and requires

only basic materials.

There’s a long history of using this technique (check

out the master Max Ernst), and in our pursuit of

a full toolbox of ways to create drawings, this is a

fun and inventive tool. Frottage offers a chance to

gain a real sense of place that particularly appeals

to those, like me, who are attracted to texture and

pattern. When traveling, I always like to include

frottage in my sketchbooks as it enables me to take

home a real piece of the place visited: the textured

concrete pavements in Barcelona, Spain, the trees

in New Hampshire, United States, and the railings

on bridges in Paris, France. These rubbings bring me

straight back to the place, far more powerfully than a

photograph or purchased souvenir.

Frottage is more than a little addictive; you quickly

begin to assess your surroundings based on texture

alone, seeing with your sense of touch and analyzing

each object for the print it can offer. It’s a good idea

to have a file folder in which to store all your rubbings

as you never know when your drawing may cry

out for just that texture you captured in an earlier

frottage. An even better idea is to be diligent about

taking notes. On the back of each frottage, write

down where the rubbing was made and the subject

so you will be able to re-create it when needed.

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Soft graphite pencil

Soft graphite pencils (6B–9B will give you the

best results) offer a really good, clear print.

Again, I find the drawing point on pencils to be

a little small for rubbing, so I tend to favor the

short, chubby woodless pencils or bars. Visit an

art supply shop (or look online) to see the range

available. Colored pencils are too hard for large

rubbings, but perfect for small items like coins.

Wax crayon

Wax crayons are perfect for creating rubbings.

Usually made from dyed paraffin wax, crayons

provide a clean, stable print of your surface.

I find the drawing point on crayons to be a little

small for large areas of frottage, so I tend to peel

off the paper wrapper and use the side of the

crayon instead.

Wax crayon rubbing

Graphite pencil rubbing

30 > Fearless Drawing

MATERIALS

Drawing as Frottage > 31

Charcoal

Charcoal is created from slow burning wood,

which creates a drawing medium of carbon

and ash. It is soft, brittle, and VERY smudgy—

whenever I use charcoal I get completely covered

in the stuff. I favor vine charcoal, which is usually

made from willow or linden. I like the skinny

wobbly black sticks of varying thicknesses, and

just embrace the mess that comes with it. You

can also get compressed charcoal, which includes

a binder to make it less crumbly, or a charcoal

pencil where the compressed charcoal is encased

in wood—take your pick!

Charcoal rubbing

Soft (chalk) pastel

Soft pastels—sticks of pure powdered pigment

with a binder—are basically the artist’s version

of pavement chalk and come in a beautiful,

dizzying array of shades.

Soft pastel rubbing

Oil pastel rubbing

Oil pastel

Oil pastels come in stick form and use the same

pigments as soft pastels, but with an oil binder

to create a rich, buttery crayon. Pastels are softer

in texture and richer in color than wax crayons.

32 > Fearless Drawing

FROTTAGE AROUND THE HOUSE

Take the opportunity now to explore your home. Grab a stack of printer paper and a selection of different drawing tools

and take rubbings wherever your eyes land. Textured wallpaper, kitchen surfaces, wood, tiles, ceilings, radiators, draining

boards, furniture, and carvings all create fantastic textures. Open the cupboards and empty your pockets—try colanders,

forks, keys, and coins.

Now select your favorite pieces, cut them out, and stick them here. Make a note of what drawing tools you used (crayon,

pastel, pencil, etc.) and what you used to create each texture (coins, tile floor, cloth-bound books, etc.).