Many of these Pencil Portraits were done during the late 70's and early 80's. These portraits required a lot of concentration and a clear sense of focus. Drawing with pencils and dealing with the absence of color was quite a challenge for the Artist. However, he discovered a great similarity in achieving the tones and subtle nuances in the shading techniques involved in pencil portraiture. With the use of cotton balls and swabs,   and shading cones the Artist was able to obtain nuances in the shading techniques that would otherwise have been impossible to render.