Reflective Heat Shielding

This series features details of the Webb telescope’s structure, housing the systems that keep it functioning. It is covered with a highly reflective foil, called Kapton, to keep its contents cool. These drawings are derived from photos I took while JWST was under construction.

I have been asked: "why spend a month or two drawing an image in charcoal and pastel instead of just taking a photograph?” One thing I have come to enjoy about this process is the counterintuitive idea of using a very imprecise medium, like soft charcoal, to render the image of one of the most technically advanced and precise objects ever devised. Charcoal is also one of the most primitive and ancient tools for drawing, and I am using it to describe an extremely advanced tool of science, one that was shot a million miles into space to help unlock some of the mysteries of the universe. I find this to be an interesting juxtaposition. 

I also appreciate how drawing with charcoal mimics the tonality of black-and-white photography better than using pencil, pen or paint. I love the gradient tones that charcoal can produce. I spent a portion of my life practicing the craft of photography and have been seduced by its rich tonality. But by directly drawing the image with charcoal and pastel, instead of printing a digital image, I find more artistic freedom.