Compositional study for woman sweeping path, mid 1930’s

Description

For drawing, Mahoney liked a textured paper, soft to the touch, such as Ingres, or still better, hand-made papers from
firms such as Hayle Mill or Barcham Green. Occasionally he bought cheap sketchbooks from Woolworth’s because
he found the paper so sympathetic as a surface for drawing. For his earliest drawings he used mainly B or 2B
pencils, but he later preferred Black Prince or carbon pencils. He often used charcoal, adding white or red crayons to
highlight drawings. Sometimes he combined these with conté crayons or pastels. For his later drawings he preferred
pen and wash, taking great trouble to mix and dilute his inks until he achieved the required tone and colour. His
drawing pens were either reservoir nibs in holders or else cartridge pens.