Fumée 22c5

Étienne Gros uses smoke as the main material for his drawings, directing sheets over the flame of a paraffin lamp. The soot deposited by the carbon creates delicate, nuanced shapes.
This technique uses neither brushes nor pencils. The artist refrains from any retouching or gumming, leaving the smoke to sculpt the shapes in a random and natural way.
He plays with wicks of various sizes to control the intensity and nuances of the smoke, which requires great skill and patience. Many leaves are often sacrificed before a satisfactory result is achieved.