Drawings have always been the P.S. part of van Gogh's work, ... Yet he was a letter writer, a guy with a pen in his hand.

Drawings have always been the P.S. part of van Gogh's work. Yet he was a letter writer, a guy with a pen in his hand.

He struggled with black and white. But when he got to Arles in 1888, he discovered the reed pen, and it was then he developed a more comfortable relationship with his tool. As reed wears down, it becomes softer, more flexible and responsive to his gestures on paper.

Drawing really changed the way he painted, once he realized he could draw his paintings in his own quirky way.

[Drawing didn't always come easy.] He struggled with black and white, ... But when he got to Arles in 1888, he discovered the reed pen, and it was then he developed a more comfortable relationship with his tool. As reed wears down, it becomes softer, more flexible and responsive to his gestures on paper.

Van Halen is a work in progress.