Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio: Evelyn Woods workshop. Still Life Drawing with Charcoal/Subtractive Drawing Technique. In this workshop, students will engage in the process of drawing using the technique of subtractive drawing. We will be working on gesso primed paper utilizing a variety of drawing tools including brushes, an array of erasures, sandpaper, exacto knives and turpentine. Beginning with a solid black prepared paper, students will render through direct observation the form and light of the still life while giving consideration to how much visual information is necessary for the image to be convincing.