I started with a pencil line drawing on white paper and transferred the major lines once I felt confident with the drawing. It was difficult to control details and values on the textured laid paper and I found it worked best to sharpen white chalk pencil and hard/medium vine charcoal to a very fine point with sandpaper.
I'll be teaching this Sunday and then Monday I'll be out of town for 10 days, so the blog will be quiet a while till I get home and get my studio work going again. I've been chipping away at the big still life, hoping to post another finished detail soon!