Day three hundred and forty-four: I am repeatedly amazed when I make sketches after old masters. Their technique and skill is unbelievable. This detail is based on an etching by an unknown artist who was copying a print by Daniel Hopfer. I like the way my drawing ended up, with its peculiar, modern patterns and textures formed by trial and error; pencils and erasers both thick and thin. However, it does not honor the careful and fluid system of lines scratched with a needle into the plate and bitten with acid before being inked and pressed onto paper. The result of the 16th-century original creates a surprisingly realistic portrait in black and white.
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