The Lloyd Library and Museum Collection

I date this original carbon dust medical illustration back to 1984. I call this the era of BC, as in Before Computers. That was my left hand in a surgical glove, attempting to hold the surgical retractor steady while trying not to sneeze and destroy everything at once. This was created using dust!! Computers were just on the horizon, and the use of this method of illustration was waning.


As student medical illustrators, we learned all of the illustration techniques of the old masters. I think the only time I used this technique was as a student. The method consisted of applying carbon dust, obtained by rubbing carbon pencils against an abrasive surface such as a metal file, to a prepared surface via dry brushes. Highlights were painted on or scratched out later in the process using fine instruments or erasures. A very specialized paper was used. Wonder if it's even made anymore.


This extremely fragile piece is entering the Lloyd Library and Museum in Ohio as a part of the Vesalius Trust Collection of Art Serving Medicine and Science. I hope to continue to post pieces as they're prepared for shipping.