I quite literally copied one of Van Gogh’s famous line drawings, simply as a way to learn more about mark making. We love Van Gogh’s swirls and textures in his paintings, but he also used this method in his sketches.
I’m no stranger to pen & ink drawings, but I’ve always relied on hatching and cross-hatching to add values (shading). I’d come across some of Van Gogh’s sketches online and thought it would be a good exercise to copy his technique. It’s simple enough to copy something, but he is the genius, to have come up with such a unique technique.