There's a spot under my easel where I've been dropping the dead ones. Little stubs, too small to hold anymore, maybe an inch of charcoal left. I've got a coffee tin full of them and I keep telling myself I'm going to crush them down and make ink or something. I never do. I just keep adding to the pile.

Same thing with paint. I scrape the palette onto the same corner of the drop cloth every night and the canvas underneath has gone this muddy gray-brown that is honestly better than anything I've painted on purpose this month. I'm half tempted to cut it out and stretch it.

Do you all keep the residue or am I just sentimental about garbage. Because I genuinely think the byproduct of making is more honest than the finished thing most days.

Working on a big one right now, a full figure, and I've scraped her back twice already. Third layer is finally doing something. The floor remembers the first two.