French Drawing by Bob Meyer: Edith Piaf, Unframed

Hair rises from her head in smoke-like wisps, and her eyes stay closed through all of it.

Edith Piaf is a pastel drawing on paper by Bob Meyer, from France, dated 2017, signed, titled and dated "2017 Paris" on the front. Pastel is nearly pure pigment, which gives it rich color and a soft, dusty surface that can be smudged and layered with the fingers. The singer appears from the shoulders up, head tilted, face pale against a field of smoky gray. Her dark curls dissolve into loose lines that drift toward the top of the sheet. It is 37 inches wide and 45.5 high, with an image 22 inches wide and 30 high.

All the drama is in the hair, and that seems right.