This soulful portrait is above all of a beautiful, warm-hearted and sensitive woman lost in her reverie, perhaps re-living in her mind the best, most intense moment of a love story. It is, in actual fact, a portrait of American folk singer and social justice activist Joan Baez, who famously was involved with Bob Dylan both personally and artistically.  Although Joan Beaz is a superb interpreter of Dylan's and other artists' songs, using her crystalline, emotionally charged vibrato, it her own songwriting that I love best - hence the title 'Diamonds and Rust,' from one her most celebrated songs. How does one feel once an old lover of ours suddenly reappears and all the memories come flooding back? ...And one is right there, for a second suspended in time. This moment is the one the sketch tries to capture, as well as what a beautiful soul Joan is.

There are a few, pretty obvious measures you can take to preserve charcoal drawings. Charcoal is a raw, spontatenous form of art which is particularly suited to capturing a moment in black and white for eternity. We still have charcoal sketches from past masters to admire, despite it being a very delicate medium to preserve. In fact, a well- cared for charcoal drawing will last centuries and will be kept by generations in your memory and honor. However, you need to take extra care in handling the suface of the drawing because, despite it having been treated with a professional fixative (not hair spray!), it can and will still smudge. Use white gloves whenever handling it, as the grease from your fingertips can  make the paper oily and dirty. Frame it using UV or art glass if you can, and avoid placing it in direct sunlight. Basically, the less you touch it, the better!