Susan Grossman likens her drawings of urban landscapes to film noir. “[They] have movement in them,” she says, “an element of danger; something is always happening.” To find the references for her works, Grossman walks the streets of New York City, photographing pedestrians, architecture, strong light sources, and quotidian objects. She rearranges these elements in her drawings, working on several of them at once. She draws primarily in charcoal on paper, and her hallmark palette is monochromatic, with the occasional appearance of color pastel. She has occasionally drawn subjects other than urban landscapes, such as scenes of the countryside.