The Vapor Drawings, began in 1978, are a series of works on paper created with the same technology Larry Bell used to deposit the thin films on the glass works. While the concurrent glass works and furniture was labor intensive and slow, the Vapor Drawings allowed Bell to work quickly, intuitively, with spontaneity and improvisation. Because paper has different surface qualities than glass, more tooth, it accepted the thin films in unique ways, yielding a multitude of effects and vibrant spectrum of colors. These works on paper served as a vehicle for Bell to better learn the vacuum coating technology, lessons that came into play in later works with a variety of materials. He has continued to the vacuum coating process throughout his career.