Charcoal Drawings

As expected, I was able to draw yesterday but tried more charcoal this time. Using newsprint paper helps since I’m not pressured to create something good compared to when I’m using a more expensive paper.

I drew the trees upside down as it’s easier to move the charcoal stick downwards. I was feeding my son while drawing the tree keeping in mind not to pickup his food using the hand full of charcoal.

I wanted to do something different so I grabbed my art books and look for something I could copy. Now I know why one needs an easel. Putting your paper, especially a big one, on the table affects how you view the drawing. It may look good while the drawing is laying flat on the table but you’ll see the wrong proportions once you paste the drawing on the wall. But then again, I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. The important things is that I was able to draw and learned something new.

I had more time so I decided to draw another one. I have a Lee Hammond book, Drawing Realistic Pets, so I just chose a drawing to copy. This is my first time to draw a cat and I found drawing fur challenging. I probably should have done some exercises first on drawing fur first instead of drawing the cat right away. The important thing is that the drawing looks like a cat and I believe that I was able to give it some volume.

I’m looking forward to the Plein Air sessions our art society is having from June to September. Although the sessions are scheduled on mid-day Tuesdays, I was able to have an arrangement at work so I could draw with the group for at least 2 hours each week.

Charcoal Drawing

I set aside my lead pencils in the meantime and continue playing with my new charcoal. I have both a pencil charcoal and soft charcoal stick. With charcoal, I can create shadows fast but it's a challenge to erase mistakes. Plus I need big paper whenever I use the charcoal sticks.

In the last few days, I have been jumping from one media to another. Charcoal and pastel last weekend, acrylic last Monday (class), pencil today (last session of drawing class). I have yet to use the watercolor I bought and the oil tubes I received from one of the art society members who was kind enough to give away her old oil paints.

Charcoal Sketches

I have used pencil and pen in my sketches and I wanted to try something else for a change. I browse thru the posts in WetCanvas (www.wetcanvas.com) regularly to see what other drawing enthusiasts like me have been doing. Some, after having used pencil for a while, try other media like graphite, charcoal and pastel for drawing. I felt that it may be time for me to take the next level and see what I else I can do.

Our drawing homework (see pic above) is to draw basic shapes (sphere, cones, cylinder) and render shadows to show the volume of the object. It takes a while to do these exercises using pencil. I tried using the charcoal pencil I just bought ... and broke the tip (about 1/2 inch long after the first drawing above). I didn't have a sharpener with me so I ended up using the 1/2 inch charcoal that broke off from the pencil. But this time I used its side to draw.

Wow, I was able to draw warm-up sketches in less time compared to using pencil (tip). I'll probably buy a charcoal bar next time.

Below is another study of the basic shapes and shadows.

It was fun drawing with charcoal for the first time. I was able to accomplish more in less time (which is all I have considering I have a full-time job and two young kids at home).
Stay tune for more charcoal drawings.