Empty Handed

vine charcoal, 3 hour pose

Nothing like arriving without my drawing supplies. Fortunately, I had a stick of vine charcoal and bummed a pencil and eraser from someone.

Drawing of Bob

Pencil, 3 hour pose

Paper surface

Conte Charcoal,

Although drawing Christina was an enjoyable process, I'm not sure I'm liking this textured paper anymore. Next week I hope to try a paper with a medium tooth or possibly paper with a gray or kraft tone. I like how the paper texture effects the shoulder area and even background, but it's looking blotchy on the face.

Miguel

Nitram Charcoal - 3 hour pose

Some commented that it looked "classic" or a bit "Sargent" meaning it looked as though it was created in a different time. On one hand, it's a big complement; on the other hand, I would like to avoid being dated and anachronistic in style. Overall, I enjoyed drawing Miguel; he did a great job posing.

Command Z please!

Working on the mac for my design job has the benefit undoing mistakes by going back into history and starting over from that point. Hand crafted art doesn't have this advantage, but there is Photoshop. On the left is the final art. On the right I've corrected for my drawing flaws. You can see that Ina has a beautiful Eastern European, moon-shaped face and very narrow nose. Nailing the structure early on is crucial. An easy fix for distortion, moving forward, is to work with an easel instead of a drawing board on my lap or make certain the paper is parallel to my face. Working on an angle runs the risk of distorting the drawing - usually making it too long if gone unchecked. I may have seen a circle but was really working with an oval.

Considering the bar's tight space, an easel will not fit, so I will need to hold up my drawing more frequently to check for accuracy.

Ina at the Cafe

charcoal and conte

Another Friday night at the Literary Cafe. The first of four sessions ended and I had to start over - it just wasn't right. Time was tight having only three hours total.  I enjoyed drawing her blonde hair. It was the perfect opportunity to create a balance of linear areas.

New tools

Nitram Charcoal

I finally got my package from Dick Blick - I felt as if I was opening a gift. The charcoals are beautiful! I even purchased the large blocks; I'm a bit intimidated at the thought of using them - they seem so precious in their new state.  I noticed that the charcoal did not make crumbs like other brands. Also, my fingers were relatively clean compared to using compressed charcoal. As I worked on the drawing as a whole, I found that several areas were accidentally lifted off and needed to be reapplied. There is definitely a learning curve in using charcoal that moves like paint and can be erased. Fixative is a must. This product is a definite keeper!