A week ago I saw an art program on TV and it included a brief look at an artist using Charcoal Pencils. It reminded me that I have a set that I've never used. I was impressed by the blackness of the blacks and the extra 'drama' in the resulting picture as a result. I achieve reasonable blacks when working with graphite but 'graphite shine' can be an issue if too many layers are applied.
Anyway, I was feeling inspired enough to dig out my unused set of Charcoal Pencils and have my first experience of working in this medium. To appreciate the 'blackness' of charcoal I chose a subject that needed plenty of deep juicy blacks so chose this Gorilla.
To be honest I found the Charcoal pencils not only messy to work with (compared to graphite) but difficult to sharpen. I found blending took more effort than it does with graphite and trying to erase unwanted marks was impossible.
I'm really pleased I gave this medium a try and learnt a great deal just by doing this one picture, but I don't think I'll be rushing to do another charcoal drawing. For anyone interested I've put a Work In Progress page on my main web site showing the various stages.
Wow, very impressive! I don't see any sign that you found these pencils hard to work with.
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind Judy, thank you. ;-)
DeleteHuge Congratulations on this AMAZING piece, John!!! You can almost feel his fur! (Not that I would want to...ha..ha...). I hope you do some more using this medium...a bit challenging but SO worth it.... Again, outstanding work, my friend!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Hilda. I guess as someone who works in pastels, you experience much more dust and mess than I did doing this one. You never know, I may have another go at some point. ;-)
DeleteYou could go professional in this medium, John. It's as good as it gets. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThat's very generous of you John and I appreciate it very much. ;-)
DeleteI don't like the messiness of charcoal either but you did a fantastic job with this. Wonderful expression!
ReplyDeleteOh good, I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thank you Linda. ;-)
DeleteThis is so amazing that it's scary... !!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much BJ. More than one person has asked if it's a self-portrait. LOL.
DeleteI understand the cons of working charcoal but if this is the result of your first foray into the medium...UM..WOW!!! JOHN THIS IS STUNNING!!! I used to work in graphite a lot but could never avoid the dreaded graphite shine! Your work has always been among my favorites, as are you. Stunning piece!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your kind words!
You're very kind Suz, thank you very much. ;-)
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