Today I did an exercise for Gillian‘s course which involved using oiled charcoal, a new medium for me. I love being told to try something new. When it’s my first time working in a certain way, there’s less pressure to be good at it. It’s freeing, and helps me just get to work.
So the idea was to create a portrait with bold shadows. The oiled charcoal is hard to erase or moderate, which was an interesting challenge. Usually I work in a way which involves both adding and taking away marks, but in this case I could only make things darker. I spent about an hour on this one. I felt like I could have kept going, but other things are beckoning for my time, so we’ll leave it there for today.
Seriously impressed with your facial drawings, It’s one thing I struggle with. Hair & eyes are ok, but mouths get me every time.
Thank you, Nigel. I find myself liking mouths more and more these days. Noses seem to be my biggest problem. I love eyes the most.
I would never have guessed that you had just started working in this medium. You’re so good at faces. I am always a little envious of artists who are good at the human form. It’s my downfall. You captured a real force of nature here, not just a face. I love that I feel like I could assign personality quirks to this guy just by seeing your artwork of him. Wow. I’m visiting from AEDM and hope to see more of your beautiful, strong work.
Thank you, Jennifer. Very kind words! The human form can be tricky, but I think it can be tackled with persistence.
I’ve never heard of oiled charcoals, but I’m not a sketcher, so I can only appreciate all the work you did to get this far. This is an incredible face, and I would NEVER believe this is your first time using this product that won’t allow you to subtract.
Thanks! I love giving a new medium a try every now and again, even though I probably won’t be using this one very regularly. Oiled charcoal = messy.
This piece is very striking, great job!
Thanks, Karla!