Charcoal Sketches - back to basics
Nothing is quite so liberating for an artist - or aspiring artist - than a good light, several large sheets of medium textured drawing stock, and a handful of soft, ‘moderately black’ charcoal sticks. There is something natural, basic, and elementary about working with charcoal sketches.
Charcoal as a medium is fast, direct, and responsive. It’s with very good reason that beginning art students are encouraged to sketch with charcoal to practice line flow, contours, shading, light and shadow, and emphasis. Bold and frequent application of charcoal is the best way for a new artist to find his or her personal technique and unique style.
Charcoal it is one of the least inhibiting of drawing media. It can be used to produce bold and fluid lines, a wide range of textures, and achieve subtle shadings as well.
Probably due to its availability, versatility and low cost, charcoal became the common practice medium used throughout the ages and throughout the world by all the great artists of their time, always found in their sketchbooks but rarely seen in a finished work of art.
Modern art has however embraced charcoal as a popular medium for finished charcoal paintings and charcoal drawings. Charcoal portraits are especially effective in capturing a subject’s character and subtle expressions.
Reproductions of the charcoal sketches and charcoal paintings of famous artists have become much admired, and valuable, artworks in their own right; the sketchbooks of Leonardo da Vinci for example.
Original and reproduction charcoal sketches and charcoal portraits are extremely durable once they have been mounted behind glass or sprayed with a fixative, or fine spray lacquer.
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