Charcoal Art
Charcoal Art: When we think of charcoal, we think of it burning in the fire place, etc...... though I'm sure that this burnt form of wood was So, it's only natural that charcoal is still used today. A whole section of art is still devoted to it. And the texture and richness that charcoal brings to the art of drawing is nothing but amazing. Have you ever tried to use charcoal? even as a child.... If you have, then you realize the potential of this medium. And used properly, the most beautiful pieces of art work can stem from the artists hands.
Charcoal Sticks Charcoal is available in natural sticks of willow and vine charcoal, and compressed charcoal in
various grades in stick or pencil form for charcoal art. You can still get the form of charcoal in long twigs of plain charcoal, and I can tell you, you get a bit messy. Though who cares when these wide strokes of one charcoal stick can deliver to your paper the broadness of texture and shade. 
I have put some of my own drawings on here, that I did many years ago, when I just went crazy on charcoal for a while. I did charcoal art portraits night after night. And found that my speed was increasing at a fast rate. So you see...... Practice, not only makes you a better artist, it also makes you quicker. With repetitive activity, you will find that you will naturally gain speed. This is caused by your mind being exercised in one thing, and that repetition is like training an athlete. Your mind gets accustomed to what you are doing, and familiarity... well you know what they say...........
Artist ~ Andrea Balch 
You can see two of my Western hero's here, that I have also used a bit of white crayon, and mixed it with the charcoal to create highlights. Yes, you can mix them, though I would not mix too many different colors as charcoal is best left simplified, to create the best impact.
I want you to experiment with charcoal, I find that to use the charcoal sticks, you can lay them on their side, break of a small chunk to lay that bit on its side and drag it along your paper. You will find different textures showing up. It's great!
Charcoal Pencils You also have the charcoal in pencil form;
which plainly
means that; like a pencil. The charcoal is wrapped by an outer layer of wood. I use these for the finer work in drawing, and also cross hatching if you want to do any of this in your drawings.
Charcoal Paper Now I just don't want you to think that you should only draw on white paper. You can use most papers that you would when drawing with pencil. I drew my pictures above in a sketch pad. You can also use different canvas if you like, or rough board. There are so many different surfaces on the market you can use these days for charcoal art. The coarser surfaces tend to bring out the grain of the charcoal. If you don't want the grain to show through, well just fill in the space more densely. Also use different colures of drawing paper. You will be delighted at how you will get a difference in the overall effect of your drawings. "The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau One of the main things I found about charcoal drawing, is the freedom that you have. The ability of being able to do swift broad strokes. Not so restrained say, as with pencil. And this freedom will also come out in your drawings. Just go with it and let your clean sweeps glide over your paper. Forming effects that you will find delightful. Also smudge your work in areas, charcoal blends with itself so well. I would fully recommend that every artist does some work in charcoal. As charcoal art builds up your confidence and gives you a freedom in drawing that you need to experience. Just one thing though.... Charcoal can get away from you, so this medium also makes you more controlled with your work when its needed. All good drawing steps to get failure with.
lets return from
Charcoal Art to Drawing Techniques
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