PORTRAIT IN CHARCOAL
Planning for a portraiture class using a ‘reductive’ technique in willow charcoal on paper….
Reference Photo taken in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico
‘Reductive’ Charcoal Study. This took a couple of hours. I could have carried on finessing it, but I have to show the class what is ‘do-able’ in the allotted time.
When you draw or paint a portrait it is important that you know a little about your sitter so that you can convey not just an image – but the telling of their story, their lived history, their character.
I took the photo (left) 20 years ago, when I was travelling in Mexico, whist visiting a refuge for women and girls who’d been subject to domestic violence. The centre provided them with the materials and equipment to earn their own money by making textiles to sell to the tourists that visited. We watched as they sat on the floor with portable looms holding the far ends of them with their feet. Weaving their own colourful designs that often incorporated ‘arum lilies’ that were grown in the region.
The beautiful girl in the picture had made the top that she was wearing. It has an ‘arum lily’ design on the shoulder, and in the photo you can also see that one is growing just behind her.
Handmade textiles for sale.
Arum Lilies are commonly associated with Mexican culture, art (notably by Diego Rivera), and, at times, funerals. In Mexican culture, they signify beauty, elegance, and the cyclical nature of life.
Afterwards we went to the market square where they were preparing for a ritual in the local church: the ‘Iglesia de San Juan Bautista’. The atmosphere inside was dense with smoke and incense (you can see it seeping out through the rafters). There were chickens running about inside in a panic - they seemed to already sense their fate. That afternoon they were to be sacrificed inside the church as part of a cleansing ritual to heal illness.
The ritual involves placing thousands of candles & pine needles all over the floor, (there were no pews). Coca-Cola and pox (local cane alcohol likened to moonshine) was given to those that needed curing to induce burping to expel evil spirits.
Purpose of the ritual: Shamanic healers, or ilols, pass live chickens over sick individuals to absorb negative energy or sickness before breaking their necks.
Outcome of the Chicken: Some chickens are buried, while others are eaten, depending on the nature of the ritual, though some reports state they are usually buried outside town because they are believed to contain the illness.
Process Shot 1: Plotting the relative positions of the eyes, brow-line, nose, mouth and chin.
‘Reductive’ drawing is a technique where an artist covers paper in a mid-tone layer of charcoal and then erases (or "reduces") it to create highlights. It is used to quickly establish dramatic lighting, focus on volume rather than line, and create rich, painterly atmospheric effects while easily managing complex tonal values. This method is highly recommended for creating dramatic effects, such as a subject emerging from a dark background, or for fast studies to understand light behaviour.
Process Shot 2. you can see that the face shape needed refining here- making slimmer on the left, her chin needed to go slightly lower etc..all part of the process.
Want to have a go at this yourself? Please see the classes tab for more details…
I still have one of the pieces I bought that day :) (Above)