PORTRAIT IN CHARCOAL - Beginners Art Classes

I’m so impressed with how this group give everything a go and are so willing to learn. It’s not about perfection - it’s about learning.

For more information about the lady in the photo please click on this link to see a previous blog post

Reference Photo taken in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico. My example - right.

‘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.

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…

Fantastic images from the beginners class @ Micklem’s Farm- using a ‘reductive’ technique to create a tonal portrait in willow charcoal on paper….