Newberry Workshop About   Mentor  Art Classes  Contact

See art in a fresh way.

Charcoal Drawing Part 1 by Michael Newberry

Charcoal drawing on great paper is one of the easiest and most rewarding techniques in all visual art. It is perfect for the raw beginner, because it quickly conveys the image; mistakes are easily corrected; and it naturally enhances light effects. But it holds challenges to expert artists as well: it lends itself to the extremes of the freedom of action drawing or insanely subtle realism thereby giving artists plenty of room to visually experiment with few limitations.

Michael Newberry, Sponge Bath, 2010, charcoal on Rives BFK, 13 x 19 inches

Sponge Bath is a recent charcoal drawing using this technique. It will be one of the charcoals in the upcoming exhibition Symbolic Still Life at the Newberry Gallery in Santa Monica, April 24th, 2010.

First you need a great paper. Inferior papers simply cannot withstand repeated erasing; they lose the paper's integrity and become resistant to edits after a couple of minutes. My favorite paper is Rives BFK, found in good art stores. It is 100% cotton rag, acid free. It comes in white, off white, and in heavy to light sheets. I prefer medium. A heavy sheet is excellent if you want to work on your project for weeks or months. I tend to work about 10 to 20 hours on a finished charcoal.

Here I started with an oversized sheet, about 40 x 29 inches, and I need to trim it down to 19 x 26 inches. With great paper like Rives, it is fine art practice to tear the sheet instead of cutting it with a blade or scissors.

After I have marked the dimensions, I use a straight edge to make the tear—careful to keep pressure along the straight edge with my left hand as a tear with my right. Very easy, if done carefully.

Most quality papers have a watermark, which you can see when you hold them up to the light. The side where the water mark reads normally is the front, the side you want to draw on. Though, it is not the end of the world if you end up drawing on the back.

Now I have two sheets of paper, masking tape, and a rough wood drawing board. Because the board is rough, I am laying a sheet of paper as a cushion (you will see why later.) If you have a smooth drawing board, one sheet is fine.

Carefully, I line up the masking tape and cover 1/4 inch of the paper and then attach it to the board on all four sides.

For the next stage, you need paper towels and a block stick of compressed charcoal—Alfacolor or General's are excellent for this. Do not use vine charcoal, its wispy nature is not suitable and will not "take" to the paper. (I use vine charcoal for gridding and correcting paintings on canvas). My favorite paper towel is for shop mechanics found in places like Home Depot.

Using the flat side of the charcoal, I cover the paper. I like a medium dark tone to start with.

As you tone the paper, the charcoal will register the roughness or imperfections of the drawing board underneath, which can be a hassle later. That is why I have an extra sheet of paper underneath to give a smooth surface.

After the paper is covered in charcoal, I gently use the paper towel to blend the tone. A good rule of thumb is a smoother tone for a more realistic drawing. If you plan a nuanced and subtle drawing, then you don't want a rough charcoal ground to complete.

The preparation takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Now I am ready to start drawing.

In Charcoal Drawing Part 2, I will show you how to use paper towels, as well as kneaded and hard erasers, to create dramatic and subtle shifts of light.

Michael Newberry, Revolution is in the Air, 2010, charcoal and pastel on Rives BFK, 25 x 18 inches

Revolution is in the Air is the finished drawing with the addition of pastel color for the red and and the highlights.

I hope you enjoyed seeing charcoal in a fresh way.

Michael Newberry
Santa Monica, April 2010