Charcoal is a versatile art medium that has been used for centuries to create a wide range of artworks, from quick sketches to intricate drawings and paintings. It is a dry medium that can be applied to almost any surface, from smooth paper to coarse canvas or wood. Charcoal is made by strongly heating wood in minimal oxygen (More about charcoal)....
The Art Media Charcoal
Charcoal is a versatile art medium that has been used for centuries to create a wide range of artworks, from quick sketches to intricate drawings and paintings. It is a dry medium that can be applied to almost any surface, from smooth paper to coarse canvas or wood. Charcoal is made by strongly heating wood in minimal oxygen (
More about charcoal).
Painting Process
If you had chosen the best quality linen canvas that we recommend, this material is cut to size and stretched out for the initial charcoal or pencil drawing to be made. If you were able to be looking over the artist’s shoulder, these are the steps that you would see over the next few days: Already many details of the fasc
Christ in Gethsemane, a painting by
Mikhail Vrubel (141 x 53 cm , The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia) , Art Nouveau , Charcoal , ) and
Yard in front of castle, a painting by
Nicholas Roerich (Art Nouveau , Charcoal , ), are visible.
Artists Using Charcoal
Many artists have used charcoal as their medium, including
Juan Fernández, who was born in Logroño and became deaf at a very early age due to an illness. He began to express his wants by sketching objects with a piece of charcoal (
More about Juan Fernández). Another artist who used charcoal was
Cornelis De Visscher, a Dutch Golden Age engraver and the brother of Jan de Visscher and Lambert Visscher. According to Houbraken, he was an able etcher who made famous prints (in his lifetime), and who had an unusual talent for drawing after a live model with charcoal that was unparalleled (
More about Cornelis De Visscher).
Types of Charcoal
There are various types and uses of charcoal as an art medium, but the commonly used types are: Compressed, Vine, and Pencil. Vine charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning grape vines in a kiln without air. It comes in shades of gray. Willow charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning willow sticks in a kiln without air. It is darker in color than vine charcoal. The removable properties of willow and vine charcoal, through dusting and erasing, are favored by artists for making preliminary sketches or basic compositions (
More about types of charcoal).
Art Techniques Using Charcoal
Paper used with artists' charcoal can vary in quality. Rough texture may allow more charcoal to adhere to the paper. The use of toned paper allows different possibilities as white oil pastels (commonly referred to by the brand name Conté) can be used in combination with charcoal to create contrast. Hatching, rubbing, blending, and lifting are some techniques that can be used with charcoal (
More about art techniques using charcoal).
Conclusion
Charcoal is a versatile and widely used art medium that has been employed by many artists throughout history to create a wide range of artworks. Its unique properties, such as its ability to be easily erased and blended, make it an ideal medium for preliminary sketches and detailed drawings alike.