A few weeks ago, I was thinking to myself, Marian, you simply don’t have enough hobbies.  You should pick up another one.  Okay, not really.  I have hobbies coming out of my ears.  In actuality, I just found myself thinking about charcoal as an art medium and felt a pull to it.  I struggle with drawing, specifically with a pencil or pen.  I am much more comfortable working with paint, where I can focus on shapes instead of lines.  Charcoal is a drawing medium that seems to lend itself to that approach, so I decided to give the medium a good, solid try.  I would watch tutorials, read books, test out different hardnesses, brands, and types of charcoal and paper, and see if I find something that resonates.

Fortunately, I have a plethora of art supplies to get me started!  I shopped the studio and found different types of charcoal, brushes, erasers, and blending stumps.  I looked through my drawing and pastel papers to select a few to test out with charcoal, and I started a new sketchbook to practice and make notes.  I put together a little register drawer with everything in it so I could have the tools and materials readily available.

Now that I’ve been testing and drawing for a few weeks, I have pared down to a cup and a little bowl that I can keep by my easel.  The rest was put away in my “charcoal drawer.”  I do like my art supplies sitting out where they can inspire me to play, but there need to be limits!

Here are the first couple of charcoal drawings I did in the sketchbook with charcoal pencils.  (THIS is the sketchbook I’m using.)  I felt like I was off to a pretty good start, but things went sideways once I started testing out different papers.

I started with Nitram charcoal on Uart 600 sanded paper, which is essentially like drawing on 600-grit sandpaper.  For all of these drawings, I’m primarily using yellow and orange Nitram charcoal sticks, which are soft.  Soft charcoal allows you to create lighter lines that can be erased more easily.

I don’t know why, but I expected the charcoal to move around more than it did, and I was fighting the paper and the charcoal the entire time.  At one point, the paper was piling, and it was just a hot mess.  I was about ready to throw it in the trash, but then I decided to try a last-ditch effort and use a chamois to blend and erase, and that worked better.  I finished it with a few highlights of white pastel pencil.

While I hated the process, I actually loved the result.  Some of the transitions aren’t as soft as I would like, but the greater distance I had from the frustrating process, the more I liked the drawing.

I went from hating sandpaper to deciding I need to try it at least ten more times to judge it more fairly.

I then tried Generals compressed charcoal pencils in THIS sketchbook.  There are portions of this portrait I really like, particularly the head, but I lost steam on the body, and it looks a little too scribbled and scratchy.

My favorite test so far has been Nitram charcoal on Stonehendge 100% cotton paper in warm white.  The charcoal moved well, the paper wasn’t too toothy, and I could build layers.  I will definitely be returning to this paper.

I received a surprising offer to purchase this sketch, so I decided to sell it.  As I did with oils, if I can sell some of my practice efforts along the way, this new endeavor can at least fund itself.

I then tried another sanded paper – Nitram Charcoal and white pastel on Sennelier Pastel Card in Naples Yellow.  This paper is so toothy that it caused a great deal of fallout from the friction of the charcoal on the paper.  Charcoal dust was falling constantly as I worked.  That being said, I really liked the result!  The funny thing is, though, I had to wait for a new fixative I ordered to arrive, and in the meantime, the paper fell over, and a portion of the charcoal fell off!  So, I need to go back over this one and then spray it with fixative to hold the charcoal in palce.

My last test was Nitram charcoal on Mi-Tientes Pastel Paper by Canson.  This is the most affordable paper I have tried, but it has been my least favorite so far.  I just don’t love the texture of it.  I know it’s a favorite of many charcoal and pastel artists, though, so it obviously comes down to personal taste.

I did learn that I should try the back side of this paper, which I hadn’t even thought of!  Apparently, many brands of pastel and drawing paper have a smooth side and a rough side.  So, I’ll try the back side and see how it goes.  I have a feeling the Stonehenge and sanded papers will be my go-tos, but it’s still early days.  As with oils, I know that as I work with charcoal more, my preferences will slowly become apparent.

I’ve been so busy getting ready for Lucketts, packing prints, and working on other projects that I haven’t had time to practice my charcoals, but I’m hoping I can get back into it once I’m past the Spring Market…