HOW TO DRAW
charcoal solution onto the dry page
to represent areas of lighter mid-tone.3
Once the previous layer had dried
fully, I carefully painted clean
water over the areas of darkest
shadow. I then added concentrated
charcoal solution to the wet paper,
allowing it to spread everywhere that
the water had been painted.DEMO 2
ROCKS IN
COMPRESSED
CHARCOAL
The landscape around the Mawddach
Estuary is studded with lichen-
speckled, rocky outcrops. Although
their appearance is often softened by
an overcast sky, particularly at this
time of year, I drew these hard forms
as the light struck their north-facing
planes. This helped to sharpen their
appearance with hard-edged
contrasts of light and dark.1
I started by drawing the shapes
of the rocks in sharpened willow
charcoal, mapping the planes of light
and dark tonal shapes. I held the
charcoal loosely to encourage slightly
more expressive lines.2
Borrowing from the conventions
of watercolour painting, I worked
from light to dark, leaving the paper
white for the lightest lights on the
rock formations and painting a diluted