126
Part Two – CHARCOAL
NEGATIVE SPACE AND CHIAROSCURO
Compressed charcoal is very useful for
making strong lines and very dark dramatic
tones. The next series of examples will
highlight how to use the medium for this
purpose.
The drawings use the negative space way
of working we encountered in the Pencils
section; see the examples after Van Gogh
beginning on page 40. This well established
method entails drawing the space around
objects to establish the composition. The
second stage of the drawing requires you to
look analytically at the nature of light and the
way it can be used to describe and express a
scene and mood.
Before beginning the drawing, arrange the
objects on a table.
1/ Establish the composition on the picture
plane, i.e. the paper. You can do this by using
a window mount to frame the composition
that you like best. A tip - don’t make it too
complicated.
2/ Start to draw your composition from the
edge of the paper. Draw what you see
through the window mount. Remember that
your window mount should be in scale to
your drawing otherwise you will get
distortion. For instance, if your drawing is A1
your window mount should be A5. Draw a
line that goes over the top of the objects and
off the edge of the paper at the other side.
3/Now go back to the starting point on the
other side of the paper, and draw a line that
describes the bottom edge of the still life.
What you have produced is an outline of the
group of objects.4/Begin to fill in the shape and form of the
objects.5/At this point you need to illuminate the still
life group. Set up a light from an acute angle
at one side. This will create a dramatic
atmosphere by throwing long shadows across
the group.
Draw the shapes of the shadows using
line. It is important the shadows appear as
shapes that exist both on and of the objects.
See them as abstract shapes. It will help your
understanding if you squint when looking at
the group. This action makes seeing the
shadows easier.6/ Fill in the shapes of the shadows with the
compressed charcoal, making the shaded
areas into a dense black. This will produce a
very black and white contrasting drawing.7/ Smudge the drawing, either by tonking it
with a rag or, preferably, by smearing it with
your hand. The resulting black and grey tones
will give the drawing atmosphere.8/Use a good clean plastic eraser to bring
back the sharp light effects. Do not be afraid
to lose some of the edges of the objects in the
shadows – such loss is true to life and a feature
of this type of drawing. You do not need to
give all the detail. Leave some areas
deliberately obscure to allow viewers to bring
their own imagination to the piece.