I took the photo of this raven years ago when visiting Yellowstone National Park.
This is one I want to try doing in soft pastels, to show all the silvers and purplish-blues in his black feathers. Therefore, I kept this study quite sketchy.
The reference photo is below.
This study, done using vine charcoal, was done on white paper toned first with charcoal powder so I could use the kneadable eraser to lift up color for highlights.
The reference image used was by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay.
The reference image for this charcoal study is by Nadine Doerlé from Pixabay.
I’ve used this same image for a work in pastel.
This is another piece I did, based on the ArtTutor.com class “Studies in Charcoal” by Joann Boon Thomas. Same vine charcoal, and toned paper. This reference photo was one of the instructor’s based on a life drawing she did. I need to find a life drawing class myself, although with Covid, it might be an online/Zoom version.
This piece, like the one posted yesterday, is also from the “Studies in Charcoal” by Joann Boon Thomas. Same supplies — vine charcoal and toned paper. I definitely need to practice hands and feet.
With this art tutorial website going away in March, I’ve been making an effort to use my membership, and one of the online classes I did was Joann Boon Thomas’ “Studies in Charcoal”. This drawing was done on Strathmore toned paper, using medium vine charcoal (which is extremely forgiving — i.e., easy to erase with a kneaded eraser.) The reference photo was provided in class.
For this painting I used one of my own reference photos — taken last spring of a rose on one of our bushes. We got this rosebush (all of our rosebushes, actually) down in Texas Hill Country at Antique Rose Emporium. I love it because it is powerfully fragrant. So many pretty roses seem to have no fragrance at all.
I did this using willow charcoal and NuPastels, on Colourfix Original in Soft Umber.
Today I watched a “Drawing Together” ArtistsNetwork video on YouTube about drawing hair, which is something I have trouble with — I typically draw “spaghetti hair” which, of course, is totally wrong. Now I’m learning to more accurately draw hair by drawing the shapes and masses, then just adding striations.
The reference photo is here.
This study was done on Strathmore drawing paper, using only medium willow charcoal (Winsor & Newton) and my trusty kneadable eraser. I used a paper towel and my finger for blending. Willow charcoal, it turns out, is awesome! So easy to erase or rub out and start again!
I was not focused on replicating the profile, but rather getting a sense of the hair mass.
This drawing — done in graphite, compressed charcoal, and white Conte crayon — was based on a photograph from Pixabay, which I cropped and changed to grayscale.
Original image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
BetterLateThanNeverArt 