Experimental Charcoal Painting

by Lisa Larrabee

There is a strong overlap between drawing in charcoal and painting.  Both processes allow you to add and subtract, blend, manipulate and build from simple shapes to subtle details.  However, it never occurred to me to actually paint in charcoal until I purchased charcoal powder.

In my post, Paint with Charcoal, I detail a process that I use when I begin with intention.  The images below were my very first experiments.

Painting with charcoal creates a versatile cross-over between drawing and painting.  I could move the charcoal powder in subtle washes and bold brushstrokes, then blend, erase and build the drawing using traditional charcoal methods.

Upcycle Your Painting

by Lisa Larrabee

Do you every wonder what to do with old artwork that you feel is kind of meh?  Recycle it.  Better yet, upcycle it and make it better!  There are so many possibilities when it comes to upcycling your artwork.  Allow yourself to respond to what you have while simultaneously letting it go.  

I had some silicone paint shapers that I really wanted to play around with.  Rather than starting on a blank surface, I looked for an existing painting that already had some nice colors and textures that I could build on. 

Paint with Charcoal

by Lisa Larrabee

Charcoal is both bold and forgiving.  You can blend and smudge charcoal or sharpen it to draw with precision.  Charcoal is a staple in most drawing classes, but did you know that you can also paint with it?

If you mix charcoal powder with water, you can paint using a process that is similar to watercolor.  The charcoal powder often pools and settles creating interesting patterns as it dries.  When the water evaporates, all that is left on the paper is the charcoal.  This charcoal can now be manipulated using traditional dry charcoal techniques.  You can blend, erase and add details using blending stumps, charcoal sticks and charcoal pencils.

Quick & Bold Graphite Studies

   by Lisa Larrabee

Graphite is a staple for any artist.  It can be used for a variety of purposes from doodles to stunning finished works of art.  It is stable, easy to transport and very forgiving.  It is also inexpensive and convenient. There's a good chance you are near a graphite pencil as you read this, so you can join in with the Art Challenge!  

Graphite can be used in a variety of ways.  For the purpose of creating quick studies, I will stick with a medium hardness HB pencil. You can also use a classic #2 yellow pencil with the pink eraser.  Nothing fancy is needed.

Take Risks with Color!

 by Lisa Larrabee

Value does all the work, but color gets all the credit.  That phrase gets thrown around a lot, but what does that even mean?  

We love color!  Colors can be subtle or dazzling.  Colors are powerful and can be used to get our attention or to communicate feelings.  However, value relationships are often the foundation of a drawing or painting.  Values can be essential to providing structure and to creating the illusion of light, form and depth.

Organize Colors by Value

If you want to experiment and take some risks with color, it can help to begin by first considering your values.  In the example below, I began with a black and white photo reference that had a nice range of light, medium and dark values.  I selected colors fairly randomly based on what I thought looked interesting while making sure I had different values.  I then sampled the colors on my gray toned paper in order of dark to light.  

I have been inspired recently by the drawings of Viktoria Maliar and her bold mark-making and color choices.  It reminded me of exercises I did when studying the mark-making of Vincent Van Gogh's portraits back in college.  I approached this study similar to others I have done when experimenting with my color choices.  I focused on placing values where they belonged regardless of whether it made sense for the local color of the subject and with zero regard for lighting color or temperature.

Setting the Tone

by Lisa Larrabee

What do you consider before starting a drawing?  An obvious choice would be to start with your subject.  Then, maybe you consider the composition and how you want to place your subject.  What you want to include verses what you might choose to leave out.  Which medium you intend to use, etc.  How much thought do you put into choosing a background tone?  If you aren't thinking about these options, you are missing an opportunity.  

Choosing a Tone

A tone is the relative lightness or darkness of a color.  

Negative Space (Why It's Such a Big Deal)

by Lisa Larrabee

If you do an online image search for "negative space drawings" you will find a tremendous number of examples that range from traditional academic exercises to very creative design solutions.  Variations of negative space exercises exist at all levels of drawing classes (whether or not it is explicitly labeled as such).  So, what is "negative space" and why is it such a big deal?

Facial Features: Cross-Contour Mouth Sketch

by Lisa Larrabee

If you want to improve your drawing and painting, take time to focus on your subject from an academic perspective.  Although it is essential to play and experiment, it is also important to dedicate time for disciplined study to learn more about your subject.  In this example, I focused on the mouth.  However, this type of practice will help you better understand the form of any subject.

I worked from a photograph for this study.  I added cross-contour lines to better understand the dimensional form of the mouth.  Cross-contour lines are lines that follow the surface of the form.  (In contrast, contour lines follow the edge or boundary of the form like an outline).

Expressive Mark Making

by Lisa Larrabee

Not everything we make needs to become something.  I cannot stress enough the importance of experimentation and play without an end result in mind.

This is a demo where I modeled a variety of different types of mark-making using graphite and charcoal.

There is absolutely no wrong way to do this.  Give yourself a nice large sheet of paper and explore how much variety you can create using drawing tools that you already have.  Turn pieces on their side.  Twist the pencil or piece of charcoal or graphite between your fingers. Vary the amount of pressure. Smear the marks with the side of your hand.  Draw with a blending stump.  Make marks with your fingers.  Use erasers to create marks.  Change directions or explore a rhythm that feels new or awkward.  Create flowing marks, then make your hand shake/tremor as you draw.  You get the idea.

Why Make Studies?

by Lisa Larrabee

                                                                                                      Artists often create studies before beginning their artwork.  A study can be a detailed drawing or painting that allows the artist to observe a subject thoroughly and learn more about it. Studies can also be quick, simple images that let the artist work through a variety of options before committing.  

Each type of study could be it's own post, but the following list is a summary:

Facial Features: Mouth Study

 by Lisa Larrabee

When developing portrait drawing skills, it is important to learn to see the facial features as objectively as possible.  It can be difficult to set aside the symbols we have learned, and the associations we make with certain features, in order to observe them accurately.  Drawing from a plaster cast can help you to see the form more objectively, but the symbols can still creep in.  

Experimental Color

by Lisa Larrabee

Pink & Green
color study (detail)
Pastel on toned paper
artist Lisa Larrabee

I recently taught a class for the Art Verve Academy about adding a touch of color to your drawings.  The idea was to make simple controlled changes to see how dramatic the affect was on the image as a whole. It was a lot of fun and and a huge learning experience.

Changing Perspective

by Lisa Larrabee

Bull Skull study I

Bull Skull study II

I frequently take the opportunity to draw alongside my students.  It helps me practice my drawing skills as well as provide an "extended demo" that students can refer to as their drawings progress.

Drawing General to Specific: Graphite vs Charcoal

by Lisa Larrabee

These are stages of a still life drawing that I did in graphite (pencil).  To begin, I lightly toned the entire drawing surface (white paper) with graphite.  Once basic shape relationships were in place I erased out the light shapes.  I built values using subtle hatch marks without blending.

Draw What You See General to Specific

by Lisa Larrabee

It is easy to say that you should draw what you see when your goal is to draw with accuracy.  However, it takes practice to truly observe the shapes, values and relationships as they are and not how we perceive them to be.

Gabriella: Sepia & White Pastel on Toned Paper

by Lisa Larrabee

I am really enjoying drawing on toned paper.  I begin with the darker values.  By the time the white is added it really feels like it's coming to life.  So much fun!

- Lisa

Available Artwork
Portrait Commissions
Art Classes & Private Lessons

Sepia & White Pastel Portrait on Toned Paper

by Lisa Larrabee

I haven't had much experience drawing on toned paper.  However, I always begin my paintings on a toned surface, so this feels like a natural transition.  I chose the sepia pencil as an experiment because I usually work in graphite or charcoal.  I discovered that when I blended the sepia the color felt warmer - like a blush.  It makes sense that, if left more granular, it would appear darker and more brown (even when applied very lightly).  Also, it is very important when working with white pastel to take care not to blend the white with the other media.  The idea is to let the toned paper show through the mid-values.  Mixing the white and sepia creates an additional color.  The most important tip: just draw.  You will learn a lot as you go.  This piece was certainly a learning experience for me.  And, it was fun!

- Lisa

Available Artwork
Portrait Commissions
Art Classes & Private Lessons

Drawing General to Specific

by Lisa Larrabee

Starting with a paper toned with graphite, I took some preliminary measurements and then lifted out the highlight shapes with a kneaded eraser.  Several students were quite surprised when they approached and realized how little information was actually there.  It is important to establish light and shadow shape relationships before committing to detail.  It is a very quick way to check for accuracy.

Available Artwork
Portrait Commissions
Art Classes & Private Lessons

Father's Day

by Lisa Larrabee

3 a.m.  

Graphite and white pastel on toned paper

artist Lisa Larrabee

Happy Father's Day to my husband, Greg, the father of our amazing twin boys.  All my love!

~ Lisa

Available Artwork
Portrait Commissions
Art Classes & Private Lessons

Sketchbook: Demo to Final

by Lisa Larrabee

This drawing was done as a teaching demonstration for my students.  This is how far I got during the class.  The following day I was able to complete the drawing at home in my studio.

Available Artwork
Portrait Commissions
Art Classes & Private Lessons