Graphite Pencil-vs-Charcoal

I love drawing...though I haven't drawn all my life, I feel like I have. The biggest problem is figuring out what I love drawing WITH the most. It's like a kid being let loose in FAO Schwartz to play with whatever she wants to. I love finding new things to draw with and figuring out how to use them. Though I use, and love, pastels and colored pencils, I'm only going to discuss graphite pencils and charcoal...their history and interesting tid-bits. Then I'll talk about my opinions and preferences...and I'd like to hear about yours.

GRAPHITE - The History & Other Interesting Tid-Bits

Did you know that the core of a pencil is not really lead, though we call it that? Lead was used in early styluses. The core of a pencil is actually made from nontoxic graphite. Graphite started being used following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564. Graphite left a darker mark than lead, but was so soft and brittle that it required a holder. At first, sticks of graphite were wrapped in string. Later, the graphite was inserted into wooden sticks that had been hollowed-out by hand! The wood-cased pencil was born.

Interesting tid-bit: The first mass produced pencils were not painted. They wanted to show off the wood casings, but soon they started painting the casings. And the reason that most hexagon shaped pencils are yellow is because in the 1800's the best graphite came from China and the color yellow represented a regal feeling associated with China.

You can now get artist graphite pencils in a full range of densities ranging from 9B (softest) to 9H (hardest)...with the softest making the darkest marks. You can also find it in large chucks for covering large areas.

CHARCOAL - The History and Other Interesting Tid-Bits

In early years charcoal was used as a preliminary tool to sketch quickly. It was much too easily smudged and was very messy, so it was normally painted over or drawn over with other media.

Charcoal can be obtained in sticks, pencils, chunks, vine and compressed charcoal. Most artists prefer vine or willow charcoal - which is made by burning wood into soft, medium and hard consistencies. It's easy to use and is versatile. Willow charcoal can come thin or very thick.Compressed charcoal is not as messy as the uncompressed vine and willow charcoal. It is made with charcoal powder mixed with gum binder compressed into round or square sticks. It comes in different hardnesses like graphite. You can also get charcoal in pencil form with a variety of hardnesses as well - better used with a thicker, sturdier paper. These can be bought individually or in sets.

The early origins of charcoal drawings can be found in France. Primitive drawings of bulls and horses that are believed to be drawn with branches and sticks burnt at the end lines the walls of a cave.

MY PREFERENCE

Graphite - The Pros and Cons

Bored yet?...Well...this is where I give my opinion...I like them both. However, I will try to give my opinion of the pros and cons of each.

* The Pros of Graphite: This was my first drawing tool...it usually is for most artists...Graphite has such a smooth even feeling and it is so much easier to get the detail desired in some works of art, especially portraits. I think graphite blends well. Whether using a blending stump or just using a gradation of hard to soft in order to blend, they can easily make your subject have a life-like or photo-like appearance. Pencils are also easy to hold and use without being messy. They are easily transportable and don't require much else when you want to head out to the park to draw or sketch.

* The Cons of Graphite: There aren't many to me. If using a kneaded eraser to pick out highlights, graphite is not as forgiving. If you make a mistake or get pencil marks on your paper where you didn't intend to, it can be difficult to erase it. And one other thing that I'm not as crazy about is that it's hard to get dark areas as dark as I want without becoming shiny.

Charcoal - The Pros and Cons

* The Pros of Charcoal: I love the "feeling" I get when using charcoal. It's goes onto the paper so easily that you feel you can freely swipe your paper and draw the world! (Boy, did that sound corny?) I like the vine and willow form of charcoal, personally. You can use your sanding block to make it nice and sharp or use the side for a broader stroke. It's really easy to manipulate. And one of my most favorite things about charcoal is the darkness you can achieve with it. When I want a dark black, it obliges me without becoming shiny like graphite.

* The Cons of Charcoal: Charcoal is very sensitive. When I'm drawing with graphite I can easily work without worrying about smudging my work. My hand can rest about anywhere on the paper, if I'm careful. However, Charcoal isn't as forgiving. I feel that my hand is doing acrobatics to keep from smudging anything. Almost like "Twister for fingers". And I'm always worried about my 10 year old getting too close to my artwork and brushing against it or touching it.

IN CONCLUSION

In the end, I really enjoy both of these tools when drawing. They are so different and are both fun to work with. I think determining which one I want to work with has to do with either my mood or the subject that I'm drawing. (And sometimes the size of the artwork. - because graphite is easier to get detail done and charcoal is best with larger and free flowing work).

Have you tried both mediums? Which do you prefer? And Why?

My Story - How I Became an Artist

How God Made ART Blossom Out of a Dry Flower Pot:

I grew up in a family of four children. My twin brother and I were the oldest...then came two more brothers. Yes...I was sister-less. But that was okay. I held my own with my brothers and I had a pretty happy tom-boyish childhood.

While growing up I never considered myself artistic...never even imagined I could be. I enjoyed art class in school, but no one ever mentioned any particular talent. As a matter of fact, my entire self-esteem was not what you would call "great". All that changed when I met my husband. He was the most encouraging person I'd ever met. He would compliment everything I did and would tell me that he saw something in me, a potential. He saw that I had something inside that wanted to emerge. Neither he or I knew what that could be...and I wouldn't find out until my mid-30's that I was destined to be an artist!

It all started so subtly. I had been working in my church in Longwood, Florida. The pastor at that church, and his wife, are both very talented artists. He wanted the church bulletins to be original, not those ready made kind you buy at the bookstore. So I learned a computer drawing program and started designing them. I had such great feedback from people who were telling me that the bulletins were so special to them. Some even told me that they were framing them.

Then the craziest thing happened...my pastor started telling me that I was an artist...Huh?...I laughed it off, embarrassed that he would think I was an artist. But, he continued to call me one. With all that encouragement from my husband, people at the church and my pastor I even started believing it...(God bless you, Pastor Greg Freeman!!!)

A few years later my husband and I had been married for 12 years and had adopted a baby two years earlier. We felt called to work as house parents at a childrens home in Okeechobee, Florida, and ran one of the homes (with 6 girls). It was the most challenging time of our lives to date. But I have found that the most challenging and difficult times causes things inside of us, either good or bad, to bubble up to the surface. One day, while standing out by the water with one of the girls in our home,  I commented that I wish I could draw or paint what I was seeing because the scenery was really beautiful. She turned to me and simply said, "Why don't you?" I answered her the way most people answer something like that..."I can't even draw stick figures!" But her simple answer sparked something in my head. I started thinking about Pastor Greg calling me an artist so I went inside, sat down at the kitchen table and started drawing something. It wasn't great, but I was pleasantly surprised at how bad is wasn't. So, I drew something again the next day and the next...and the next. I found that I couldn't stop. I bought books, I went to classes, and drew everything I saw.

I started seeing the entire world differently. A tree wasn't just a tree...it was a beautiful object of shapes, highlights and shadows. At that point nothing was safe from my pencil! I drew everything and carried my sketchbook everywhere I went! In time I found that my strength was portraits. I loved drawing faces, people, dogs, cats, cows...you name it!  Now I draw portraits from photos by commission and I absolutely love it!

A few months ago I was laid off from my 8-5 job. It's been a strain on us financially, but I have also seen it as a blessing from the Lord. I am giving it a go and doing what I love most...drawing. I've started drawing commissions full time. (And marketing myself). I don't believe that God allows a talent to emerge from nothing for no reason. I've spent the last 8 or 9 years practicing, practicing, practicing and have gotten better every year. I have so much more in me and I'm excited about what's coming next. Even if I don't know what that is!
But one thing I have learned is that God can make a blossom grow from a dry pot...like me...He's got some more planting and growing to do in me...and I am ready! 

Thank you for reading this blog. I'm still very new at it, and I'm not really a writer...hmmm...maybe I shouldn't say that either...you never know!!!!

Melinda

A Little Portrait Progression - No. 3

I am about 90% done with this portrait. It looks 100% done, but there are small things that need to be tweeked.

I like to step away from the drawing for a day or so at this point. Then I look at it upside down, sideways, as a picture on my computer screen, etc. It is good to look at angles that I haven't looked at before. When drawing it sometimes I don't see everything so clearly because I've been staring at it so long. When I step away for a time and then look again I see things I missed.

When I feel I'm 100% done I'll post the finished work! Thanks for looking!!!