Rediscovering Willow Charcoal

I hope to do some more detailed blog entries on all the teaching I have been doing lately.
I must say I really enjoy the process and I have certainly been getting a lot out of the sessions in quite unexpected ways.
One thing is that I have become re-enamoured with the whole process of drawing with charcoal. That is largely thanks to the various attendees at my RHA workshop last week.
I had decided to myself that charcoal was just too messy and hard to control for my liking and I had taken up children's chubby crayons as my preferred sketching medium.
Some students never get to like the chubbies which is fine but last week when we were drawing our models in costume. I was persuaded that willow charcoal was absolutely right  for the job.
I gave it a go for the first time in years and loved it.
Erasing the rubbed in charcoal is the perfect way to define folds in drapery without too much fuss.

Here are a few older charcoal sketches too.
I can't wait to do some more.
By way of contrast , the portrait head below was done with the chubbies.

Culture Night in Dublin

For Culture Night in Dublin this Friday, I will again be drawing portraits at the United Arts Club.
I'll be there from 7.30pm and the drawings are only 10 euro each.
Here’s one I did last year of the artist, Patrick Brocklebank.

Culture Night at the United Arts Club in Dublin

I'm one of five or six artists who will be doing fairly quick portrait drawings this Friday as part of the United Arts Club's Dublin Culture Night Celebration!
My pal Brian Gallagher will also be on duty for this Arts Club fundraiser.
We'll be doing doing portrait sketches with each sitting lasting about twenty five minutes. I'll be drawing with wax and chalk on gray Ingres paper, a wee bit like the picture above. I think each drawing will cost the sitter about 20 euro.

Here is the club's blurb about the event:
The historic United Arts Club, founded in 1907 as a centre for people interested in the Arts is opening its doors this Friday night.
Take this opportunity to tour the building and view our current art exhibition (from 5pm-11pm)

Portrait of Jim Lucey

Here's another life drawing I was very happy with.
It's as much a portrait study as a figure drawing.
I have gotten to know the model, Jim Lucey, very well over the years.
I don't think a connection with the model is essential to create a good drawing, but it certainly seems to help me.
Jim is particularly good at holding his pose, and he would concentrate very hard on keeping his eyes and his expression fixed too. Unfortunately, some life models tend to let their eyes drift all over the place.


I used red wax stubby crayon, and white chalk on Ingres paper for this one. The thick stubby crayon stops me getting involved with too much finicky detail.