Charcoal Drawing Step-By-Step

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I hope you know just how unique and extraordinary you are as an artist. 

You're different. This is because you don't see things the way others do. Instead of just looking at a field, you see a glorious pattern of light and shadow. Instead of looking upon a face, your artists' eyes observe a beautiful mosaic of color and light that conveys unique expression and likeness. What an amazing gift you have!

Whenever I'm teaching new artists to see in this way, I like to describe the seven "visual habits" that govern our ability to see like artists. I describe all seven of these habits in my book, "Beginning Drawing," if you'd like to find out more. 

I'd love to share a fun one-minute video with you of a step-by-step charcoal portrait. This Cambodian Apsara Dancer was a real joy to create. I used all of the seven visual habits to draw this portrait. 

One of the seven visual tools is called, "units of measurement," and I used this technique to scale the drawing to the paper as well as to establish the basic proportions in correct relationship with each other. In this portrait, the distance from the dancer's chin to her forehead line were used as a unit of measurement to scale the drawing.

Watch the video with your artists' eyes and enjoy!

Paintings That Tell A Story

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Everyone loves a good story. Are your paintings communicating clearly and purposefully with a unique voice that speaks to your viewer? As visual artists, we are storytellers. We have a desire to express ourselves through our work. We do this by communicating with pictures to engage the viewer's imagination. This video will give you four tips to telling a compelling story through your art.