Portrait drawing using Cretacolour and Camlin graphite pencil

"Drawing is vision on paper." Andrew Loomis

Graphite is a part of every artist's toolbox. It's affordable and a commonly used medium, yet if used on its own, in the hands of a skillled artist, it can produce breathtaking works of art. The lead in graphite pencils is made from a natural rock that is mined. In fact graphite and diamonds are the only two forms of carbon polymers occurring in nature. ( Courtesy: Craftsy.com )

My today's post is another "Portrait study" that I have created using the graphite medium. Graphite pencils are available in different grades ranging from 9H to 9B. H stands for hardness and B for blackness. I have a big collection of different grade pencils but I prefer to use just a few of them. In the portrait as below I have used 2B and 4B Staedtler graphite pencils for the midtones. For the darker tones I have used 8B Cretacolour and 10B Camlin graphite pencils.

Portrait study 

Graphite/Pencil drawing on Strathmore Gray toned paper

Size 5"X 7"

It is very difficult to obtain true black colour using graphite pencil because when the paper gets saturated by several layers of graphite, it tends to give a glare. Therefore one can use charcoal as a final layer to create further darkness, however I have avoided using charcoal in the above work. For the highlights I have used Conte and Cretacolour white pastel pencil.

Like charcoal, pencil drawings too tend to smudge. Hence I cover it with a sheet of butter paper before storing it neatly in a folder. A question that I am frequently asked regarding my charcoal and pastel works is whether I use a fixative in the final stages of the artwork. I have a "Winsor and Newton" fixative with me but I rarely use it on my artworks. 

CLICK HERE to browse through some of my graphite drawings in my sketchbook.

Thanks a lot for browsing through my artworks.

Graphite Pencil Portrait on toned paper

"How you draw is a reflection of how you feel about the world. You are not capturing it, you are interpreting it." Juliette Aristides

My today's post is a graphite "Portrait study work" on Strathmore toned paper which I started almost a week back. I am working with graphite medium after a long gap of time. It is interesting to get back to a medium that you have used in the past. Every medium has its own advantages. Pencil is a drawing tool that we all have used as kids when we were growing up. 

I have a miscellaneous collection of pencils but for this particular portrait drawing I decided to use the following three,

1. Cretacolour 8B graphite pencil ( Purchased from Amazon.in )
2. Camlin 10B graphite pencil ( Very dark shade )
3. Staedtler 2B and 4B graphite pencils

I enjoyed working with graphite pencil on Strathmore paper. This paper has a very smooth texture as compared to my usual Canson MT toned paper. However for portrait drawing it seems quite a prefect choice.

Portrait study work

using graphite pencil

on Strathmore Gray toned paper

Size 5"X 7"

I am working on yet another portrait drawing on Strathmore paper and I shall post it once completed.

My works can also be seen in a gallery format on INSTAGRAM. On instagram, I am getting to meet many different artists and I would love to write a post about them and their works.

If you are into water colour medium then visit the Instagram page of artists Sadhu Aliur and Bijay Biswaal. The water colour works by both these artists are amazing. 

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my works.

Portrait drawing on toned paper

"And the beauty of a woman, with passing years only grows!." Audrey Hepburn

Today I am posting my recently done "Charcoal portrait drawing" of a beautiful woman whom I met in Sikkim. I loved everything about her, her wrinkled face, her pretty smile, her scarf on the head which curled up at the top letting a few braided strings fall below.

She is seventy five and stays high up in the mountains somewhere in Hee Bermiok in West Sikkim. She had come to meet the owners of the homestay where we were staying, with an intention of selling some pretty hand made purses to the tourists. I purchased a few of them.

She moves around the hills climbing the difficult terrain with such ease and is so cheerful and full of life. I listened to her conversation, not understanding much but enjoyed interacting with her. I took her photograph with her consent and expressed my desire to do her portrait some day. She was all smile to hear that.

I am glad that I finally managed to get started with her portrait. Her portrait will always remind me of her strength, endurance and zest for life. I feel fortunate to have met her. Painting is like etching these memories on paper.

Wrinkled with age

Charcoal drawing on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5" X 7"

Canson Mi Teintes paper comes in many different shades ( 50 colours ) and I use them for my soft pastel paintings too. However when it comes to using them for my charcoal and white pastel drawings I mainly use the dark gray sheet.

Canson Mi teintes ( Different shades )

If you are interested in attending any of my workshops, visit the ART WORKSHOP page to know the schedule.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

"Eye and Nose" study on Strathmore gray toned paper

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day for no matter how little it is, it will be well worthwhile, and it will do you a world of good." Cennino Cennini

A beautiful inspiring quote which reminds me that no matter how busy I am, I must remove a little time every day for my art which is a true source of "Happiness" to me.

I took out my Strathmore gray toned paper last week after a very long time. Just got tempted to do "Eye and Nose study" so that I can get started with my "Portrait works" once again.

Given below is a small study work of a Rajasthani man, on Strathmore paper. I started this artwork with the intention of doing just the eyes and nose but later on got carried away and did the turban and part of the face too. After having done back to back water colour paintings, doing a charcoal portrait has been a welcome change.

Eye and Nose study work

Charcoal and white pastel pencil work on Strathmore toned paper

Size 4.5" X 6"

Speaking of toned papers the two other papers that I have used in the past are "Textured hand made paper" and Canson Mi Teintes.  All these papers including Strathmore is easily available on AMAZON and other online stores. 

Strathmore Toned Gray Pad

with 50 sheets

Thanks a lot for browsing through my works and to browse through some other portraits that I have created in the past CLICK HERE.

Two more "Eye Studies" on two different papers.

" Drawing is the 'bones' of art. You have to be able to walk before you can run." 
Dion Archibald

Posted below are two more "Eye studies" as created on Canson Bristol and Strathmore Toned Gray paper. I purchased both these papers very recently from Art Lounge. They can also be purchased from ebay India or other online sites.

An Eye study on

Canson Bristol XL paper

An Eye study on 

Strathmore Toned Gray paper

Canson XL Bristol paper is acid free, ultra white and extra smooth. ( 180 gsm ). I used a combination of charcoal and graphite on this paper to create the eye study as above.

I am enjoying working with both these new papers. They are both good in their own ways. Strathmore is textured and being a toned paper I have to use only the white and black pencil to get the different values.

Canson Bristol XL paper

Presently I am also working on some of my old charcoal figurative works which need a little touch up. Will be posting one of them soon.

My works can be browsed through on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK page too.

Thanks for visiting my BLOG.

Drawing "An Eye" on Strathmore Toned Gray paper

"Where words are restrained, the eyes often talk a great deal." Samuel Richardson

When drawing a portrait it is imperative to focus on "Eyes". The eyes bring life into the portrait and they express the feelings and emotions the person is going through. Drawing eyes requires a lot of understanding of the underlying bone structure or rather human skull. Hence to get a better understanding of the eye and to try out my newly purchased "Strathmore Toned Gray paper", I decided to do few eye studies on this paper.

The pencils I have used are very soft Camlin Charcoal pencil, and Cretacolour white pastel pencil. Since it is a study work I decided to spend not more than forty minutes on each of them. The gray colour of the paper acts as the mid tone value. To view the other tools that I use for my charcoal drawings you can CLICK HERE.

Two Charcoal drawings of 

An Eye Study

on Strathmore Gray Toned paper

The Strathmore toned paper has a very smooth surface and yet has a little texture which helps the charcoal and pastel to fix on it well. I enjoyed working on this paper. Whenever I buy a new paper I start off with a few study works because it helps me know the feel of it. I try out all my pencils and other related tools to understand what works best on it. 

After having worked with different papers I have come to one very significant conclusion, ie every paper has a different texture and feel and a pencil which may have worked very good on a different paper may now always work on the new one as well. Therefore it is best to read and research through the net and listen to the advise of other artists BUT when it comes to actually using a pencil on a paper, the safest way is to try it out.

A new paper or a new set of colours is always an exciting experience for any artist. These days I do a bit of study myself on the net before going ahead to buy new art stationery. I have already tried Canson MT for similar works and it is very good. However I read a lot of positive reviews about Strathmore paper and fortunately it is available in Art Lounge or it can also be ordered online through Amazon India.

If you wish to purchase any of my original art or Commision a painting, contact me on my e mail id and I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to all the viewers who have been consistently browsing through my artworks. 

Portrait study on gray hand made paper

"I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David." Michelangelo

I am enjoying creating portraits on toned paper. ( I have selected a simple handmade gray toned paper which has cost me about 30 Rs a sheet ). For my present portrait study, I have selected a face at an angle. The pencils used are Camel charcoal pencil and a white pastel pencil. 

Erasing, which I keep to bare minimum is done using kneaded eraser. Kneaded eraser can be moulded to any shape and it really helps to lift the charcoal and pastel.

Portrait study work

Size 5"X 7"

Thank you for visiting my blog and do browse through my latest works in INSTAGRAM.