Abdu'l-Baha
 

Here's a charcoal drawing I did about eight months ago. It's of 'Abdu'l-Baha, drawn from a photo that was taken in a Paris studio in 1911, I believe. It's a marvelous photo and it turned out to be the first decent drawing I'd done in years.

I did a couple of this type of drawings in the months leading up to this one. I worked out a lot of problems in those "false starts" - a valuable experience. This one I'm quite happy with. There are a few things I could modify a bit, but nothing huge. Anyway, it's in a gallery near here, beautifully framed, waiting for its future (generous) owner to take it home. :)

Well, David,

The first thought that comes to mind is "Yes!" Beautifully done! How large is it?

Could you comment on how you came across the photo?

Very nice David! Is he from the Baha'i faith?

Thanks Chris and Elizabeth. Yes, he is the son and successor of Baha'u'llah, prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, of which I've been a member for most of my adult life. Among Baha'is, it's a very well known photograph, taken during his travels to Europe and North America. There were many photographs taken of him, especially later in life, but this one has always been my favorite. It was pure joy for me working on this one.

As I recall, the drawing is approx. 18X24."

That is a beautiful piece!

Beautifully rendered. I wish I could study it in person!

Another great piece. Would appreciate a close up (if possible) as this looks very detailed and the work around the forehead area looks incredible. I was going to start something in graphite, but because of this and the jolanda pieces, will instead do in charcoal. If I fail again, I will blame you for my misery. :o Just kidding, I will put only partial blame on you!

This is truly beautiful!

David,

This is an exceptional drawing. Are the lights in this drawing charcoal also?

Thanks everyone for your kind feedback. It really makes a difference and is very encouraging.

Jimmie, here's a detail. You know, I'm sure you'll have success with this medium. You have the eye and that's the essential thing. I don't think it's all that different from working with graphite, except for maybe the toned paper/white highlight thing ( some of your graphite drawings use white highlights, don't they?). The texture of the paper you choose is important. And I use a hard charcoal pencil (HB) for control. A softer charcoal I find harder to control the lighter tones especially. And I don't ever smudge the charcoal. I'm not philosophically against smudging, I've known some great smudgers in my time (I was even once a smudger, I freely admit it) - it's one way of doing it - it's just not useful for what I'm currently after. The only reason I opt for charcoal instead of graphite is I love the deep rich matte blacks that you can get. And when you succeed wildly with this way of working, I expect at least part of the "blame!" :exclamati

That's a great question, Mike. I don't know what it is! :bewildere It comes with these little charcoal sets (2 or 3 charcoal pencils and the white one) and it says "charcoal white" but I always thought charcoal had to be made of something burnt (?) (Someone help me if I'm way off on this.) It's a little like a white colored pencil, but it's not waxy like colored pencils. Is it white conte? Precisely what it's made of, I don't have a clue. I guess I need to do some research. Pardon my ignorance.

Working the whites on this one was the trickiest part. I'm not used to using so much white, I thought I was really overdoing it. If I was to do it again, I'd try to see if I could get away with less white.

Wow! That's all I can think of!! What brand charcoal pencils do you use and what paper is this?? Really beaufitul detail.

Thanks for the detail. I'd also like to know the brand of paper. I'm doing a charcoal piece right now and using Canson sky-blue paper, smooth side. I'm smudging like crazy tho, just a test, I'm picking up dust with my tortillion, and using it as some type of brush. It's working ok, I hope.

David

Another wonderful piece.

I've never used charcoal and this is inspiring me to try, especially as I want to start using oils and graphite isn't recommended as part of the under painting process. Any tips for someone who has never used charcoal before? Have you used pastels? Is it similar? I didn't even know you could get hard or soft pencils in charcoal. Time to browse the art supply store me thinks. Any major do

Patricia, I use "General's" brand charcoal pencils. I've never really tried any other, but these seem to work fine, and they come in different grades. And their white pencils have a good feel to them. The paper: :) I think it was a Canson, but I'm not sure (sorry). It was very thin, I've never done such an involved drawing on such thin paper, it just seemed so fragile. All I know is I fell in love with the color, a beautiful shade of green. I'm going to use it again and I'll let you know exactly what it was when I get some more.

Jimmie, I'd really love to see what you come up with. I'm sure it will be great.

Kevin, thanks for the warm reply. I hesitate to give any advice because what might be a "don't" for me may be a "do" for you. I think you just need to dive right in and try several shades/tints of paper. I have found that the value and color of the paper (as well as it's texture) make a huge difference. I've done 4 of these now and each one was a completely different experience due to the (sometimes subtle) differences in the paper. I've abandoned a few when the particular paper wasn't happenin' for me.

I haven't done any pastels in ages, but I am curious to do one again at some point.

David

David, this is a fantastic drawing! It's very beautifully done. My first thought when seeing it was that it was an etching. The fact that you don't smudge your charcoal probably contributes to this effect.

Re: your thoughts about changing the paper for drawings:
I had the same thought today while painting in oil on a new type of linen panel. Everything was incredibly different (and in my case, not in a good way). It's odd how changing the ground for artwork manages to change everything.

I'm really enjoying seeing all the wonderful drawings showing up on the Forum these days.

David,

Thanks for the fuel. What a boost of creative energy you have given me.

:thumbsup:

Janel