Three 10 minute Charcoals

Lon Haverly · 04-19-2002, 04:22 AM

This is what I do in charcoal. These are 18" x 24" on Strathmore charcoal paper. I use 1/8 and 1/4" soft vine charcoal. These are live sittings, and I limit myself to ten minutes.

Lon Haverly · 04-19-2002, 04:26 AM

and. . .

Lon Haverly · 04-19-2002, 04:31 AM

and . . .

Mike McCarty · 04-19-2002, 09:55 AM

Lon that's amazing, it takes me 10 min. to get the orange juice from the carton into the glass! Do you find it difficult to slow down when you are doing work other than these quick sketches at the mall?

Lon Haverly · 04-19-2002, 12:37 PM

The truth is, Mike, I don't hurry. I have done tens of thousands of these sketches, and thay all are ten minute deals. Its just what I do. I just make each line only once, and it has to be correct. No extra lines, no fooling around. No erasing, no correcting. (That is my mind set, at least.) I try to get the most out of each stroke. My shading is done before I detail the face. I use the charcoal powder on various parts of my hand to lay in the shadows, largest ones first. Then I begin the features, and add a little shading with the stick. The long hair is done with the 1/4" stick. I sand the stick on a very sharp angle, so I have a very long point, and a very wide and flat drawing edge. This gives me lots of variety in lines, and plenty of sensitivity.

When I started this stuff, I made up my mind what could be done in ten minutes, and that was that. The clock was the dictator of my style. It has not changed at all since I started. It's not like I watch the clock at all. That's just how long they take. I realized that people would not want to pose very long.

It is a "rush" of another kind. I get nearly as much satisfaction out of this approach as I do with long drawn out projects. But I do enjoy the slow oils now.

It is the low end of the price spectrum. I get to draw for folks that ordinarilly could never buy original pieces of art. I come out making money, too. But I will probably never be in the annuls of fame for this stuff.

Mike McCarty · 04-19-2002, 05:49 PM

Quote:

It is the low end of the price spectrum. I get to draw for folks that ordinarilly could never buy original pieces of art. I come out making money, too. But I will probably never be in the annuls of fame for this stuff.

I too love making art for people who would ordinarily never encounter it. Especially if they have shown an interest or an appreciation. You have to do it discretely though (if you give it away).

Michele Rushworth · 04-19-2002, 11:20 PM

Wow - great work, especially given the time frame. I used to draw at outdoor festivals, from life (I've done several hundred that way) and I was never fast enough. The best part about your work is that each one is distinctive, too. Many of the artists I worked with at those festivals made drawings that looked so much alike that it seemed as if all the sitters were related to one another!

Karin Wells · 04-20-2002, 12:02 AM

If you go any faster, you're gonna break the speed limit and the art police will take away your licence to draw.

Seriously Lon, I'm really impressed that you can capture the essence of a sitter so quickly and with such a sure hand. I can't draw nearly this fast.

Leopoldo Benavidez · 04-20-2002, 12:13 AM

Amazing Lon! I could never accomplish such skill in such a short time. Those years in the mall have certainly perfected your eye/hand. Again amazing!..L

Lon Haverly · 04-20-2002, 12:37 AM

I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me.