Rick writes: "I started drawing as a kid and continued through college, but then went almost fifteen years without doing any drawing at all. In December of 2004, I started drawing again, and discovered charcoal pencils. I love how they give me the ability to draw a wider range of shades. I did this drawing as a gift for my Brother's 50th birthday. Initially, I had planned to choose a
single photo to work from, but none of them seemed interesting enough alone, so I combined them
into this composite drawing. I was extremely pleased with how it turned out. I spent approximately seven hours on it. "
Helen's Comment:Very nice, Rick. I like the very strong darks that you've been able to obtain with the charcoal - one of the things I like about the medium. You've also controlled the tonal range well, with a good balance and gradual transition of value. With charcoal its easy to be 'on or off' and miss those subtle three-quarter and lighter tones that are important in modeling form. You've also managed to keep the detail crisp - something I find rather challenging with charcoal!