10 Reasons to Buy Charcoal Drawing (Right Now)

Charcoal drawing is one of the art mediums used by the artist to gain natural art. We are going to look for good reasons to buy a charcoal drawing. Being an old school romantic is what everyone wants nowadays in any artistic field and when it comes to drawing why to hold back for even one drawing. It’s time to take a step ahead towards being an old school and choose charcoal drawing for obvious reasons.

Artist’ charcoal is made up of finely ground organic material which is held together by a gum or wax or it can even be held together by eliminating the oxygen during the production process. It is a dry art medium.

Why Charcoal is so special?

The reason behind why the artist chose charcoal drawing is one of its versatility. It brings out the rough textures whose marks are less permanent than other visual arts. These charcoal lines are vulnerable to leave any marks on paper and they draw lines that are either intensely dark or light hence, which is easy to erase. We can apply this form of drawing on almost any surface from smooth to coarse. With charcoal drawing also comes fixation to prevent erasing or rubbing off of charcoal clouds of dust.

The method to produce artists’ charcoal is similar to producing gunpowder and cooking fuel. The type of wooden material and the method of preparation gives us a variety of types of charcoal and textures to be produced. So, this is also a reason to buy a charcoal drawing.

Types Of Charcoal For Art

As an art medium, there are various types and uses of charcoal but the main ones are the vine, willow, compressed, and charcoal pencils.

Vine Charcoal

Vine charcoal is made up of burning grapevines in a kiln without air. It is a long and thin charcoal stick.

Willow Charcoal

It is a product form by burning willow stick in a kiln without air. It is a long and thin charcoal stick.

The willow and vine properties of charcoal which involve removable characteristics which are liked by the artists for making a base for the painting or preliminary sketches. The detailed images cannot be drawn out with such charcoals.

Compressed Charcoal

It is also referred to as a charcoal stick and is shaped into a block or stick. Hardness defines the intensity of the shade. The quantity of wax or gum binders used during the production process affects hardness. Softer producing intensely dark markings while the firmer produce light markings.

Charcoal Pencils

This consists of compressed charcoal which is enclosed in a jacket of wood. It is designed in a similar way to graphite pencils. They maintain most of the properties of charcoal which are often used for fine and crisp detailing drawings.

During the 19th century, other types of charcoal artists’ charcoal were developed such as charcoal crayons and were used by caricaturists. No other form of charcoal is charcoal powders which are used to create patterns and pouncing which is a transferring method of a pattern from one surface to another.

Depending upon the proportion of ingredients we are mixing we have wide variations in artists’ charcoal.

A composition like the compressed charcoal from burned birch, lamp black pigment, clay, and a little quantity of ultramarine. The longer we take the mixture to be heated, the softer it becomes.

Now considering these charcoal types of an art medium we are going to look for good reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

1- Have Been In Use Since Ages:

Charcoal drawing being an old school is such an important form of artist’s medium to make art. Charcoal drawing has been in use for more than thousands of years like we all are familiar with famous ancient cave drawings. We can see these cave drawings around all over the world from Europe to Australia and Southeast Asia.

The charcoal drawing is drawn in these walls of the cave. For binders, different types of earth materials and bones were used and were mixed with the saliva or animal fat so that these drawings stuck to the cave wall. So, it is considered one of the good reasons to buy a charcoal drawing.

The reasons behind these drawings are still unknown to us, we don’t know whether these drawings carry some rituals meaning or just they have been used for as a decorative item. Whatever the reason it may carry with itself it is good for us that only after ten thousand years later we do admire those charcoal drawing on the cave walls. The most famous of all cave drawings that we know are the drawings of rhinos and horses that came into existence in the Cave in France.

These are the European Cave Drawing made over thirty thousand years back.

2- Nature’s Gift:

Another thing that is good about charcoal drawing is that it is a gift of nature and is safe for our health and environment. For using charcoal as a drawing material it is used in its purest form that is made from the branches of the willow tree or the sections of grapevines. These trees are burnt to an appropriate degree of hardness, thus eliminating the oxygen inside the wood.

One of the important points that you have to be careful about charcoal drawing is that when drawing with charcoal it can produce dust. So, to be very careful about it you should not blow off the dust with your mouth because in that process you can inhale too. Instead of doing this, you can simply tap on the back of the paper or use a soft brush or rag to wipe out the dust.

3- Efficient In Price:

To draw with charcoal it’s not necessary to hold any fancy tools or any expensive tools. Charcoal is not expensive at all like we can buy a pack of thirty Willow charcoal sticks for less than 5 dollars. To your charcoal stick add kneaded eraser and knife to sharpen your equipment. This is a great reason to buy a charcoal drawing. Book My Painting provides various budget-friendly options to buy from.

 

4- Learning Medium:

With charcoal drawing, we can learn how to work with tonal values. The total value or simply value is the term used in the art which means how light or dark something is. If the tone of the object is light, it appears to be closer and if the tone is dark, it appears to be darker.

Tonal Value is one of the most fundamental concepts in visual arts because this can be used to create depth or a 3-dimensional effect. Example- the tip of the nose is usually made light because it is sticking out. Charcoal is a great way to learn how the tonal values work because charcoal doesn’t have any color of its own. It is black most of the time and even comes out grey sometimes. And, the learning medium is among good reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

5- Versatility

We can use different methods to create and get different looks with charcoal drawings.

Example- we can use Willow and Vine charcoal stick flat on the side to create broader strokes or we can use charcoal pencils to make thinner lines. We can make smooth charcoal with a rag and can also create a lot of many types of textures. We can combine all these with tools like erasers, brushes, and rags and different types of papers to bring out different and cool textures all based upon your imagination. Making it good reasons to buy a charcoal drawing.

6- It’s All About Look:

Nothing gives precious look to the picture drawn on the canvas more than choosing a charcoal form of drawing.

Though being an old school this form of art somehow manages to get a rich look from its textures.

Charcoal pencils or charcoals are nothing less than liquid pencil color drawings which creates paint-like texture. The look and feel for this are completely different. This charcoal drawing gives a natural feel to the viewers. Natural look and feel make it a good reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

7- Mix And Match:

For a mix-match, we can mix graphite and charcoal to bring out the texture from the picture. For volume drawings and bold strokes drawing charcoal would be the best form for drawing pictures. Examples are wood, mountains, the bark of a tree, hair, fur, shadow, and many more.

8- Vulnerable:

Charcoal drawing being one of the most famous forms of art still is vulnerable to permanent marks on paper.

Charcoal pencils never leave permanent stain marks on the paper. They are vulnerable and can be easily removable with erasers, rag or even a slice of bed could do it. Again, making it among reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

9- Mess-Free:

Like other forms of art such as watercolor drawings, liquid sketch pen drawings, oil painting, and pastel painting this charcoal drawing is much mess-free than the other ones listed above. Like while watercolor drawing we get all out messy after completing it or when we are in the midway to complete it but there is nothing like in the case of charcoal drawing. This is a form of dry art. Again, making it among reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

10- Movable

It’s easy to carry away with you for example on vacation or a trip with you or somewhere you would love to draw. You don’t need many tools to carry away with you and it is also lightweight. You only have to take canvas or any drawing paper, charcoal pencil or sticks, erasers, and knife for sharpening your tools. Since it is a dry form of art so unlike paint it doesn’t require any drying time. Again, making it among reasons to buy the charcoal drawing.

Conclusion

With all the reasons listed above for buying charcoal drawing, you can have a great look at the www.bookmypainting.com and you will get a lot of paintings to buy at an effective price. There are other forms of art that you can gift to your loved ones or can buy for your good like for decorative purposes.

Can a charcoal painting be gifted on birthdays and weddings?

Yes, you can gift a realistic charcoal painting on such occasions and make recipient's day memorable.

What is better graphite or charcoal?

Charcoal is better if you want a very defined drawing that doesn't reflect in the light. Because of better qualities charcoal is more preferred by artists.

What is the best paper for charcoal drawing?

Canson Mi-Teintes, Canson Ingres, Strathmore 500 series & Fabriano Tiziano are popular choices.