A Domestika course by Laura McKendry that I recently completed started me off with charcoal. Pastels were one of the first materials I started drawing with when I was little (my mum had a stash that she let me use), but I hadn’t really used charcoal much.
While the course focused on animals (there’ll be a post on that…), I quickly decided charcoal in all its forms was something I really enjoyed: messy, workable, flexible, versatile. And also very portable, not needing much space (or being heavy) for carrying along.
We live near the finca pública Galatzó, and the boys and I love going hiking there. It’s possibly our favourite place on the island, and just on our doorstep. I also like to trail run, and started carrying a little homemade concertina book with me, along with a stick of willow charcoal, a Tombow eraser and a charcoal pencil (which neatly fit into my trail vest).
As well as a few mid-run sketching stops, I’ve been doing a few small landscape studies around where we live, although I’m nearly always drawn (no pun intended…) towards views of Galatzó, which forms the backdrop of our local countryside.
Although the studies often end up getting a bit smudged on the jog or walk back home (all adds to the story of the drawing, and I can always rework them), I’ve loved the effects and experimenting with this material. I’m also discovering that it’s helping me to move away from detailed, realistic drawings, towards capturing a more relaxed response to place.
