Starting Out Right

A short update for all of my faithful readers: To begin the new year, I’ve made some changes. Having experienced a huge amount of artistic growth within the past year, I’m now at the point where I’ve begun getting commissions for portraiture. In order to present myself more professionally, I’ve completely redesigned the website and made it a bit more focused. The gallery section has also been updated with work that is more recent and best describes my artistic abilities at present. Please have a look using the links on the right-hand column and feel free to leave comments if you like what you see. More work coming soon… Thanks all!

- Daniel R. Hanawalt

Rather Simple, Isn’t It?

Yes, I know this sounds like a simple, basic thing, but for those of us who don’t have someone at hand to show us how it’s done, understanding how to sharpen vine or willow charcoal can be quite confusing. When I first began considering the Bargue Drawing Course, I was surprised at how difficult it was to track down this information. In the end, I don’t remember exactly where I got hold of the proper info, but it took me a long time. That said, I’m hoping this post will be of use to some poor, struggling artist somewhere.

Use the Right Materials

Vine Charcoal Drawing Supplies - clockwise from left: vine charcoal in various densities, chamois, film canister for storing charcoal dust, kneaded eraser, sharpening block, vine charcoal stick

For the most optimal conditions with which to do a drawing in vine charcoal, it’s important to have a few key supplies. First and foremost, you’ll obviously need some vine charcoal, which can be found at any art supply or craft store. It comes in a range of densities, from hard to very soft, and is relatively inexpensive. It’s best to purchase the range of densities and experiment a bit with it until you find the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The softer the charcoal, for example, the easier it is to erase. If you’re like me and make lots of mistakes you may want to try this out first. The only downside to the softer vine sticks is that they dull rapidly and require a lot of sharpening, which can be annoying when you’re in the middle of a drawing and prefer to keep moving.

For erasing, or lifting charcoal off the paper, a combination of a kneaded eraser and a piece of chamois leather works very well. You can find a chamois in the automotive section of most grocery and/or department stores (they are commonly used for washing vehicles). You can cut pieces off it as you have need – a piece approximately 6″ square will be sufficient.

For the actual sharpening of the charcoal sticks, you will need a sandpaper sharpening block which, again, can be found at most art supply or craft stores. Essentially, it’s a small wooden block with strips of sandpaper stapled to it. As each sheet of sandpaper gets saturated with charcoal dust, you can just tear it off and throw it away. You won’t need to do this too often, though, with vine charcoal, as it tends to fall off the sandpaper rather than saturate it. This leads me to another key supply – an empty film canister (or similar container) to store charcoal dust in. Why save the dust? It can be very useful for doing subtractive drawings, which involve laying down a rubbing of charcoal dust on paper, erasing out highlights, and darkening shadows. The best way I’ve found to collect the dust is to sharpen your charcoal sticks over a piece of vellum or tracing paper (you’ll need a very smooth surface). When you’re done with your drawing session, just roll up the paper a bit and funnel it into your container for later use. By the way, the going rate for a container of powdered charcoal is about $9.00, so you’ll be saving a good deal of money if you follow this method. Smart…

The Process

place the charcoal on the block at a 45-degree angle

roll the charcoal while rubbing across the block

Ok – you’ve got your supplies and a healthy dose of enthusiasm. Now you’re ready to start drawing! To sharpen a stick of vine charcoal, you’ll want to hold your sandpaper sharpening block in your weak hand and the charcoal in your dominant hand. Place one of the ends of the charcoal stick on your sharpening block at a 45-degree (or greater) angle. Push the charcoal away from you along the sandpaper, rolling it slightly between your index finger and thumb to ensure a nice round, even point. The point should be a long taper and not a short stubby one. That’s about it – easy!

Has the information at the Home-Based Atelier helped you? Consider donating to help offset the costs of maintaining this website.

Assessing Your Needs

Setting up an in-home art studio need not be a daunting task, nor should you feel like you’ll have to forget about this year’s vacation in order to fund it. In order for it to meet your artistic needs, you will have to decide what you’re going to be doing with your new studio space. Are you envisioning painting large canvases or working from a live model? Do you wish to start small and work mainly from smaller subjects or photographs? Do you want to be able to set up a still-life and work from it over time? These are all important questions to ask yourself before deciding on a space.

The ideal qualities of an art studio are ample floor space, high ceilings (over 7 ft. if possible), large, north-facing windows (allowing for the most consistent natural light all day long), and plenty of ventilation to allow fresh air to pass through. Of course, most of us don’t have the luxury of picking out the perfect space. If you’re like me, you have to work with what you’ve got, which sometimes isn’t very much. No worries – I hope to show you that even a small space, while certainly not the perfect scenario, can still be of great use.

Understanding Your Limitations, and Overcoming Them

my humble "studio"...

I sometimes think of my current art-making space as the “lowest common denominator” in terms of a successful studio. I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my wife and two cats, and my “studio” is the corner of our bedroom (roughly 5 ft. x 6 ft. with a standard 7 ft. ceiling). Regardless of these limitations, I have still managed to come up with a solution to continue working on my skills using traditional methods. All it takes is some creative organizational thinking and a well thought out plan on what kind of work you’re going to be doing. For example, my setup is different for painting than it is for drawing, but doesn’t require too much effort to convert the space.

Making the Most of What You’ve Got

Let me be the first to offer this encouragement: No matter how “non-ideal” your conditions may be, it is safe to say that you can still produce great art, no matter what the circumstances. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe anything different. Your success lies in your commitment level – not the layout of your studio space. Besides, technological innovation has been kind to the art world, in that we have less-toxic and more conumer-friendly art materials available for those that are limited by their surroundings. The first time I opened a small bottle of pure turpentine in my bedroom I immediately realized that I was going to have to find an alternative. Thankfully, petroleum-based odorless mineral spirits were a perfectly acceptable substitute. Precautions still need to be taken when working with any kind of chemicals, but at least I knew that I wasn’t going to die in my sleep the following night!

At the end of the day what is important is that you’ve got a space that meets your basic needs and doesn’t cause disruption in the lives of those who share the space with you. (My wife and I have had several “discussions” about the space-limitations of my studio over the past year…) Living in harmony with those around you is important to being able to stay motivated and focused. If you follow these simple steps I’m sure that you will be able to find a suitable space in which to work comfortably and efficiently.

Finding the Path

Becoming a proficient artist is no easy task – especially if one wants to develop a realistic style and practice figurative painting and drawing. This, however, is the path I wish to take. In fact, I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time – I just haven’t had a clear roadmap to guide me to some realistic goals. If you’ve read “The Reason for This Blog” tab above then you know that I have had formal training at an American college of art and design. Regarding the traditional arts of drawing and painting, however, I have found that there are serious gaps in my technical knowledge that I must fill in order to practice the type of art that I desire to create. To practice realism requires dedication, study, and above all practice, practice, practice…

First Steps

For the past two years I’ve been reading books and slowly gaining new bits of wisdom that have allowed me to understand some practical steps that I can take in order to improve my skills. First of all, I have been out of practice at drawing from life. Whether we’re talking about a full-on life-drawing class, or just taking a sketchbook to the local café, it’s important to stay engaged in this discipline, and I mean to work on improving this as I progress with these posts. Secondly, I’ve discovered some methods that can help develop the artist’s “eye” in order to see and understand his subject better. I will touch more on these specific methods as I proceed.

The Road Widens

I’m walking now… One foot in front of the other… In order for this journey to be worth stepping out the front door, I’ve got to maintain a pace that will lead me ever onward. I’m going to need to be disciplined, to be willing to keep walking even when I feel tired, to be able to make a decision when I reach a crossroads and keep moving forward. Did I mention that I already work a full-time job? Yes, there will be times that I’ll be tempted to sit down by the roadside and consider whether it is worth the toil and aggravation to keep going. In these moments, a healthy dose of reality is always a good rememdy. The reality is – creating artwork is very fulfilling and I’ve been blessed with the skill and ability to do so. To waste this talent would be shameful. For those of you who are fellow artisans and art-lovers, I do hope you will join me in this journey. The open road can be a lonely place, and, as a wiser man than I once said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”