I was fond of art since my childhood…..participated in art competitions in school and college days… Now working in the fields like Live Portraits, Portraits from Photographs and painting in different media… specially Charcoal, pencil and soft pastel. Some of the paintings were published in a magazine “God Bless Our Home”. Had worked for illustration works in novels also…
You can visit my studio to view any art work in flesh before you proceed with a commission. I will be more than happy to welcome you.
I feel lucky as I have got my passion as my career. Don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything specific you are looking for… Hope you enjoyed browsing my website
In Fine Art, a portrait can be a sculpture, a painting, a form of photography or any other representation of a person, in which the face is the main theme. Traditional easel-type portraits usually depict the sitter head-and-shoulders, half-length, or full-body. There are several varieties of portraits, including: the traditional portrait of an individual, a group portrait, or a self portrait. In most cases, the picture is specially composed in order to portray the character and unique attributes of the subject.
Artists' charcoal is a form of dry art medium made of finely ground organic materials that are held together by a gum or wax binder or produced without the use of binders by eliminating the oxygen inside the material during the production process. These charcoals are often used by artists for their versatile properties, such as the rough texture that leaves marks less permanent than other art media. Charcoal can produce lines that are very light or intensely black, while being easily removable, yet vulnerable to leaving stains on paper. The dry medium can be applied to almost any surface from smooth to very coarse. Fixatives are often used with charcoal drawings to solidify the position to prevent erasing or rubbing off of charcoal dusts
There are various types and uses of charcoal as an art medium, but the commonly used types are: Compressed, Vine, and Pencil.
Compressed charcoal (also referred as charcoal sticks) is shaped into a block or a stick. Intensity of the shade is determined by hardness. The amount of gum or wax binders used during the production process affects the hardness, softer producing intensely black markings while firmer leaves light markings.
Vine charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning sticks or vines in a kiln without air. The removable properties of vine charcoal through dusting and erasing are favored by artists for making preliminary sketches or basic compositions. This also makes vine charcoal less suitable for creating detailed images.
Charcoal pencils consist of compressed charcoal enclosed in a jacket of wood. Designed to be similar to graphite pencils while maintaining most of the properties of charcoal, they are often used for fine and crisp detailed drawings, while keeping the user's hand from being marked.
Other types of artists' charcoal such as charcoal crayons were developed during the 19th century and used by caricaturists. Charcoal powders are used to create patterns and pouncing, a transferring method of patterns from one surface to another Paper used with artists' charcoal can vary in quality. Rough texture may allow more charcoal to adhere to the paper. The use of toned paper allows different possibilities as white oil pastels (commonly referred to by the brand name Conte) can be used in combination with charcoal to create contrast.
Hatching is a method in which thin, dark lines are continuously placed parallel to each-other. When done with charcoal, it comes out smoother and darker.
Rubbing is done with a sheet of paper pressed against the targeted surface then rubbing charcoal against the paper. It creates an image of the texture of the surface
Blending is done to create smooth transitions between darker and lighter areas of a drawing. It can also create a shadow effect. Two common methods of blending are, using a finger to rub or spread charcoal which has been applied to the paper or the use of paper blending stumps also called a Tortillon. Many prefer to use a chamois, which is a soft square piece of leather.
Erasing is often performed with a kneaded rubber eraser. This is a malleable eraser that is often claimed to be self-cleaning. It can be shaped by kneading it softly with hands, into tips for smaller areas or flipped inside out to clean.
Pastel sticks or crayons consist of pure powdered pigment combined with a binder. The exact composition and characteristics of an individual pastel stick depends on the type of pastel and the type and amount of binder used. It also varies by individual manufacturer.
Dry pastels have historically used binders such as gum Arabic and gum tragacanth. Methyl cellulose was introduced as a binder in the twentieth century. Often a chalk or gypsum component is present. They are available in varying degrees of hardness, the softer varieties being wrapped in paper.