Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Charcoal Portraits from Photographs
    Charcoal Portraits from Photographs
    Charcoal Portraits from Photographs
    Ebook166 pages1 hour

    Charcoal Portraits from Photographs

    By Talbot Cox

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Talbot Coxs easy-to-read guide is more than just another portrait book. This is a practical self-help guide for the novice portrait artist with little or no experience of portraiture.
    Talbot has years of experience in giving workshops on creating charcoal portraits from photographs. His work with students and his own experiences attending workshops with renowned artists the world over have equipped him with the insight required to set budding artists on their way.
    Facial features are analyzed in terms that are easy to understand.
    Creating the portrait is demonstrated step by step.
    The text is illustrated with about one hundred images.
    The book is ideal for beginners, but experienced artists too will pick up new techniques and ideas and gain valuable insight.
    And to amuse and inspire, the text includes a good store of anecdotes and homilies.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPartridge Publishing Africa
    Release dateNov 21, 2015
    ISBN9781482825329
    Charcoal Portraits from Photographs
    Author

    Talbot Cox

    Talbot Cox, CAIB, FIB, AEP (Unisa) was a successful banker before embracing art as a profession on his retirement in 1999. He established himself as a portrait and fine art artist and has had many exhibitions, live demonstrations, and workshops. Talbot is multitalented: he is a classically trained musician and has played the double bass in the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra for some years. His varied interests include sailing and philately (in which field his gold-class collection has won international honors). He is a keen golfer, an inveterate traveler, and an ardent armchair sports fan. Talbot is also a published author. His recent book Senior Moments (ISBN 978-0-620-45411-7) has been well received. Talbot and his wife, Elyse, renovated two historical cottages adjacent to each other on the magical cliffs of Schoenmakerskop, overlooking the sea. They share Seashell Cottage with two dogs, a cat, and a multitude of birds, and Periwinkle Cottage is where Talbot has his studio and gallery. They have four children and four grandchildren. www.talbotportraits.co.za

    Related to Charcoal Portraits from Photographs

    Related ebooks

    Crafts & Hobbies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      The Art Of Nathan Fowkes

      Jun 4, 2024

      The Art Of Nathan Fowkes
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Love For Realism

      Oct 18, 2020

      A Love For Realism
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Flesh TONES

      Nov 26, 2021

      Flesh TONES
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Pencils Poised Please

      May 13, 2020

      Pencils Poised Please
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Draw Heads From Observation

      Oct 2, 2020

      Draw Heads From Observation
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Life drawing IN PASTEL PENCIL

      Apr 14, 2022

      Life drawing IN PASTEL PENCIL
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Figurative Image

      May 24, 2019

      Figurative Image
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Hatching and Crosshatching

      Jun 7, 2018

      Hatching and Crosshatching
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Colour With Confidence

      Nov 18, 2022

      Colour With Confidence
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      MINDFUL Portraits

      Aug 7, 2020

      MINDFUL Portraits
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Pencil Portraits

      Oct 20, 2022

      Pencil Portraits
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Sketching In The Field

      Jul 15, 2022

      Sketching In The Field
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Suspicion and Disguise

      Aug 10, 2023

      Suspicion and Disguise
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Passion for Portraits

      Sep 27, 2018

      Passion for Portraits
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      13. Master Hands

      Nov 27, 2020

      13. Master Hands
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Portraits WITH LIFE

      Nov 29, 2019

      Portraits WITH LIFE
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Shades of Grey

      Oct 25, 2019

      Shades of Grey
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Pastel Pencils

      Oct 18, 2019

      Pastel Pencils
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Sketchbook

      Nov 25, 2022

      Sketchbook
      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Art of Drawing

      May 17, 2018

      Contributed Drawing forms the cornerstone of every artist’s practice and is presently experiencing a resurgence in popularity as an artform in its own right. Whether your work is trendy or traditional, two-dimensional or sculptural, the humble pencil

      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Pet Penciller

      Jun 7, 2024

      The Pet Penciller
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Back to Life

      May 14, 2021

      Back to Life
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Loomis METHOD

      Oct 29, 2021

      The Loomis METHOD
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Life Drawing In Soft Pastel

      Mar 18, 2022

      Life Drawing In Soft Pastel
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Learn To Draw What You See

      Jul 10, 2020

      Learn To Draw What You See
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Drawing Architecture

      Sep 20, 2024

      Drawing Architecture
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Layered PORTRAIT

      Oct 29, 2021

      Layered PORTRAIT
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Charcoal Portraits from Photographs

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Charcoal Portraits from Photographs - Talbot Cox

      Copyright © 2015 by Talbot Cox.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      www.partridgepublishing.com/africa

      Contents

      Dedication

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction

      1. The Portrait

      2. Charcoal and Paper

      3. Children

      4. The Head

      5. The Eye

      6. The Nose

      7. The Mouth

      8. The Ear

      9. Hair (and Facial Hair)

      10. The Neck

      11. Photography

      12. Placement of the Portrait

      13. Doing the Portrait

      14. Framing and Hanging

      15. Finis

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to my darling wife Elyse with all my love.

      Elyse, in gratitude for her encouragement, coffee, a shoulder to cry on, more coffee, love, more coffee, and so much more.

      Acknowledgements

      • To Elyse Cox and Pine Pienaar of Pine Grove Studios for the photography.

      • To Michele Brooks for assisting with the diagrams and for her friendly support.

      • To Gawie du Toit for the layout and editing and his friendly advice given at all times.

      Introduction

      Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so. — B. DAVIS

      I have for some years been giving workshops on creating charcoal portraits from photographs. The enthusiasm of the participants and their successes, often beyond their wildest dreams, has inspired me to write this book. It has been compiled drawing from my own experiences:

      • with many aspiring artists;

      • of painting and attending workshops with portrait artists of renown all over the world, but in particular in America and South Africa;

      • as a portrait artist;

      • derived from the study of many books and DVDs on the art of portraiture.

      The book is aimed at the novice portrait artist with little or no experience of portraiture. However, I do believe that there is much here that the experienced portrait artist may also find useful.

      I do not aim to focus on the traditional way of getting the likeness. The correct positioning of the facial features and getting the proportions right are extremely difficult for the novice artist. These skills encompass a vast field of study and application over many years. Does this then mean that a credible portrait is not possible for the vast majority of artists? No, I say. By simply using a photocopier, anyone can copy the photograph’s salient points onto paper. Especially for the novice portrait artist, this takes away the pain of getting the features of the face in the right positions.

      Placing the features correctly for the likeness, although vitally important, is only a part of the challenge of rendering a portrait. Completing the chiaroscuro, the tonal values and all the other detail that goes into painting a successful portrait takes a lot of close attention, expertise and time. Even now, success does not come easily. Only with practice, dedicated application and lots of passion will the artist start to see amazing results. This book will show you how. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. With diligent application even someone who has never sketched before, can achieve credible success. And, if it whets your enthusiasm to do more, improving your skills as you continue, then this book has been a worthwhile investment.

      And before I get threatened with all sorts of dire consequences because I advocate the use of photocopies — It is not art!, I hear you say; You are prostituting the art form! Balderdash! I say. Do you for one minute think the old masters such as Rembrandt would not have used modern technology and photographs had these been available in their day? In fact, Da Vinci wrote about the camera obscura five hundred years ago.

      Use your imagination not to scare yourself to death but to inspire yourself to life. — ADELE BROOKMAN

      Let me also say immediately that I accept fully that a formal portrait demands the artist’s interpretation of what is seen, and that this is negated by a slavish copy of the likeness using a

      photocopy. And yes, I have done many portraits from real life and know full well that there is a spontaneity which is somehow lost when working from a photograph. Believe me, standing in a busy shopping complex doing charcoal portraits from life under the critical scrutiny of interested bystanders, soon sharpens your skills. Not for the faint-hearted, especially when a young precocious boy one day was heard to say loudly to the great amusement of all: Dad, is that supposed to look like her?

      Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a world of good. — CENNINO CENNINI

      Working from photographs tends to produce a tightness into the portrait. However, drawing the outline from a photocopy will ensure that the features and shadows are placed correctly. This is only a small part of the portrait. It’s what happens thereafter, when the shading and tonal values are rendered, that determines whether the portrait is to be successful or not. This is where your skill as a portrait artist will be stretched to the full.

      I agree entirely that the indefinable quality that a true portrait artist brings to the portrait can be achieved only if the subject sits for the artist. Working from real life is the hallmark of the true portrait artist and yes, nothing can ever usurp that. But until your experience has developed to that level of competency, use photocopies.

      Our objective is a good portrait. The flip side, for the beginner especially, will be an inordinate amount of time and effort expended in just getting the features placed correctly. Often this is where it ends, with the artist totally disillusioned with the process and the project prematurely scrapped as a failure.

      Creativity is about play and a kind of willingness to go with your intuition. It’s crucial to an artist. If you know where you are going and what you are going to do, why do it? — FRANK GEHRY

      This book is also about charcoal being used to render the portrait. I believe this medium is sadly neglected today. What a pity, as there is nothing better than rendering in black and white for learning how to use tonal values. Understanding tone is the most important factor when painting portraits and, for that matter, for all of the visual art forms as well.

      While this book is about painting the portrait from a photograph, I have also included many quotes, homilies and items to ponder. I would like to think that the book will become a constant companion and spur you on to take what you want from it and to

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1