Scholar's Rock

Scholar's Rock

Due to unforeseen circumstances and lack of studio opportunity, my painting has recently been curtailed. 
In the meantime I turned instead to experimenting with drawing media and techniques that are less familiar to me.

This is the first stage of a charcoal...a WIP or work in progress.
(you can click on images to view them larger)

This image is loosely based on a rock formation called a "Scholar's Rock".  

These formations are found mostly in China in areas such as Lake Taihu, and are greatly prized as objects of meditation and contemplation.
They are considered to be objects of great aesthetic value throughout the world.  Many are found here in gardens and in major museums from Boston to San Francisco.

This is not done with charcoal pencils or sticks...but rather with charcoal dust directly drawn with my finger.  Occasionally I use a blending stump or an eraser as a drawing tool.

Rather than producing the darks and lights with instruments or pencils, I prefer sinking in the dark areas with hands and fingers. 

This way, I get more of a feeling of building and molding the nooks and crannies rather than "reproducing" them!