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Charcoal Nudes
By E. J. Gold Gateways Books and Tapes
Copyright © 2009 E.J. Gold
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-89556-420-7
INTRODUCTION
THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING CHARCOAL NUDE BOOK YOU WILL EVER SEE!
Charcoal nudes are also properly called "figure drawings", but figure drawings can also be draped, clothed and partially hidden from view with objects, screens, walls, furniture and other artistic devices.
Nudes, pure and simple, are a challenge to any artist, because everyone knows what a nude should look like. In this book, all the rules are broken and yet you will see a technique here that will deliver what every artist aspires to produce -- a work of art that hits the heart and comes from the gut.
Instinct will give you the best results, plus practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute for a daily regimen of drawing, at least ten minutes a day.
Charcoal Mileage is the expression used among professional artists, just as Pencil Mileage is the watchword among graphite artists.
The more you draw the more you'll learn. Each drawing you produce is a lesson to yourself from yourself.
Don't obsess over form, exactitude, photographic images, biological precision, and, whatever you do, stay strictly away from medical textbooks and Gray's Anatomy. You need none of those to succeed as a charcoal artist.
All you really need is a knowledge of the basics — where are the pectorals? Where is the abdomen? What lines and smudges convey the most things?
Most of all, you will need a basic understanding of WHAT CHARCOAL DOES when smudged.
This depends on the PRESSURE exerted on the paper when the drawing is "laid down".
Those variations in PRESSURE of the laid-down drawing will respond differently to the variations in PRESSURE of the smudge.
When smudging, DON'T STOP IN THE MIDDLE. Keep your hand moving and keep varying the DIRECTION and PRESSURE of the smudging fingers.
Most important of all is DON'T THINK.
At first, your drawings may seem crude and "incorrect". Don't let that dismay you or stop you. Keep drawing and smudging until you "get it".
Although elusive in the beginning stages of learning this technique, you will soon discover that the facility will come "of itself" almost by osmosis as you continue to try to master the method.
If you need more help in this area, you can look online at the videos related to this charcoal method on http://www.hei-art.com under the headlines "Charcoal Techniques by E.J. Gold". You will find the "Three Pillows" videos most helpful in learning the smudging techniques and in freeing yourself from the Classical Strictures of Perspective and Proportion.
Perspective and Proportion are relics of the 17th and 18th centuries and need not interfere with the modern artist's expressions. If you happen to already have a strong Classical tendency, it can help you master this method as long as you don't obsess over detail and photographic representation.
Non-objective exercises such as the "Three Pillows" can help you immensely in grasping the E.J. Gold Charcoal Method.
Being personally free of expectation and prejudice toward Classicalism can also give you a great head-start on mastery of the E.J. Gold Method.
Be sure to read all the captions with each illustration to help yourself understand exactly how to achieve these great results. Find your way along this path. Be patient with yourself as you take the learning curve slowly upward toward Total Mastery of the Method.
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Excerpted from Charcoal Nudes by E. J. Gold. Copyright © 2009 E.J. Gold. Excerpted by permission of Gateways Books and Tapes.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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