Charcoal is one of the oldest of all art mediums. The dark grey material can be applied to virtually any surface, and artists have used it for a diverse range of image making. This post brings together 10 examples of dazzling charcoal art, monochrome pictures to amaze and inspire.
1. Three (Leonel Cunha)
Leonel Cunha is a Portuguese artist and illustrator who has produced many series of brilliant charcoal drawings, including a group of portraits laid on brightly coloured backgrounds of which this is a great example.
2. Velha Indiana (Andre Sumida)
Artist Andre Sumida presents a characterful portrait of a weather-beaten face.
3. Untitled (Leonel Cunha)
This is another fine charcoal drawing from artist Leonel Cunha, one example from a series of images of sleeping men.
4. Nude Study (Karl Schultz)
With a lightness of touch, and a few deft strokes of charcoal, artist Karl Schultz captures the foreshortened figure of a recumbent male.
5. Bust (Dave Kleinschmidt)
Artist Dave Kleinschmidt drew this study of a classical bust using charcoal and white Conté crayon.
6. Looking: Snowshoe (ItsPressing)
The artist created these semi-abstract charcoal drawings gazing down at her feet in the snow at a bus stop, taking inspiration from the work of contemporary American painter Susan Rothenberg.
7. Portraits (Clutter by Andy Mangold)
Artist and designer Andy Mangold created these brilliant interior studies with charcoal on paper.
8. Solipsist: Will (Phillip Adams)
Philadelphia-based artist Phillip Adams created a series of portraits with the subjects isolated on blank paper, the only hint at their surroundings being the reflections seen in their aviator shades.
9. Bird in Box (Aaron Michel)
10. Wall Painting (Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada is a Cuban-American artist who has created a series of vast charcoal portraits of anonymous subjects on the walls of buildings in various cities, including this face on a fa√ßade in Barcelona. The drawings’ decay and erosion in the elements is an essential part of his practice.
This is a guest post by James Adams He is excited about art and design and is currently a writer and designer at an online print cartridge specialist where he covers the latest developments in tech and posts about art, advertising and design on their blog.
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