Charcoal is my Poison.........

For as long as I can remember I have always enjoyed being creative. Drawing, scrapbooking, painting, the whole lot, I loved it. But I have always had this extra inclination to charcoal and sketching. I like the idea of being able to make a mistake and use that to make my drawing more authentic to who I am and perhaps to who I want to become.

Today was the first time I have picked up my charcoal pencil in so long, and yet it felt...... perfect. I have been trying to increase my skills in painting that my sketches for the last 6 months have fallen to the side. Today it felt like me again. I love paining too, but I truly feel at home with myself when putting charcoal to paper.

Todays sketch was not perfect, far from it. It was messy and full of mistakes and when I look at it now thats it's finished I want to change so much of it. But I won't, because to me its not about having a perfectly structured piece with all the proportions right and the shading spot on. Its about losing myself in it for the hour or so that it takes to do the piece. I always find I have a greater perspective after I have relaxed and let go.

And I did that today.

What Inspires me...........

I don't claim to be an amazing artist or even a good one. Pure and simple, Art is an outlet for me. Sometimes I don't paint or draw for weeks, I have tried in the past to sketch something or start a painting when my mind is full but I havent been able too; the end product has never looked good. For me my best work comes when I am free of my thoughts and feeling inspiration.


One thing I like to do when I am feeling all bottled up with the struggles of everyday life is go for a walk. Its amazing the clarity and inspiration that can come from being with nature. Just experiencing how the breeze blows against your face and the total calmness just breathing brings to my muddled up thoughts. I always find that when I get back from a walk my mind is cleared and I can suddenly see and feel my emotions clearer and then when I pick up some charcoal or a paint brush everything feels just right.


I like to look at other peoples work, and by that I don't necessarily mean the classics from Van Gogh - although that can be inspirational too - I actually like to search for work by people who are less well known. So many of my favourite pieces are from people with whom I don't even know there real name. Instagram, Youtube and Twitter are just a few places where I found pieces that have tugged on my emotional and creative side. Sometimes even more inspirational to me is when people put up a half done piece. You can see the work that they need to do to finish but more importantly you can see the work they've done, and the thought and the process they've gone through and that at times makes me feel more than looking at a finished piece.


One of my favourite quotes is by Duane Hanson:

"Art doesn't have to be pretty; it just has to be meaningful"

I agree with that wholeheartedly. Although I think that not every piece that I do is going to relate to everyone I hope that with each piece a person looking at it would be able to derive some sort of emotion from it.


Let me know what your thoughts are....