Charcoal Portraits — Hand-Drawn on Paper From Your Photo

Charcoal takes colour out of the equation and leaves form and light. A charcoal portrait is drawn in blacks and greys with the paper itself as the brightest light, and it suits subjects with strong structure — a horse’s head, a sighthound, a face lit from a window, a grandparent from a black-and-white photograph. It is quiet, quick to frame and the most economical medium we offer.

What it does well

Tone. Directional light in the reference photo — a window to one side, a low sun — gives charcoal everything it needs, and a black-and-white photograph is already half the work. On toned paper, white chalk can add the highlights on a nose, a catchlight, a rim of light on an ear. What charcoal cannot do is colour: a ginger cat becomes a mid-grey cat, and for a subject whose colour is the point, oil or acrylic is the better choice.

Fixing, framing and shipping

The finished drawing is sprayed with fixative and shipped flat between rigid boards, or in a wide tube for very large sheets. It should be framed behind glass — any framer can do it — and handled by the edges until then.

Price and trade

Charcoal is priced by size, number of subjects and medium at a single level of finish, and is usually the most economical way to commission a portrait. Trade buyers — framers especially — order charcoal portraits from one piece at trade pricing.