Okay. Hey everyone. I hope everyone has had a productive (but lazy enough) Sunday! As always, welcome new subscribers!
For those of you not as familiar with Coffey House, I have a three-pronged process: Writing, drawing, and the voice-over.
I was lucky enough to meet some fellow Substackers this week who encouraged me to show some of what’s going on behind the curtain while the next chapter of Mr. Snatchum bakes. (Spoiler alert, it’s undergoing heavy revisions, but should appear soon.)
So here goes nothing: The picture above is my preferred process of drawing in charcoal by hand. It’s fun and helps create the atmosphere I’m going for. I get to finger paint and get more dimensional with objects appearing out of nothing.
So this is a raw, unfiltered view of my creative space to draw. Newspaper laid down for the inevitable chalk mess. And I believe that’s my right foot making a cameo appearance.
Now, here is that very same drawing cropped with a couple of go-to PhotoShop contrast tweaks:
The Horror! (With Contrast)
It may or may not look like this when I release it, but notice the camera-ready “pop” that happens when charcoal gains contrast. (And no that is not Bruce, the great white from Jaws swimming out of the swirling darkness with company.) Or is it?
Where did I develop this style and discover the radical play of light and dark? The blame falls squarely on my Italian Renaissance professor Dr. Arthur. That and I was taking studio art at the same time. Chiaroscuro is the style many masters used (DaVinci, Rembrandt) as developed in the Renaissance and perfected in the Baroque period. One week we picked up charcoals and I have yet to put them back down. (I do occasionally paint, but find that way more of a process.)
Chiaroscuro Example:
Caravaggio: The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, 1610
See the light and the dark? Feel the drama? See the sneaky self-portrait of the artist as the onlooker to produce even more emotion?
Take a look again at my original drawing. It’s always a dance to get the right amount of contrast, without losing the soul of the piece. It’s taken years to develop my take on this extraordinary style and I don’t plan on switching it up anytime soon.
Love the drama of Chiaroscuro... I ply with it in photography. Very cool too see that BTS process!