art supplies

trevorw.86

Hey ive just been asked to do a portrait for a friend, she wants it on large canvas and done in the traditional pencil/ charcoal style. My question is what canvas would be suitable for pencil and charcoal and what other supplies would be best to get. Any and all advice is much appreciated

looksee

Well you probably would not be using a canvas at all, a heavy, appropriate paper would be a better approach. Really you need to investigate some of the papers available and see what works with your style. Pencil and charcoal generally need to be shown under glass as the surface is too fragile to be exposed.

my3cents

Pastel Paper is the normal recommendation as it has some grain to it, my son uses heavy weight watercolour paper for the same reason, cartridge paper is also a possible choice, but any paper with some texture to the surface would be OK. Then its down to how much texture suits your style of work. Also try and use acid free archival quality paper if you want your work to be around in a few hundred years.

Edit> Just remembered another option - gesso on hardboard. Has the advantage that large can be anything up to 8ft x 4ft the starting size for sheet of hardboard.

trevorw.86

looksee wrote: »

Well you probably would not be using a canvas at all, a heavy, appropriate paper would be a better approach. Really you need to investigate some of the papers available and see what works with your style. Pencil and charcoal generally need to be shown under glass as the surface is too fragile to be exposed.

She was hoping to have the framless canvas look or the frameless glass look cheers I will look into gettin the paper and going with the glass look. Thanks for the advice I will look around tomorrow for quality papers

trevorw.86

my3cents wrote: »

Pastel Paper is the normal recommendation as it has some grain to it, my son uses heavy weight watercolour paper for the same reason, cartridge paper is also a possible choice, but any paper with some texture to the surface would be OK. Then its down to how much texture suits your style of work. Also try and use acid free archival quality paper if you want your work to be around in a few hundred years.

Edit> Just remembered another option - gesso on hardboard. Has the advantage that large can be anything up to 8ft x 4ft the starting size for sheet of hardboard.

Can either the pastel or gesso be put on a canvas frame ?

my3cents

None of the materials are that expensive so best to try out any you fancy and see how it works. You don't normally use canvas for charcoal or pencil drawings because many of the effects depend on the pressure applied and because canvas is pulled taught across a frame it doesn't work the same way as paper supported on a hard backing.

You can frame almost anything if thats what you are worried about. I think gesso on the reverse (bumpy) side of hardboard might suit you as its often mistaking for canvas at first glance (it has canvas like pattern). Google for images of charcoal gesso hardboard to see what I mean.

Edit> you could even glue a frame on the edge of the hardboard and gesso the sides so it looks like canvas on a frame. But its art and there are no rules.

maringo

Below link to guy drawing on triple gessoed canvas charcoal drawing. Lots of other videos might be worth looking around there


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6kyMB16rfY