Cow Skull Still Life | Posted: Nov. 11, 2016, 1:51 a.m.

Media: Charcoal and colored pencils on 19 x 25 inch Canson Gray Paper

Time: ~6-7 hours

I will always consider this piece to be one of my breakthrough pieces as an artist.

What I learned from this piece:

1. Working on a neutral background helps you build up contrast

Back in November 2012, my high school teacher announced we would draw a still life of a cow skull. He laid out pieces of tan, light blue, and gray paper for us to use. He encouraged us to work with a "neutral" background as opposed to a high contrast background such as white or black.

Prior to this piece, I had always worked with white backgrounds. As I sat down to work on the gray paper, I didn't think I could accurately construct the scene before me. How would I capture the sharp light using a gray background?

While working on this piece, I discovered the beauty of white and black charcoal. I realized that when working on a white background, you mostly work in one direction -- you build up contrast through shadows. The white in the background seeps through and naturally creates the highlights.

Working on a neutral background offered the flexibility of working in two directions -- you can build up contrast through consciously drawing highlights (white charcoal in this piece) and shadows (black charcoal).

I liked this technique, and now, whenever I work on more serious pieces, I work with a neutral or colored background.


2. A touch of color can go a long way

Halfway through this piece, I noticed that one of my classmates was using brown colored pencils. I loved the additional dimension the color added, and I proceeded to grab a handful of yellow and brown colored pencils.

Adding a bit of color helped distinguish the skull from the table it was set on.


3. Art takes time

This piece marked the first time that I spent more than two hours on a piece of art. I learned that art is about taking the time to observe as many details as you can. It is important to be patient with your piece and see which elements need to be fixed in order to capture the reality of the setup before you.