Laura Spector | Painting and Drawing with Liquid Charcoal
![]() Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020
Demo | 10 a.m. to Noon The demo/lecture is open to all LINK TO MEETING & DEMO Workshop | 1 to 3 p.m. Member fee $50 Non-member fee $65 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR WORKSHOP Zoom meeting Link and password will be emailed after payment is received |
Workshop Reference Image
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IMPORTANT WORKSHOP SUPPLY LIST BELOW
Demo and Workshop Description:
Explore a step-by-step process of building up a charcoal portrait from a photograph. This workshop will focus on separating light and shadow, building the architecture of form, and developing a likeness while making choices with how to layer, soften and sharpen edges. This class will focus on a new material, Liquid Charcoal by Nitram, using methods of painting to expedite the foundation of the portrait for a more complex and textured drawing. Students will learn about each material, approaches to application, selecting a good photo for reproduction, basic techniques, layering of dry charcoal over liquid charcoal, and finishing a drawing to completion.
Workshop Supply List:
1. Canson Mix Media XL pad (14” x 17” - blue cover)
2. Nitram Liquid Charcoal (1 tube)*
3. Variety of charcoals & sandpaper. I use all of these:
a. *Charcoal Sharpening paddle (Nitram brand is recommended)
b. *Nitram Charcoal: HB and B (1 box of each)
c. *Vine or Willow charcoal in soft, medium, and hard Compressed charcoal:
4. General’s Compressed Charcoal (2 sticks Soft)
5. Ceramic or glass plate or bowl (for liquid charcoal)
6. 1 kneaded eraser
7. White gouache (Windsor & Newton 14ml)
8. Charcoal Spray Fixative, Kryolan Matte (outdoor use only)
9. Soft bristle brushes (Synthetic Mongoose or Synthetic Sable suggested)
a. Flat bristle 1” width
b. Long flat bristle 1/4” width
c. Round bristle “00” (for gouache details) and 1/4” diameter
10. Chamois
11. Tortillions/Blending stumps (optional)
12. Artist Tape
13. Drawing board
14. Rag or paper towel
15. Drawing easel (recommended)
* NOTE: Nitram Charcoal is dust-free on your fingers while you work. Texas Art Supply carries this new product. If you do not like the feel of charcoal sticks or compressed charcoal, you may opt to use a range of General’s charcoal pencils (2B - 6B), which requires a retractable blade (NOT an X-acto) for sharpening.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Laura Spector is a Fellow of the New York Foundation for the Arts, a recipient of an Individual Grant award from the Houston Arts Alliance and Artist-in-Residence recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. She exhibited at Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art 2020, Grand Rapids Art Museum in 2016, FotoFest 2014 and in Lawndale Art Center’s “Big Show” in 2013 and 2017. In 2022, her curated show, (w)Hole, will be exhibited at Georgetown Art Works in Georgetown, TX. Her work has been featured in R2: The Rice Review, The Harvard Review, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and “The Real Real Thing: The Model in the Mirror of Art.” She has studied fine art at both the Flemish Classical Atelier in Belgium and Virginia Commonwealth University and was a resident artist at Atelierhaus Hilmsen in 2016. Her artwork can be seen in exhibitions and collections around the world.
Website: spectorstudio.weebly.com/