Gloucestershire Old Spot. Charcoal on paper, 11x24 (approx). 2015.
In this sketch I'm working on the layout for a painting of a pig I met at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA. Sketching it out like this lets me see the image without any of the clutter in the photograph.
The abstract idea is to have a simple, central shape of light contrasted against a darker background. The value scale will be developed using a top down approach. By keeping everything structurally simple I should be free to concentrate on the paint application.
Most of the drawing was done with a large brush soaked in mineral spirits. By running it through the charcoal dust I was able to create some painterly effects. As there is no water involved, the paper does not buckle or distort when the OMS is applied.