Charcoal Landscape/Seascape

[Scribbler]

This is Ervik on the west coast of Norway in the early morning. I used charcoal and pan-pastel. It's 20x15 cm. It was done in a break between Mike's Videos to loosen up a bit and digest all the knowledge in those videos. I was unfortunate to drag some charcoal into the ocean on the right side. Well, imagine it is a landslide I noticed only after the fixative.

[LindasPencils]

An evocotive scene. Someplace I would love to experiend irl. I like how my eye is drawn to the gull. The smudge doesn't bother me, but if you wished you could try draw in some more charcoal to disguise it. But not really nessecary.
Good image, lovely feel to it.

[Mike Sibley]

This is Ervik on the west coast of Norway in the early morning. I used charcoal and pan-pastel. It's 20x15 cm. It was done in a break between Mike's Videos to loosen up a bit and digest all the knowledge in those videos. I was unfortunate to drag some charcoal into the ocean on the right side. Well, imagine it is a landslide I noticed only after the fixative.

This has the same mesmerising effect on me that "2001: A Space Odyssey" had, when entering a monolith "full of stars" (a hazy memory, but I watched it over 50 years ago).

I'm drawn into it, as though the land and sky are travelling towards me, and I'm forever heading towards the horizon....

Sorry - am I being a bit fanciful?

It's dramatic. It immediately draws me in. To be honest, I wouldn't have noticed the smudge. There is one thing I find unsettling - the intensely dark interiors of the breaking waves. I think they're too intense, given that the water would reflect light and dilute those shadows. But, once I'd realised they were breaking waves and not molehills (only took a fraction of a second - honest!) I was OK with them.

And the reason I understood them to be waves was the wonderfully wet and reflective sand! With the tiny ripples and highlights running across it. Perfectly described!

EDIT: Or the dark shadows are rocks? I'm not so sure now. But that doesn't take anything away from this drawing being a very pleasurable experience.

[Scribbler]

An evocotive scene. Someplace I would love to experiend irl. I like how my eye is drawn to the gull. The smudge doesn't bother me, but if you wished you could try draw in some more charcoal to disguise it. But not really nessecary.
Good image, lovely feel to it.

Thx Linda. I think I want to try this in graphite one day.
Kind regards

[Scribbler]

This is Ervik on the west coast of Norway in the early morning. I used charcoal and pan-pastel. It's 20x15 cm. It was done in a break between Mike's Videos to loosen up a bit and digest all the knowledge in those videos. I was unfortunate to drag some charcoal into the ocean on the right side. Well, imagine it is a landslide I noticed only after the fixative.

This has the same mesmerising effect on me that "2001: A Space Odyssey" had, when entering a monolith "full of stars" (a hazy memory, but I watched it over 50 years ago).

I'm drawn into it, as though the land and sky are travelling towards me, and I'm forever heading towards the horizon....

Sorry - am I being a bit fanciful?

It's dramatic. It immediately draws me in. To be honest, I wouldn't have noticed the smudge. There is one thing I find unsettling - the intensely dark interiors of the breaking waves. I think they're too intense, given that the water would reflect light and dilute those shadows. But, once I'd realised they were breaking waves and not molehills (only took a fraction of a second - honest!) I was OK with them.

And the reason I understood them to be waves was the wonderfully wet and reflective sand! With the tiny ripples and highlights running across it. Perfectly described!

EDIT: Or the dark shadows are rocks? I'm not so sure now. But that doesn't take anything away from this drawing being a very pleasurable experience.

The dark shadows are rocks. I should have worked out those better, but it was just a quick sketch from a photo I took - not 50 years ago, but almost It was in 2007, not 2001 . Take a look - I add the photo. It is somehow sci-fi, don`t you think? Photography was my passion in those days. But drawing is so much more fun. But I think my photography experience helps a lot. When photographing we tend to try to eliminate distracting elements in the viewfinder before taking the shot. Whereas when drawing we add elements.
Maybe I draw this in graphite when you have a video about clouds and waves - No pressure Mike
Kind regards
....and again Happy Easter Hollidays

[Mike Sibley]

First, that's an incredibly beautiful, and masterful, photograph!

OK, they're rocks. I don't want to dwell on them, but I have been wondering why I thought they might be breaking waves.

The visual clues in the reference to them being rocks are:

They have broken, soft, or indistinct bottom edges. They suggest they're in water or partially buried.

They have super-sharp sides and tops, so we know they are separate from their background.

They have subtle three-dimensional shaping. So they have mass and form.

Now, in your drawing, they have highlights on top that suggest breaking waves. Their values are solid and dark, suggesting shade rather than three-dimensional forms. And... If you work out WHY the rocks look like rocks, you can repeat the same in your drawing - in any way you want to - and you'll achieve the same visual result.

Does it matter that I read the dark shapes as being the insides of waves, rather than static rocks? Certainly not. It remains a lovely and emotive drawing. But it's also a good exercise in extracting visual clues.

Just lately, I've been thinking about writing a second book - on Visual Clues. And a few other associated ideas... like avoiding optical illusions. Hmmmmm....