Learn to Draw

CHARCOAL

Class Starts February 16, 2026

Exeter NH

You must have some drawing experience.

This is a drawing class for those of you who would like to learn the secrets of this wonderful medium, and those of you who may have some experience but want to learn more. This class will teach you the difference between different types of charcoal & blending techniques you can try. Each class will start with samples of art created in charcoal and I will teach you: how to make different marks, linear & side strokes, ways to blend white and black charcoals on various supports, using your erasers to pull out highlights. Charcoals are very versatile and you can create simple or complex drawings.

WHAT TO BRING 

Charcoal set with: compressed charcoal, charcoal pencils in black and white, vine charcoal, pencil sharpener, 2 kneaded erasers, 9 x 12 newsprint pad, 9 x 12 charcoal paper pad, fixative spray, paper stumps, sandpaper pad for sharpening, and a small set of inexpensive paintbrushes. Also bring newspaper for under your work each week, paper towels, drawing pencil, waxed paper to protect your finished work, masking tape, drawing board (if you have one) or make one from a sheet of foam core (dollar store) cut in half & taped together on 3 sides (you can also use this to transport your finished artwork). Please wear clothing you do not mind getting dirty.

CLASS STARTS 

Monday, February 16, 2026, and is for 8 weeks. We will have class on Monday holidays. Class is from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, cost is $190.00, no refunds. Minimum 3 students, maximum 6 students. To hold your spot please mail a check directly to: Revelle Taillon, 26 West Pine Street, Plaistow, NH 03865. For more information, and to see if there is room left in this class, call 603-548-6694 or email rtaillon@comcast.net. A percentage of each tuition is donated to the Seacoast Artist Association Scholarship Fund. 

CLASS WILL BE TAUGHT

by Revelle Taillon, a member of the Seacoast Artist Association in Exeter, NH. She holds a BFA from the University Lowell and has won regional and national awards. Her blog has samples of her artwork and techniques and information on this class and other classes she teaches. http://revelleimagemaker.blogspot.com.

Learn to Draw in Charcoal

Mondays, 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm, starting February 16, 2026

Instructor, Revelle Taillon, rtaillon@comcast.net

Class is held at Seacoast Artist Association

130 Water Street, Exeter, NH

http://seacoastartist.org

Feel free to forward this to friends and family who might be interested!

New Summer Art Class: Learn to draw in Charcoal. June 2017. Click on image to enlarge.

"Do Not Disturb"

My two elephants drawing is finally complete and is hanging in a show at Seacoast Artist Association. I'm including some more of the steps I did before I got to the final piece. I used both graphite and charcoal, smudging along with a stump to keep my fingers off the piece. I did a lot of research before I settled on the background. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. All told, I probably spent over 20 hours on this piece. I'm including some detail shots also. Final size is about 8.75 x 11.75 inches on Canson paper. My title is "Do Not disturb" because I believe all animals deserve dignity and to be left alone in areas where they can thrive. I want my great great great grandchildren to still be able to appreciate their beauty and dignity when they grow up.

When I start a drawing, I look closely at what to leave in and what to take out, what changes to make overall to the composition and how to make it more unique. I love working on the animals eyes and usually change them somewhat. With these guys, they were just big black dots so I added in detail after researching close-ups of elephant eyes. Google makes it so much easier to find reference material. Never just settle on the photo you have in front of you. Make it your own. You'll be happier with the results.

So I start my drawing laying out the large shapes and outlines of the animal in pencil, turning my paper around several time as I go to be sure I have the positive and negative shapes correct. Then I usually start on the eyes and then start adding light details, which I will later build up in layers. I have my trusty gummed eraser in case I get too dark or want to bring out some highlights. It's all very relaxing and meditative, no matter how many times I draw. I just love it. Time flies by and I loose all sense of time. Enjoy!

More on my elephants

I'm plodding along on my elephants, depending on the weather and how busy my graphic design studio is. I'd really like a good 5 or 6 hours to work just on this!!!

My Dad has been up for the month visiting us kids (six kids in all!) and the weather has been close to 100. It's finally cooling down this week. so I hope to get back to this for a bit!

Elephants in graphite and charcoal

version 1

version 2

I've been fooling around in graphite and charcoal for a month or so and started this portrait of two elephants. It's going slow, slower than I thought. Their skin is so complex! I started with pencil and now I'm adding charcoal to get the tone right. Lots of blending with a stump as I go along, and removing highlights with a kneaded eraser. I'll keep posting as I go along.

version 3