Marie Burghard Fine Art

One of the few times I used a white charcoal pencil on a drawing, and I hope to do another soon.

"For Gillian"
8" x 10" charcoal drawing on toned paper
2022

Finished! Whew! A tough, but amazing drawing to work on.

"Suppertime"
15.5 in. x 18.5 in.
Charcoal and Carbon Drawing
2023

Thank you to the photographer for use of the reference photo: Rick Beldegreen.

Drawing water goes against my instinct to blend dark and light values smoothly. It is much more about hard edges and distinct blocks of tone.

Did I mention this was a beast of a project? 😵‍💫

Tools of the trade - my favorite tools are a variety of erasers and make-up brushes/sponges. I also apply (or remove) charcoal with blending stumps, tortillons, paint brushes, paper towels, tissues, chamois towels, frisket paper, and a host of other things here and there to make the exact texture I'm looking for. Finding the right technique and tool combination is part of the fun and creative process.

✏️

Drawing water 🫣

Moving from dry hair to wet, clumpy hair. Did I mention this was a challenge?

A look back at the drawing "Special Delivery" - a 13" x 13" charcoal and carbon drawing of our wonderful neighbor's cats all curled up for a nap inside a cardboard box 😻 I mean, how cute is this??!?!??

Defining the hairs on the edges takes a scoop of patience and a whole lot of time... but it is very meditative. ✏️😊

Those floofy ears are the best!!!! 😍 I'll be going back into this fur to deepen the shadows and pop the highlights a few more times, but I love the progress so far.

A bear! This is a big drawing for me, both in size and complexity. Thanks for following along - this one will take me some time to create 🥰

This is going to be a big piece and a heck of a challenge. Any ideas what this will be?

Apparently it is "I Love Horses" Day! 🐴💕

Finished!

"Underbrush"
11in x 14in Charcoal and Carbon Drawing
2023

I think this one turned out beautifully.🥰This is also the companion piece to "Overlook," the latest mountain lion drawing. They do look good together. Thank you to the photographer, Tom Reichner, for the reference photo!

Final touches!!!!!

Does it get any better than your greatest art mentor making a video about your artwork?!!!!??!??!??? 🤯🥰❤️ Thank you, JD!

Realistic Wildlife Pencil Drawings - from a Previous Student This is the work of one of my previous students, Marie Burghard. She is using my drawing techniques to create some amazing realistic looking wildlife drawing...

Progress ✏️

Sometimes a drawing takes longer than others. Life is busy, but what I love most about drawing is it is always there to work on when I need it.

Here's a quick peek at the reference photo I'm using. It is just about impossible to draw hyperrealism without a reference. I am so thankful for the photographers that allow me to use their images to draw from ❤️

Well hello little guy 😍🦌😍

This will be the companion piece to the mountain lion drawing I just finished - a handsome stag. This time, I used a low-tack contact paper to protect the deer while I lay in the background. It makes a crisper line and doesn't ruin the paper when I peel it off. ✏️ (you also see a glimpse of my reference photo🦌)

This beauty is finished. What a fun drawing! This is a personal project for our home, but prints will be available on my website. I will be drawing a companion piece for this one next! Stay tuned...

"Overlook"
11in x 14in Charcoal and carbon drawing
2024
*prints available*

Down to the homestretch! I broke out a new blending stump for this. I must admit the giddiness that comes with breaking out a new tool - we all geek out about something, am I right? The final drawing will be revealed next week😍

Progress ✏️