Purity – Charcoal drawing (sleeping child)

I have had many of Dions fans send me messages asking me what medium and technique does he use, and how does he get such fine detail? He generally uses finely sharpened charcoal pencils, varying from soft to medium and hard. For more tips and help on charcoal, I highly recommend The Extraordinary Pencil by Marsha Robinett.

This work Dion did in 1992, it’s one of the first works I laid my eyes on when we met, I think it was love at first site

Oil Portrait – Dion Raath

When Dion and I were dating for a while, we played around with a Minolta camera, having fun with working with the shadows and sitting in a spotlight.  Dion decided to paint an oil portrait from one of the best photo’s of us together and this now proudly hangs on my wall.

Charcoal drawing of a very interesting shop owner – George

I promised to upload a drawing that Dion did of an adult man to see the contrast of the innocense of a child versus the wisdom of life in an adult male. There is a lot going on behind those eyes.  What kind of a life has George had? Easy, difficult, sad, happy? Mixtures of all?  When Dion approached George with the intention of wanting to draw his beautiful daughter, he opted to rather have a portrait of himself. This has fascinated me for years. Why did he want one of himself, and not his daughter? Selfish? Pompous? I like to think that perhaps he wanted to leave a legacy for his daughter.. knowing that she would appreciate a portrait of her daddy to keep with her forever, than a mirror image of herself…

Commissioned Charcoal Drawing of a Child

There is something really special about children, especially their young eyes.  An innocent light behind the eyes, full of joy, expection, hope and excitement.  In my next post, I’ll put up a portrait that Dion did of an adult man.  Look carefully at the difference. In this first portrait that Dion did of Kent, he captures the lightness & joy of childhood innocence.  Watch the difference behind the eyes of the adult, wisdom, life challenges, trials, times of joy & laughter, sadness and tears.  Will be posting the adult portrait soon, please come back to see, or click on the RSS feed to keep up to date with new entries.

Watercolor and Acrylic mix of a Horn-bill Artwork

Although Dion specializes in Charcoal, he has had days of having fun experimenting with color, and breaking the rules by mixing mediums. With this Horn-bill, Dion played around with the colors, making the piece bright and colorful!  Also, while he uses watercolor, he enjoys making the paint thick so as to actually not have the effect of watery, thus, although defeating the object of watery watercolors, he has created a stunning effect here!

Powerful, Dominant…Wounded Tiger – Charcoal Drawing

Not long after the Monte Casino (South Africa – Johannesburg) opened, we had Dion’s work exhibited in one of the galleries there. One Saturday evening we got a call from the gallery to tell us our Tiger had been shot. Literally. There was a hold-up and bullets fired, and the Tiger was hit by a random bullet. (Thankfully no one was hurt)
The bullet hole sits neatly in the Tiger’s neck as if shot by a hunter.
Life in the Urban Jungle they say.

Wounded Tiger

Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture – Charcoal Drawing

Dion says: “I love the form, shape and simplicity of the work. How light plays off on the shapes. The black stone compliments the light and visa versa.
What I love about the zimbabweian people that create such stunning work is that they are very simple people who live day to day.”

Charcoal Drawing - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture

I watched Dion create this one. Was very interesting for me as it’s the first time he has tackled a subject matter like this.

The paper he used was also different, had a slight rough texture which gives it the rough edge to it.  This was also the first time he tried out a Carbon Pencil recommended by Marsha Robinett and he enjoyed the crisp and control that he had on the line of the pencil without the shine that a graphite pencil gives.

Would love to hear what you think? Please feel free to leave a comment

Aged to Perfection – Charcoal Drawing of an African Elephant

Dion says: “This elephant was a fantastic challenge especially working in every wrinkle on his trunk. The medium I prefer using is an extemely sharp charcoal pencil, which gets the effect of the surealism desired. I do not smudge, the whole picture is made up of seperate strokes, line by line. I love to create light among the shadows.”

Charcoal drawing of an African Elephant

A new revelation for me as the wife of an artist

Dion and I were just talking about the joy of being able to draw something beautiful and unique and give it back to the world.
We have been running a design and advertising business and that has been our main source of income.
I know that most husbands and dad’s would like to know that their families are well provided for, should our Heavenly Father take them home, and it can’t be an easy job. Dion is our sole provider in the family and he has been incredible at taking this responsiblity extremely seriously. I see us growing old together comparing our wrinkly knee caps at 80 something! As we were chatting, I suddenly realised that Dion is creating a legacy to leave behind one day. Should he go home to be with our Heavenly Father just before me or the boys, he will always be a vital part of our lives, and will always be providing for us simply because of the vital tools I am learning now (not to mention his stunning artwork)

Thank you sweetheart, you are a perfect gift for me.

Charcoal Drawing of Child

Delightful! Dion does take all the photo’s and you should see how many he needs to take to get the one perfect shot. Children are wonderful, they really keep us entertained, especially in photo shoots!

Portrait artwork, charcoal drawing