Charcoal

• Charcoal is a black substance that resembles

coal and is used as a source of fuel. Charcoal is
generally made from wood that has been
burnt, or charred, while being deprived of
oxygen so that what's left is an impure carbon
residue. While charcoal is used in the
manufacture of various objects from crayons
to filters, its most common use is as a fuel.
 How is Charcoal Made?
• To make charcoal, wood or wood scraps are put
in either a kiln or dryers to suck out moisture so
they’ll bake efficiently, then are typically cooked
in cast iron retort ovens.
• These are cylindrically shaped furnaces that work
with very little oxygen, so the wood bakes more
slowly.
• More oxygen would produce a bigger fire, which
would simply incinerate the wood rather than
turning it into pure carbon, or wood char.
• The early origins of charcoal based drawings
are found in the caves of Lascaux, France.  
Inscribed onto the walls are primitive
drawings of bulls and horses that are believed
to be drawn with branches and sticks burnt at
the end.
• These paintings are estimated to be 16,000
years old
• The cave was discovered on September 12,
1940
• The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures
• Many are too faint to discern, while others
have deteriorated
• Over 900 can be identified as animals, and 605
of these have been precisely identified
• Public access was made easier after World War II.
By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200
visitors per day had visibly damaged the
paintings.
• The cave was closed to the public in 1963 in
order to preserve the art.
• After the cave was closed, the paintings were
restored to their original state, and are now
monitored on a daily basis.
• Replica was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the
original.
• Since the year 2000 the cave has been beset with a
fungus, variously blamed on a new air conditioning
system that was installed in the caves, the use of high-
powered lights, and the presence of too many visitors.
• As of 2008, the cave contained black mold which
scientists are trying to keep away from the paintings.
• In January 2008, authorities closed the cave for three
months even to scientists and preservationists. A single
individual was allowed to enter the cave for 20
minutes once a week to monitor climatic conditions.
• Now only a few scientific experts are allowed to work
inside the cave and just for a few days a month.
• During the Early and Middle Renaissance
periods, many artists used charcoal drawing
for study and exercises.   Charcoal tends to
"float" away from the grooves found on
canvases, which give artists the ability to
freely draw their pieces and easily make
corrections.   As a result, charcoal drawings
were intended as a preliminary sketching tool.
• Charcoal is the oldest are medium known
• Charcoal is used in art for drawing, making rough
sketches in painting . Drawing it must usually be
preserved by the application of a fixative. Artists
generally utilize charcoal in three forms:
• Vine charcoal is created by burning sticks of wood
(usually willow) into soft, medium, and hard
consistencies.
• Compressed charcoal charcoal powder mixed with
gum binder compressed into round or square sticks.
The amount of binder determines the hardness of the
stick. Compressed charcoal is used in charcoal pencils.
• Powdered charcoal is often used to "tone" or cover
large sections of a drawing surface. Drawing over the
toned areas will darken it further, but the artist can
also lighten (or completely erase) within the toned
area to create lighter tones.
• http://gallery.sjsu.edu/arth198/painting/
charcoal.html