Sketch for Grape Glass Painting

Here is the under drawing for a painting I did today. It's overcast and rainy, which prevented me from getting a good photograph of the painting. I thought I would share how I usually begin. After setting up my still life, I draw directly onto the painting board or canvas. This one is an uncradled masonite board that I had previously painted with two coats of gesso. My favorite tool for drawing at this stage is vine charcoal. It's so soft that I can just rub off my mistakes. The charcoal is responsive and fluid. This is the time to work out the composition and get a nice gesture with the larger forms. (well, as large as it gets on an 8 inch square) I then rub off some of the excess charcoal so it won't muddy up the paint. I'll post the finished painting when I can.