1000 Ways of Attracting Potential International(Caribbean) Business Leads

Posted in Divorce

Caribbean people are as knowledgeable and technically advanced as

people from anywhere else worldwide. There are those who are earning

enough to be considered well off, some middle class and others +-earn enough

adults live

to live by. adult chat

Get to know the culture of the different islands because it varies somewhat,

if not in speech in the ways of the people. Except for the islands

associated with the French caribbean all nationalities speak English as

their main language.

A number of these countries trade in their own currency, the majority have

one unique currency and they all use the mighty US dollar for foreign echange.

Caribbean people love to travel to the bigger international countries like

England, United States and Canada.

When marketing to the people of the Caribbean always think of offering something

to them for “Free’ but it must be something tangible – that is to say an item that

they can hold in their hands and you will have their interest. Try to get your

advertisements posted in their local papers and other local means, like radio and

television and even by mailing. Once it is ‘FREE’ and comes from a foreign country

you have their attention. You can bet your last dollar that word will spread like

wild fire and your business will take off because natives like to tell one and before

you know the whole country learns of you and your product. You must take into

consideration that whatever your product is it must be something that will be put

into use by the buyers, meaning value for money.

Lots more juicy information and tips to follow in my next article. e.g. kinds of

products to market.

How to Survive A Long Distance Relationship – Advice On Jealousy

Posted in Singles

Trust is one of the foundations of a long-lasting relationship. It is also long distance relationship advice given to me when I had a distant love. I was assured of her love even though she was away from me. She did not make any promises that she would do this, and she would do that, but she made me feel that I can be a man that she wanted to share her whole life with.

Trust is the evidence of a true love. She did not demand letters regularly neither did I demand her to do likewise. Sending her distance relationship gifts was not even a sign that I wanted her to return the favor to the things that I did.

A long list of long distance relationship advice was not enough not until I understood that my confidence for her and her confidence in me were the result of love.

It is normal to be jealous at times because it is also a manifestation of concern. Yet, it can also ruin any relationship if it is based on malice and prejudice. How to make a distance relationship work is not founded on promises but on trust.

A long distance relationship advice did work for us. However, in some cases, confidence still works far better than any advice. Jealousy has never been a sign of love but it is the result of insecurity and fear.

My love for her grew each day. I trusted her even more despite that it was a distance love. I focused on her strengths and abilities rather than her weaknesses. On the other hand, jealousy would always result to anger, bitterness, and lack of self-esteem.

There will be no misunderstandings, fights, disagreements, and tensions if trust is based on love and not the other way around. If love were based on trust, no relationship would last a lifetime but if trust is based on love, it is unconditional and honest, and can forgive and forget, despite of imperfections.

This is a factual long distance relationship advice that cannot be seen and learned if jealousy exists. Restriction or control is one sign of jealousy because freedom is being taken away. She did not dictate me on the choices that I had made in the past but she influenced me how to choose what is right. And that is what trust means to me and that jealousy is based on selfishness.

ATV Heated Grips – The Winter Rider’s Best Friend

Posted in Reconnecting

Did you know they made ATV heated grips? I didn’t until recently, and what a godsend!

I love the outdoors. I particularly love to go four wheeling, and winter usually cramps my style because I just can’t seem to get excited about the frozen face and fingers I end up with.

But I found an answer to the frozen fingers issue, anyway! Who knew there was such a thing as ATV heated grips?!?

ATV Heated Grips, an After-Market Treasure

My ATV didn’t come with ATV grip heaters. I had to find them on my own and install them myself. Not a difficult project, if you have a little of the do-it-yourselfer in you.

You’ll need to find a pair of ATV grip heaters that fit your particular ATV or UTV – one size does not fit all.

Also be aware that grip heaters are available for motorcycles, dirt bikes, snowmobiles and other vehicles that perform in cold weather. You’ll want to make sure that your ATV heated grips are specifically designed for your unique ATV model.

Most ATV grip heaters come with variable heat adjustments, meaning that you can set the level at low or high heat. Several of the available models provide heat levels from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest setting. A number of ATV heated grips models come with automatic shut off also.

The Installation

I’ve talked to several people in my ATV and UTV group who installed their ATV heated grips themselves. They said that it was a fairly simple job, although a couple said that they had to sand off the original paint on the grips to get the new ones to slide on. Typical ATV heated grips will fit a 7/8 inch handlebar.

My installation took about 45 minutes, with the hardest part being the removal of the original grips. You may need to sand some residual paint or adhesive from the handlebar grips for proper fit of the new heated grips.

There is some simple wiring to be done. You’ll need to attach power to the grips to make them work. A little soldering and some black electrical tape should do the trick. There is usually a toggle-type switch to turn on the heaters, and some models come with a thumb warmer also.

Do ATV Grip Heaters Really Keep Your Hands Warm?

The vast majority of reviews say yes!

That includes me. I’ve found that my Hot Grips brand ATV heated grips work best for me at low setting. (This Hot Grips ATV grips heaters model comes only in high, low and off.) This keeps my hands at a comfortable level without sweating, and if the weather turns colder or the wind is really blowing, then I can turn up the heat to high. I ride with my gloves on, and while the grip is a little fatter with the heaters on them, it is not tough to comfortably hold onto them.

Several positive reviews came from police departments who ride their motorcycles year round. One police department notes that they have a 30 unit motorcycle force and all the bikes have heated grips, making riding much more pleasant in cold weather. Some riders stated that if they use the high setting, they can actually dry their wet gloves!

While this review was not specifically about ATV grip heaters, it did give me a heads up. If cops who are out in the weather year round will use them, and like them, it sounded like a good idea to try them.

Cost and Availability

So where do you find ATV grip heaters? Most ATV, UTV, motorcycle and snowmobile retailers carry them, and if you live in an area where there are few retailers, you can always go online for a wide variety.

Prices range from the low end at $30 to as much as $150. A word to the wise, most reviewers were happy with the higher end ATV grip heaters. The models that were less expensive (and maybe poorly made?) seemed to have more issues and unhappy reviews.

Maybe the old adage about “you get what you pay for,” is correct, after all?

Try them yourself. I think you’ll find, like me, that your ATV heated grips will make cold weather riding much more pleasant, which means it will get you outside much more!

Creating a Wedding Budget You Can Afford

Posted in Post Divorce

The most important part of planning a wedding is setting your budget. Your budget is important because it is next to impossible to know what you can afford for each major part of the wedding if you don’t set an overall cost that is comfortable for you. You will probably find that deciding the budget is the hardest job to do because, of course, you want to have the best and most memorable wedding you can possibly have.

The days when the wedding was paid for by the parents of the bride are almost gone now. Parents will often contribute to the wedding cost as a gift to the couple, but it is pretty rare for parents to cover the whole cost of the wedding.

Usually this is because the parents simply can’t afford it. But couples today often prefer to pay for their own weddings because it ensures that they can plan them the way that they want to without interference.

These days, 4 out of 5 couples pay for their own wedding and it helps to know how your budget should be broken down.

When creating your budget, you will first begin with the overall amount that you can afford to spend. The average wedding today costs approximately $19,000. This is not a definite, but this is what the statistics currently show.

Now you will need to take that overall budget amount and split it percentage-wise for each major aspect of your wedding e.g. how much to spend on the wedding clothing, the rings, catering, decorating the venue etc. If you are not good at percentages, you can always utilize the Internet and check with the various websites that offer you free or cheap wedding budget calculators that will do it for you.

With these calculators, all that you have to do is input the total budget amount and then they will calculate for you how much money in dollars you will be able to spend on each component of your wedding.

Once you have figured out the dollar amount that you can spend on each component of the wedding, you can then begin to create a list itemizing everything.

You will need to put together a list of all the areas of your wedding that are important to you and make sure that you allocate a sensible proportion of the total budget to each.

This is necessary so that you can see if the wedding of your dreams is a realistic expectation given what you can afford to spend. If you come up short, here are some ideas to enable you to trim the expenses:

o Reduce the size of the guest list

o Forego some of the services

o Reduce the size of the wedding party

o Forget the extras like limos

It is only by setting down on paper a budget you can afford and listing all of the areas that you have to spend money on that you can begin to refine your ideas on the type and scope of wedding that it is realistic for you to aim for.

Afterall, you will have plenty of expenses to cover after the wedding when starting out on your married life together. It just doesn’t make sense to create problems by over-stretching financially on the wedding.

Gay Male Couple Seeks The Same 4 Friendship

Posted in Love

Introduction

Knowing how and where to meet other gay men for friendship and dating has long been a challenge and complaint for single guys, but the task is made that much more daunting for partnered men. How does a gay couple go about finding other couples who are similarly committed to their relationships for genuine friendship and companionship?

I get that question a lot as a coach. “I never see other gay couples out and about. Only singles.” “Yeah, I meet other couples but it always ends up with them wanting to have sex.” For partners seeking like-minded comrades, it can sometimes feel very isolating. This article will offer some creative suggestions for enhancing your exposure to other gay couples with the hope of promoting your chances for building your friendship circle.

Gotta Have Friends!

Although it’s slowly changing, it’s hard to be gay when our relationships aren’t recognized or validated by society. This lack of affirmation and absence of visible gay couples to act as role models makes having a strong social support system extremely important. Some gay men do not have the luxury of family support to celebrate their relationship, making the LGBT community and heterosexual supporters a vital source of strength for feeding our self-esteem as a couple.

And having another gay couple in your support network can be a bonus. Knowledge of the joys and hardships a committed relationship can endure, a feeling of affiliation and normalization can grow when a gay couple shares a friendship with another gay couple; this commonality can breed mutual understanding and a strong bond can develop. Friends are beneficial to your relationship because they bring fun, diversity, and support from stress in ways your primary relationship may not meet such needs or can help enrich it.

Create A Friendship Vision

Just like when you were initially dating your partner, you will want to screen potential friends for compatibility with your values and lifestyle. Not just anybody will do! Make sure they have something of value to bring to the table that will positively enhance your lives.

Exercise: It would be helpful for you and your partner to sit down and develop a “friendship vision.” What does friendship mean to each of you? What’s the purpose behind trying to seek other gay couples for companionship? What will you gain or lose by doing this? What would your ideal friends be like? What would you be looking for in terms of values, interests, maturity, etc. Are you looking for intimate friendships where you can share thoughts and feelings about your lives or for purely social recreation?

Before you begin your search, make sure you and your partner are in agreement on all aspects of friendship choices and practices. Being in alignment will minimize potential conflicts and ensure you’re both “on the same page” about what this means and how to go about executing things. Keep the channels of communication open and perhaps write your vision down and journal about your needs and experiences along the way.

“Gay-Dar” For Gay Couples

Fine-tune that “gay-dar” because now the quest for good friends begins! Here are a few ideas for putting yourself in settings where you’ll increase your chances of meeting other gay couples.

1. Keep your eyes peeled for other couples at restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, galleries, etc.

2. Attend community events, fund-raisers, gay pride parades and festivals.

3. As a couple, think of a cause or charity that’s meaningful to you and volunteer for an organization together. Lots of couples also attend political rallies and theatre. Larger cities have LGBT community centers where you could help or attend their social activities or support groups.

4. Attend church. Metropolitan Community Church, for example, tends to attract a large gay population. See if there are any near you.

5. Let your friends know you’re in the market for expanding your circle. Attend their parties or throw your own party and allow “friends of friends” to come.

6. Form a special interest group or club, such as a book reading club that discusses LGBT literature or a couples’ group. Advertise it in local media.

7. The Internet can be a vehicle for searching and placing personal ads for meeting other gay couples. Just be careful about sites that have sexual cruising sections as you might be setting yourself up for attracting the wrong type of men if you’re looking solely for platonic friendship. There are also multiple online gay social networking clubs available for professional or social networking.

8. Place a classified ad in the personals’ section of the newspaper indicating your interest in meeting other gay couples. Spell out what you’re looking for and screen respondents accordingly for “goodness-of-fit.”

9. Create an online discussion forum at places like yahoogroups.com specifically catering to gay couples. This could be a great opportunity to meet people from all over the globe and could perhaps spark your interest in exploring travel.

Final Thoughts & Resources

Some additional tips to ponder as you go about cultivating new friendships:

· Go slow. Just like any relationship, friendships take time to develop. You can’t rush intimacy or you risk sabotaging your ventures.

· Screen prospects thoroughly together. Your friendship quest is intended to bring more richness to your life, not to bring more stress on you by becoming a counselor to someone who is codependent or needy and sucks the living energy out of you, for example.

· If you and your partner are seeking platonic friendships only, be mindful of those men who are actually hunting for sex and could view you as a possible 3-way treat. Be clear about your intentions up front, but not everyone will be respectful of that. Practice good boundary-setting and assertiveness.

· Don’t abandon your single gay friends and straight fans. They are a vital part of your network too!

· Balance your search for friends with attention focused to all the other parts of your life. Always keep your relationship with your partner as the number one priority.

And finally, two resources of interest that might jump-start your quest include:

1. The Partner’s Task Force for Gay & Lesbian Couples has a national listing of Organizations Supporting Same-Sex Couples. Go to http://www.buddybuddy.com/orgs.html and see if there are any organizations in your area that you could join.

2. Meet Gay Couples (www.meetgaycouples.com) is an international forum where gay couples can correspond and cultivate new affiliations. Check it out and perhaps put a posting up of you and your partner!

Best wishes on your friendship expedition!

©2006 Brian L. Rzepczynski

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included:

Brian Rzepczynski, Certified Personal Life Coach, is The Gay Love Coach: “I work with gay men who are ready to create a road map that will lead them to find and build a lasting partnership with Mr. Right.” To sign up for the FREE Gay Love Coach Newsletter filled with dating and relationship tips and skills for gay singles and couples, as well as to check out current coaching groups, programs, and teleclasses, please visit http://www.TheGayLoveCoach.com

Please also include with the article the words © Copyright and prominently display a link to our main page at the end of the article. Any feedback would be appreciated and can be sent to brian@thegaylovecoach.com. Thank you!

How to Produce a 360 Degree Flash Animation of a Book?

Posted in Enhancement

This article will provide you an insight on how to create a 360 degree animation of a book or magazine. The first question which you should ask yourself is why one should create the 360 degree animation rotation of a book? In this article, we will focus on the philosophical book “Treatise on the improvement of the understanding” of Spinoza as example.

Before going further with the article, I will suggest you to first of all observe the Spinoza 360 degree book animation so as we could analyze the advantages and disadvantages of creating a 360 degree animation of books. Use your computer mouse to manually rotate the book flash animation leftwards or rightwards as per your leisure.

Now, suppose you were only seeing the book front cover and if I ask you the question, “is it a heavy book or how many pages the Spinoza book might have?” It will be hard to answer this because only by seeing the side view of the book will you be able to find an answer.

Hence, advantage number one: With a 360 degree animation of a book, one is able to see on a computer the length and depth of a book.

Advantage number two: Contents are important whenever passionate readers want to buy a book. They will definitely read the abstract found on the back cover of the book before deciding whether or not they should buy the book. Hence, with the 360-degree flash animation rotation, one is able to read not only the front texts, side texts but also the back cover texts.

Advantage number three: Compared to a simple plain book photo, a 360 degree animation of book is so much appealing. Without doubt, readers will get to enjoy a new user experience when handling interactive animations compared to still product photos. This will definitely prove to be a competitive advantage for book marketers.

Having seen the pros, let us now have a look at the cons. One should possess the required equipments to be able to exploit this 360 degree animation system. Without the authentic digital photo studio, one will not be able to obtain the perfect animation rendering.

Uses of having a 360 degree animation of books

· In bookstores, having animation of books on your computer allows you to easily find specific books on your database.

· In libraries readers can use online database to easily scroll through books and magazines to find by themselves the book they are looking for.

· Authors and publishing house can magnificently have the 360 degree Flash animation of their novels or books on their website to attract the attention of their readers through interactivity.

To summarize, using digital professional photo studio, anyone can easily and instantly create quality photos of books, photos of magazines, photos of encyclopedia among others. Book sellers and libraries will be able to showcase their books through HD photos and interactive 360-degree animations on their websites or e-commerce sites.

Film Nature and Change

Posted in Domestic Violence

Filmmakers play a key role in increasing the awareness of world citizens of the injustices and dangers that endanger Planet Earth, the Eco-system, environment, nature and wildlife. Filmmakers often travel the globe to research and capture events happening in real life that most of earth’s inhabitants would not hear of without their help. Because of the dedication and commitment of the filmmakers, other humans have the opportunity to see occurrences in nature that are rare and take place in regions that are largely inaccessible to others. In fact, in today’s world, much of what we know about the world around us has been learned from film. These people are the vital link in both discovery and distribution of knowledge not exposed by other sources.

Footage on film should and can move inhabitants to work to save the planet. View the film entitled “The Cove,” describing a Japanese village that quietly kills up to a thousand dolphins daily and try not to be moved into joining an activist group that works against such action. Were it not for these individuals who have risked their credentials and even their lives, most of the rest of the world would have no clue that activities of this type existed. And this film is just one of many documentaries which bring attention to the terrible things that man does to nature.

Each individual needs to come to grips with his or her responsibility and accountability in the movement to preserve and conserve the resources of the planet. Regardless of one’s belief in science or religion as the origin of earth, everyone must agree that each living creature from the smallest gnat to the largest Whale has a purpose on the planet. In the plant kingdom as well, form the largest Sequoia to the smallest blade of grass each has a purpose. Without conservation used by people as well as corporations, the planet is slowly dying, and now the responsibility falls into the individual’s lap.

Individuals who make a difference must get up and lose their complacency. They must work to educate themselves concerning the truth, that humans are destroying the planet they call home. Filmmakers that film nature in order to give information concerning man’s lack of discretion around the globe and the corners that are cut when it is time to implement conservation methods are only able to do a limited amount of work. Film offers an influential and powerful medium that can gather people of all walks of life to demonstrate against or stand up for causes which make them passionate. Unified individuals are able to make changes. This is shown through US history.

Persons that worked together beginning with the Revolutionary War as well as the Civil Rights Movement were able to effect change in the world in which they lived. The same is true for world history. People need to apply the same courage and desires to effect change for their own mother earth.

While it may sometimes feel futile to bring these horrible injustices to light, individuals must realize that changes are being made. Differences are being brought into effect.

While there may be only small factions, blogs, websites and even social medial sites are can make changes. They may demonstrate the will of man to act against tragedy that continues to occur in the worked. While it may seem that many do not take the time to care or realize what is happening, some are. They can work together to find resources as well as motivation needed to act.

There are groups that should come together to finance these projects through both individual and corporate dollars. Protesting groups may be able to reduce the devastation that man is inflicting on his own planet, but ultimately, everyone will need to stand in unity to prevent the tragedies and decay of the planet called home by every living species, earth.

3 Stevie Nicks Song Facts

Posted in Dating

Legendary rock star Stevie Nicks is back with her good old raspy vocals, signature bangs, high-heeled boots, chiffon lace dresses and her latest album ‘In Your Dreams’. Yes, you’ve been waiting for it and now it’s here. The album was released May 4, 2011 and now widely available in your favorite record bars. According to song critics, ‘In Your Dreams’ is one of her best. Perhaps, because Stevie Nicks wrote and co-authored most of the songs in the package. Plus, the album is a collaboration of some of the most genius musicians around. This fact ensures you that your every buck is worth it. Talking about facts, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting facts on why we learned to love Stevie Nicks. Most are background snips of some of her greatest hits.

Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around

“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” is Stevie Nicks’ first single in her first solo album “Belladona”. The album was released July 8, 1981 and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” became is an instant hit. It ranked #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and ranked #2 in the U.S. Billboard Album Rock tracks.

The song was penned by Thomas Petty and Mike Campbell intended for their band. Jimmy Iovine, who was working with Stevie Nicks that time arranged and produced the song for her. Nicks and Tom met during the recording of Petty’s group album, “Damn the Torpedoes”. Nicks asked Tom if he could write a song for her. Tom didn’t think she was serious. A year later, Nicks came to Tom again asking the same thing. Tom wrote ‘Insider’ for their album Hard Promises, being recorded that time, recorded a demo and sent a copy to Nicks. The rising singer paid a visit to the studio the next day and eagerly taped the song with Petty’s band. Tom loved the song and included it in the album.

Petty, impressed with the lovely lady’s talent, commissioned Mike Campbell to record a demo of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, a song he wrote a year ago. They sent a demo to Nicks which she really liked. After some arrangements, the two decided to make a duet with the song. The end result? Tom thought he could’ve convened to the lady’s request earlier. The hit single turned platinum in just a few months time.

Landslide

If you are a Glee fan, you must have watched the episode when Santana confessed her true feelings with and to Brittany. She can hardly express her sadness with Brit turning down her promiscuous proposal. The two are BFFs so the revelation threatened to ruin their life-long friendship. With the help of Mckinley High substitute teacher Ms. Holly Holiday, the gals let it all out in a song – Landslide. Yes, another Fleetwood Mac classic. “Took my love, I took it down. Climbed a mountain and I turned around. And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills. Till the landslide brought me down…” Yep, those are the symbolic lyrics written by the Rock Queen herself. Many thought it was all about Nick’s dad (her dad thought it was too…). In an interview with VH1 Storytellers in 1998, Stevie Nicks revealed it was really about her relationship with long-time boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham coming to a crash like a big landslide that year. She wrote it in a friend’s magnificent house with a view of vast, snow-covered hills.

Dreams

As you may know, Stevie Nicks isn’t meant to be part of Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey was the only invited one but he insisted on bringing Nicks along. Little did the group know, the girl who was just dragged along is their main gun. “Rumours” is probably their best band album. It garnered international, critical acclaims. The emotion-filled songs in the album were perhaps, the product of the group’s emotional upheavals during its recording. Lindsey was breaking up with Stevie, Mick was undergoing divorce, John and Christine were on the early stage of marital separation. “Dreams”, the main song in the album was written by Stevie Nicks in a room adjacent to their studio. With a piano, she wrote “Dreams” in a snap. Ten minutes approximately. She performed it in front of the band and Fleetwood Mac decided to record it the next day and the rest is history.

Poetic Proverbs No 3

Posted in Conflict

Love‘s Freedom

Love speaks a language,

Beyond the spoken word,

It flies above our baggage,

The freedom of a bird.

***

Courage in Trial and Relationships

Courage: the flight adorning faith,

Not just to stand up and fight,

Characterising the ‘bear and grin’,

Every human being’s plight.

Courage: the boat floating grace,

The energy stifling resentment,

Beyond the pride saving face,

The vehicle to godly contentment.

***

Tree of Life

Hid from view; a solemn night,

The morn taken from evil intending,

Goodness, eternal, takes holy flight,

The Tree of Life unending.

Holy tree of God’s true light,

Given with tremulous accord,

Innocence is our only delight,

Obedience to the LORD.

The morn, dazzling in its God-light, is revealed only to those humbly obedient, innocent ones – innocent only by the works of their Saviour. All others: a solemn night. To them, the morn is hid; and so, the Tree of Life.

***

Good Samaritan’s Love

Tight as a glove,

Is the passers-by concern,

Neighbourly is the kind of love,

That gives without thought of return.

(Luke 10:25-37)

***

God’s Creative Purpose

God’s creative purpose:

Dynamic expression of love,

Active in grace to redeem,

Eternal in peace from above.

God’s creative purpose:

Making wisdom known,

Truth from above the witness,

The Saviour, his Son, has shown.

God’s creative purpose:

The pursuit of interminable justice,

Arriving in an age to come,

Finally an end to darkness.

God’s creative purpose:

Reconciling a people in grace,

Love and wisdom and justice,

Worship is the final embrace.

***

No matter the anguish, guilt, shame or torment, there is an answer; a unique God-designed answer to each of our problems and for each of our lives. Mostly that answer is a process.

***

Jesus, the ‘The’

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…” ~John 14:6a. The operative word: “the”.

Follow Jesus everywhere: The Way.

Seek Jesus always: The Truth.

Experience Jesus now: The Life.

***

Colours of Love

Love in motion,

Fear demotion,

A kindness potion,

A patience lotion,

So much more than emotion.

Love:

Truth embraced,

Humility encased,

Reality faced,

Simply chaste;

Never in haste,

Or self-abased,

Or given to distaste;

Just God-spaced.

Love:

Bears iniquity everywhere,

Believes in ways to dare,

Hopes enough to care,

Endures always through prayer.

***

Tricks of thinking,

Devil’s in the detail,

Occurs when we’re blinking,

Converting ‘negative’ to retail.

***

One glorious future,

There for one to master,

If hope provides the detour,

Through the maze of disaster.

© 2011 S. J. Wickham.

Drawing With Charcoal, the Oldest Medium in the World

Posted in Commitment

When you hold a piece of charcoal between your fingers you are doing exactly the same as the mysterious people, or even person, who created the works of art in Chauvet’s cave, southern France. The cave paintings depict all kinds of animals hunted at the time in a fabulous three dimensional detail which would subsequently vanish from art until the renaissance as much as twenty thousand years later!

In this article I will not discuss the mystery of Chauvet’s cave, it’s purpose is to give beginners a guide to charcoal as an artist’s medium. The best charcoal is usually willow, it is made by heating the wood in a kiln, when the wood starts to burn the amount of oxygen supplied is reduced by covering the wood with sand, it is a delicate process that is much dependant on mother nature being kind with the right weather conditions. When you hold charcoal it has a slippery feel, you will find that it will break easily into smaller shards and when you work with charcoal I recommend that you break pieces up so you have a variety of chunks, some thin and pointed, others stubby with flat sides.

Work on good thick, cold pressed, medium to heavy textured paper. The paper will need to absorb the charcoal, hence the requirement for a rough surface. Now you are ready to draw. With charcoal you are looking for the source of light on your subject. This is the paper your charcoal will never touch. It is the most important element of any charcoal drawing and provides the strange glow that no photograph could ever reproduce. Work around the light. I personally start with fine lines to contain shapes and then shade these in. As your work progresses let the lines become less evident, on portrait work charcoal is an excellent medium for capturing the texture of skin. A lot of work can be done with your finger tips. For example draw a heavy line and then see what effects can be obtained with your fingers. You can smudge the line one way only, thus keeping a sharp edge with the other side fading into the light, or you can gently smudge both sides, this give the effect of a recess where the light cannot reach. You can dab at the line with your fingertips. This will give a dappled undulating effect. Always remember, as you work, the effect of the light on your subject.

You will find that charcoal is a forgiving medium. If you are not happy with an area of work it can be almost completely erased using a normal rubber eraser. I say almost because you should always try to keep the pure white areas completely untouched. When working fine detail of tone I recommend a blob of blu tack. This can be used as a very fine point eraser. You can for example highlight the light reflection in an eye just by gently dabbing with a pointed blob of blu tack on an area you have shaded. If you wish to show reflected light on skin then very gently sweeping a larger piece of blu tack over the area will achieve the desired effect by gently lightening an area.

Finally you should alway fix your work. Fixatives can be bought from any art supplier. It is basically an aerosol can which you use to spray a thin layer of fixative over your work. This gives a fairly good resistance to smudging or loss of tone. Fixing does not stop you working on your picture but it will make you have to work a bit harder with the eraser!

As an artist there is so much to learn. I do not think you can learn about light and dark with any other medium better than charcoal. It is also good to know of the very ancient footsteps you will be following with your burnt willow stick.