I take the hand of my student, who grasps the willow charcoal — soft, not medium — and together we look at the figure model. "It’s best not to hold the charcoal like a pencil,” I say, “so you can use ...

These two lessons introduce what charcoal is (i.e. where it comes from), why it became a popular art form during the Victorian period and the techniques to sketching using charcoal.