The great South African artist William Kentridge said, “You can think in charcoal” – meaning that it is a forgiving medium which allows you to change your mind. Local artist and teacher Gabrielle Freer agrees: “My favourite thing about charcoal is the fact that you can erase it endlessly.”

For the first time at the Clifton School of Arts, Gabrielle is teaching a charcoal drawing workshop and hopes students of all abilities will join in. “It suits all levels of skill and is a really enjoyable process no matter the outcome,” she says.

There is something fitting about a charcoal drawing workshop on the Coal Coast – although charcoal is actually manufactured from wood, unlike the mineral that miners pulled out of the ground here. Both are organic, both are burned and both are messy.

It’s not unusual, in the process of rubbing out and smudging to achieve degrees of shading to find oneself leaving a charcoal drawing workshop with a blackened face and hands.

“It’s definitely not the place to wear white or light colours,” laughs Gabrielle, who has taught charcoal drawing to adults and children and to disadvantaged communities including refugees, the homeless and people fresh out of prison.

Unlike paint, charcoal is an affordable medium, putting it within reach of those on a tight budget. No wonder it’s popular with so many artists.

Charcoal Drawing Workshop

Sat May 6, 10am-4pm, $180 CSA members, $200 non-members. Book here

To find out more and become a CSA member for $20, visit www.artsclifton.org