Drawing Methods: Charcoal and Graphite

 One of my tenancies while working with both charcoal or graphite is to start with a simple composition based on blobs or abstract forms based on a simple idea or concept in mind (or sometimes, no concept whatsoever). Given the nature of both charcoal and graphite powder, I feel it's best to let the details formulate themselves without trying to dictate too much control over it during the beginning stages. Once I feel fairly good about the beginning stage is when I start apply just a bit more detail and then a little bit more. I do tend to try and avoid too much detail because in my opinion, it's not necessarily what's drawn, but sometimes what's not drawn.