Reflecting

framed dimension: 15.5 x 17.5 in.

Daniel Porter uses vine charcoal in the creation of his charcoal drawings. These vine charcoal works have won international acclaim and have been written about extensively in many publications as well as having been featured in international exhibitions, they are some of his most sought after works.

Vine charcoal is derived from roots and vines. In the case of vines it is most often willow or grape vine or in the case of roots they may be harvested from a variety of trees native to New Brunswick forests.

Daniel makes all of his vine charcoal himself, harvesting the roots of blown down trees. The roots are gathered, marked, bound and stored to dry. Once dry, they are then cooked over an open fire in a controlled manner and (if done properly) Daniel can achieve varying hardness of the charcoal.

Commercially made charcoal often contains graphite and is limited in the way it can be used to achieve tone and value. Like his pastels Daniel uses this natural material over ground surfaces, this combined with varying hardness in his vine charcoal helps to achieve a wonderful array of values in his work.