Ross Campbell Art

18/10/2025

Tiger | A3 • Charcoal, Graphite & Soft Pastel on Frisk Mixed-Media 250gsm Paper 🐅🎨

I began by mapping out the darkest areas such as the deep shadows in the mouth and the stripes, using a willow charcoal stick. Once the major darks were in place, I moved on to the mid-tones, layering them in with pastel powder and a foam block. I made sure to preserve the white of the paper for the lightest areas of fur — keeping them clean from the start is far easier than trying to recover them later.

With the tones and dark details in place, I used a kneadable eraser and a Tombow Mono Zero to lift highlights and shape the fur textures. After applying a layer of fixative, I added subtle highlights and fine fur details using a white pastel pencil.

Managing the contrast and fine light shifts took careful planning. I had to get large tonal areas correct while keeping individual fur strands and highlights distinct.

03/08/2025

Giraffe | A3 • Charcoal & Soft Pastel on Frisk Mixed‑Media 250gsm Paper 🦒🎨

I started with the background, using a willow charcoal stick rubbed firmly into the paper, then smoothed with tissue. I painted over it using mineral spirits which helped to soften the strokes.

Once the background was finished, I blocked in the giraffe’s major shapes and mid‑tones. I layered in details using the same willow charcoal to define the contours and patterns, then pulled out highlights using a kneadable eraser and a Tombow Mono Zero mechanical eraser.

Working on this piece was a lot of fun! It helped me to understand how light interacts with different textures and shapes. Working on a piece that was lit mainly through backlighting was a challenge that taught me a lot!

20/07/2025

Sea Eagle (White-Tailed Eagle) | 50 x 65cm
Graphite & Soft Pastel on Clairefontaine 250gsm Grained Paper 🦅✏️

This piece was a deep dive into the rhythm and flow of feather structure - rather than drawing each one exactly from the reference, I focused on capturing the patterns and different tones that brought the eagle to life.

It’s incredible how many different feather shapes and sizes make up this bird, each one playing their own role. Studying that complexity was definitely a fun challenge!

This piece marks a bit of a shift from my usual African wildlife subjects. Scotland has such incredible wildlife, and it’s exciting to explore new subjects like this Sea Eagle.

15/05/2025

Common Ostrich | A3 size. Graphite, Charcoal and Soft Pastel on Frisk mixed media 250gsm Paper 🪶✏️

This piece was a fun challenge! The cropped neck, off-center composition, and the ostrich’s expression give the piece a slightly humorous, almost awkward charm.

I started by using a knife with a foam cover to lay down the base shape and block in the shadows and midtones. From there, I added depth with charcoal, focusing on details like the eye, nostril, and the shadows beneath the beak and the back of the head.

To bring out highlights, I carefully pulled them out using a kneadable eraser and a mechanical eraser. Ostriches have fine, wispy feathers on their head and neck, which almost resemble fur. I replicated this texture by using an extremely sharp 2H pencil in the lighter areas, and a 12B pencil for the darker feathers. The contrast in textures really helped bring this curious character to life.

12/05/2025

White Rhino | A3 size. Charcoal on Frisk mixed media 250gsm Paper 🦏✏️

After taking a short hiatus from posting here, mostly due to moving and settling into life here in Scotland - I’ve finally had the chance to get back to my passion. Drawing African wildlife like this Rhino always brings me a little closer to home!

This piece turned out to be a much bigger undertaking than I initially anticipated. One of the biggest challenges was finding the right balance between detail and restraint. With realism, there’s always a fine line between adding too many details in the wrong places and the eye gets distracted; not enough, and it can fall flat.

I focused on implying detail rather than drawing every wrinkle and texture, especially in the shadowed areas - to ensure the face remained the focal point. Charcoal is all about contrast, suggestion, and subtlety, and this drawing pushed me to refine all three.

16/05/2024

Eurasian Eagle-Owl | A4 size. Brutfuner Coloured Pencils, on Canson Graduate Bristol 180gsm Paper 🦉✏️

This is my first somewhat realistic drawing using coloured pencils, and I must admit there was a big learning curve!

My biggest lesson was figuring out colour combinations to get the desired tone and depth. Lots and lots of layers seem to be the biggest factor in achieving smooth textures, and eliminating the grainy "sketchy" look. I definitely enjoyed the process even though it went on for longer than anticipated!

South African artist
Based in Scotland

07/03/2024

Fleeing Wildebeest | A2 size. Charcoal on 180gsm Watercolour paper 🫎✏️

Available - R2,200

I've been wanting to use more dynamic subjects, and capturing movement in my art. A running Wildebeest seemed to be the perfect option!

Besides soft and medium charcoal, blending stumps were definitely my most used tool for this. I was able to smooth the charcoal around the contours and shapes of the subject, and then go over that again with a very sharp charcoal pencil to add fur and details. I was hesitant to include it, but the dust being kicked up really helped bring this piece to life. A challenging and very fun project!

South African artist
Based in Scotland

23/02/2024

Humpback Whale | A2 Size. Watercolour and Charcoal on 180gsm watercolour paper 🐋🖌

SOLD

I love the combination of watercolour and charcoal. The soft 'fluffiness' of watercolour mixed with the dark roughness of the charcoal really makes for an interesting look. I started with blocking in the shapes and tones with layers of watercolour, and then went over it with charcoal pencils to add depth and detail.

16/02/2024

Fish Eagle | A2 Size, Watercolour and Charcoal on 180gsm Watercolour paper 🦅🖌

I really like the idea of having highly detailed sections, and then vague, less detailed sections on the same piece of art. I think it worked out quite well with this where the head and lighter feathers are done in fine detail with charcoal, with the wings and darker parts being done in watercolour