by Jim Pence

I love to draw mountains. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I live in North Texas where everything is flat. But there’s something majestic about mountains that evokes a deep sense of awe in me. And so, I enjoy incorporating them into my chalk drawings whenever I can.

This week, I’m going to show you how to draw a simple mountain, using 1”x1”x3” lecturer’s chalk (the kind that gospel chalk artists use). If you don’t have any lecturer’s chalk, pastels will work just as well.

The supplies you’ll need are:

A piece of light blue chalk (or pastel)
A piece of white chalk (or pastel)
Pastel paper (Pastel paper is rougher than regular drawing paper, and it usually comes “pre-toned” in different colors.)

To draw a mountain in chalk, first you need to know how to hold the chalk properly:

1.  Don’t hold the chalk like you would a pencil (as though you were going to draw with the tip).

2.  Hold the chalk from the side and use the edge (the corner, as opposed to the flat surface).

3. Now, to draw a mountain, all you have to do is draw an upside-down “V”. But instead of making your “V” tall and pointy, as in the following line drawing…

…spread the “V” out and make it flatter. (Note: I did these line drawings with a black marker to give you a better feel for the shape that you should draw, but you’ll draw your mountain with chalk or pastel.)

4. Use your light blue chalk to make your basic mountain shape (upside down “V”). Remember that you’re going to draw with the side-edge of the chalk, not with the tip or the flat surface. If you do, you should end up with something that looks like this:

5. Now, to finish it off. Use your white chalk or pastel to add a little snowcap/highlight to one side of the mountain.

That’s it. To draw a simple mountain, you just need to draw a spread-out, upside-down “V” (usually in light blue or light purple chalk), then highlight (snowcap) one side with white. Here are several different mountains for you to practice and copy:

Have fun!

COMING ON THURSDAY’S BLOG: More about drawing mountains.