Why I Work in Charcoal
Black and white, for me, holds art in its truest form. Charcoal is where I play, spoil, and let the work slowly reveal itself.
I am drawn to black and white because it strips everything down. No colour to hide behind. Just rhythm, shadow, movement, and the mood of the person or place in front of me.
Charcoal is the medium I keep returning to because it lets me experiment without pretending to be neat. I often start with something that looks clean and eye-pleasing, and then I spoil it on purpose. Smudges, scribbles, erasures. The drawing finds itself through layers, not in one perfect stroke.
Layer by layer
That is how most of my pieces grow. Pressure and smudge, push and pull, until the form feels alive. I tint with pastels sometimes, but charcoal remains the spine. It carries the rawness I want the work to hold.
What I hope for, honestly, is that someone pauses in front of it. Not to analyse every mark, but to feel it for a moment. To sink in a little. That is when I know the piece has done its job.
Varanasi in black and grey
Living in Varanasi shapes this too. The ghats were a second home long before I had a studio. The light here is never flat. It moves through smoke, water, old walls. Charcoal catches that drama without over-explaining it. I am not trying to copy a photograph. I am trying to hold a feeling still long enough for someone else to meet it.