These charcoal drawings are all A5 in size, were created quickly, with each piece taking between 10-20 minutes to complete. I worked from reference photographs, using the limited time and materials as a good way to respond instinctively to each image. I find working in charcoal particularly freeing when I experience artist’s block. Its immediacy encourages me to stop overthinking and focus instead on the fundamental elements of an image – form, shape, light and shadow. By stripping a subject back to its bare bones, charcoal allows me to explore what is essential within an image without getting caught up in unnecessary detail.