Charcoal is a medium as old as human mark-making itself, with an elemental, primal quality that has long captivated artists. We learned this the hard way… The interplay of light and dark, known as chiaroscuro, is one of charcoal’s most distinctive features – allowing the artist to create soft, velvety tones and subtle gradations that evoke mood, texture, and depth.
Now, this might seem counterintuitive…
In the hands of skilled draughtsmen, charcoal becomes a powerful tool for expressive, emotive drawing. By harnessing the medium’s versatility and inherent fragility, artists can craft captivating narratives, capture the human form with psychological intensity, and even conjure vast, dramatic landscapes. Contemporary charcoal drawing continues to push the boundaries of this timeless medium, blending traditional techniques with bold, experimental approaches.
Charcoal Drawing Essentials
Charcoal is made from wood (especially willow or vine twigs) that has been heated to a high temperature in a low-oxygen environment, a process called pyrolysis. This heating transforms the wood into a black, crumbly substance that is easily manipulated on the drawing surface. The medium’s distinct qualities – its soft, velvety marks, potential for rich tonal variation, and smudgeable yet erasable nature – have made it a favoured tool for artists throughout history.
One of charcoal’s most captivating features is its ability to create chiaroscuro – the interplay of light and dark. By selectively removing or building up the charcoal, the artist can make the white of the paper surface become a highlight, lending a sense of depth, form, and atmosphere to the drawing. Charcoal’s versatility allows for a wide range of mark-making techniques, from broad, gestural strokes to delicate, detailed lines.
Expressive Potential of Charcoal
The inherent fragility and mutability of charcoal medium lends itself well to evoking psychological and emotional states. Many contemporary artists have exploited this quality to powerful effect, creating figurative works that feel intimate, ephemeral, and vulnerable.
In Celia Paul’s charcoal portrait Jane (1999), the subject’s features seem to emerge from and recede back into the velvety darkness, capturing a fleeting, dream-like quality. Similarly, Jenny Saville’s Thread (2017–18) transforms the human figure into something monumental yet impermanent, with Saville’s rapid, gestural charcoal strokes conjuring the sensations of a body in constant motion.
The medium’s capacity for both delicate precision and bold, sweeping gestures allows artists to craft compositions that are at once visually striking and deeply expressive. Idris Khan’s charcoal diptych on handmade Korean Hanji paper exemplifies this dynamic interplay, with each carefully considered mark contributing to an overarching sense of tension and dynamism. The interplay between the paper’s natural texture and Khan’s layered charcoal gestures creates a palpable depth, drawing the viewer into a meditative space.
Charcoal in Landscape and Portraiture
Charcoal’s versatility extends beyond the human form, allowing artists to capture the drama and topography of the natural world. David Bomberg’s bold use of the medium in The City, Ronda, Spain (1935) conveys the sublime power of the Andalucian landscape, with powerful contrasts of light and dark intensifying the depth and mood of the rugged, vertiginous terrain.
Portraiture, too, has long been a domain for expressive charcoal drawing. Leon Kossoff’s Young Man Seated (1961) masterfully manipulates the medium to evoke both the solidity and vulnerability of the sitter, the density and smudging of the charcoal imbuing the work with a profound psychological weight.
Contemporary artists continue to push the boundaries of charcoal portraiture, often embracing the medium’s inherent fragility. María Berrío’s charcoal drawings of young dancers, Untitled 11 and 12 (2024), capture a moment of stillness with a palpable human presence, while Jake Grewal’s Me Outside of Myself (2024) depicts figures emerging from the blackness behind, a tender vision that seems to explode beyond the picture frame.
Charcoal and Creative Process
For many artists, charcoal is not merely a medium but an integral part of their creative process. Pierre Bonnard, for example, used charcoal to quickly capture compositional studies and indicate areas of light and dark, even colour – a vital step in his artistic workflow. The speed and fluidity of charcoal allowed Bonnard to swiftly record his observations and ideas, laying the groundwork for his finished paintings.
Charcoal’s malleability and erasability make it an ideal material for experimentation and exploration. Peppi Bottrop, who grew up in Germany’s industrial Ruhrgebiet region, treats the drawing surface as a privileged site to psychically mine his own past, creating frenetically rendered “cartographic recollections” that capture the dichotomy between industry and nature.
Similarly, Konstantina Krikzoni embraces the mercurial qualities of charcoal in her practice, layering and reworking the medium to create atmospheric, dreamlike compositions that evoke the fragility of the human experience. The artist’s textured supports, such as Japanese papers, allow the charcoal particles to adhere in a way that enhances the expressive potential of her mark-making.
Elevating the Everyday
Charcoal’s remarkable versatility also lends itself to capturing the poetic and the profound in the quotidian. Emily Coan’s large-scale charcoal drawings, for instance, transform the everyday into the monumental, rendering intimate scenes and domestic environments with a sense of grandeur and emotional resonance.
Coan’s approach reflects a broader trend in contemporary charcoal drawing, where artists seek to elevate the ordinary and make the commonplace feel melodic and meaningful. Barbara Walker’s figurative works, which interrogate issues of race, identity, and power, exude a profound humanity, while Aurel Schmidt’s intricate drawings transform the detritus of our world into powerful memento mori.
Embracing Chiaroscuro
As this survey has demonstrated, charcoal remains a dynamic and expressive medium in the hands of contemporary artists. By embracing the medium’s inherent qualities – its capacity for rich tonal variation, gestural mark-making, and evocative chiaroscuro – these artists are crafting works that are at once technically masterful and profoundly emotive.
Whether depicting the human form, the natural world, or the fabric of everyday life, charcoal drawing continues to be a powerful tool for creative expression. By harmonising light and dark, artists unlock new avenues for narrative, psychological, and aesthetic exploration – inviting viewers to engage with the world in fresh, captivating ways.
To explore more inspiring charcoal drawing and discover the latest creative techniques, be sure to visit Pencil and Paint Muse. Our art tutorials, technique analyses, and creative insights are designed to help emerging artists hone their skills and find new sources of inspiration.
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