Ashes of Grace
Charcoal on Paper, 122cm x 92cm
This piece was inspired by the tension between beauty, struggle, and time. The falling angel, bound in chains, reflects the weight of limitations and inner battles we often face. Above her, the raven hovers like a messenger of fate, while below, the melting clock symbolizes the fleeting nature of time and grace.
Working in charcoal allowed me to capture both the softness and the raw intensity of these themes — the deep contrasts of shadow and light mirror the emotional contrasts within the subject.
For me, Ashes of Grace is about finding a haunting beauty in brokenness, and the quiet strength that can emerge even in moments of loss.
The piece is a meditation on the paradox of existence: how even in downfall, there is dignity; how brokenness can still carry a haunting beauty; and how every chain, every shadow, and every passing second ultimately shapes the ashes from which new strength might rise.
her.
While drawing her, I felt like I was sketching fragments of my own battles... An angel weighed down by chains, not just falling, but being watched by the raven, a silent witness to pain. Every line carried both the ache of defeat and the beauty of resilience, and it has been my life lately.
I really enjoyed making this piece because, I drew her not just as an angel falling, but as freedom restrained, grace shackled by invisible battles. The raven became her witness, her guide, her reminder that even in the deepest fall, she is not alone.
