Working in white PanPastel on black paper, my portraits emerge not from lines or heavy detail, but from light itself. I am drawn to tenebrism—the dramatic interplay of illumination and shadow—not only as an aesthetic choice, but as a way of revealing the hidden dimensions of a face. For me, a portrait is not a detailed likeness that I “draw.” It is something I uncover, an intangible essence. Each subject rises gradually from darkness, as though memory or spirit takes form before the viewer’s eyes. The black paper holds silence and mystery; the white pastel becomes breath, presence, and emotion.