Why Texture Matters

Texture and monochromatic Art

In any form of art, texture plays an essential role in how we perceive depth, form, and emotion. Whether it's the rough impasto of oil on canvas or the smoothness of watercolor washes, texture adds a tactile quality that invites the viewer to experience the work beyond just what they see. In monochromatic art, this becomes even more significant because the absence of color places greater emphasis on how form and texture work together to create visual interest. When working exclusively in shades of black, white, and gray—especially with charcoal—texture becomes one of the artist's most powerful tools.

Image: Baby Kookaburra’s extra soft feathers

The Texture of Charcoal

Unlike mediums like paint or clay, charcoal doesn’t provide the kind of tactile texture that can physically rise from the surface of the paper. However, the magic of charcoal lies in its ability to draw texture. Through varying techniques, charcoal can mimic the feel of different surfaces—from the softness of fur to the roughness of tree bark, or even the smoothness of skin. Charcoal’s versatility in mark-making is what makes it so well-suited to monochromatic art.

The material itself is responsive, offering a range of effects based on pressure, movement, and the grain of the paper. For example, a light touch with a soft vine charcoal can create feathered, almost ethereal marks, while a dense, hard charcoal stick can produce dark, velvety shadows. By building up these textures, I’m able to give the illusion of depth and dimensionality, allowing the subject to come alive despite the limited color palette.

In the Baby Paws series, this ability to replicate texture becomes especially important. Whether it’s the soft, downy fur of a baby animal or the subtle wrinkles in its skin, the goal is to render these details with enough accuracy that the viewer almost feels the sensation of touching the animal. Charcoal offers just the right amount of control and spontaneity to make this possible.

Image: Soft fur of this baby Wallaby

Drawing Texture, Not Just Showing It

The challenge with monochromatic art is that, without color to distinguish different areas, texture has to carry more of the visual weight. In this way, drawing texture becomes crucial. Rather than relying on tactile texture like the raised surface of oil paint, the texture in my work is entirely visual—it's an illusion created through careful layering and shading.

In pieces like those in the Baby Paws series, I strive to replicate the subtle variations in the animal's fur or the grain of their paws. Even though these textures exist on a flat surface, my goal is to suggest their physicality so convincingly that the viewer can almost feel them. It’s a delicate balance of light and shadow, soft edges and hard lines, all of which work together to create a rich visual texture.

This process also involves a deep understanding of how light interacts with surfaces. For example, the way light catches the edge of a baby wombat's fur creates highlights that I can draw using the edge of an eraser, lifting the charcoal to reveal the paper beneath. This helps create the illusion of shine and softness without ever adding physical texture to the surface of the artwork. Similarly, shading in the deeper recesses of the animal's body requires a more substantial application of charcoal to mimic the darkness of shadowed areas.

Image: Spikes and soft fur, create a great contract of textures for this baby Echidna.

The Role of Paper in Texture

The texture of the paper is another element that plays an integral part in how the final artwork appears. For the Baby Paws series, I’ve chosen Arches Aquarelle French cotton paper because of its high-quality, heavy grain that adds a slight tooth to the artwork. This tooth allows the charcoal to grip the surface, creating subtle variations in tone and texture that wouldn't be possible on smoother paper. The natural fibers of this paper also help create an organic, tactile feel, which enhances the overall texture of the artwork.

In monochromatic works like these, the paper's grain can sometimes peek through the charcoal layers, adding a soft, almost invisible texture that enhances the overall depth of the piece. It’s these tiny, often imperceptible details that give the artwork its richness and complexity, inviting the viewer to linger on the surface and appreciate the nuances.

Image: Archers Aquarelle Hot Press Watercolour paper featuring a deckled edge.

Creating Emotional Texture

Texture doesn’t just contribute to the physical appearance of the artwork—it plays a key role in its emotional impact. By carefully controlling the textures within a piece, I can evoke specific feelings or moods. In the Baby Paws series, the soft textures of the baby animals are meant to create a sense of calm and warmth. The texture suggests the softness and fragility of these animals, encouraging an emotional response from the viewer—whether that’s a sense of protection, tenderness, or simply the awe that comes with observing nature’s quiet beauty.

The absence of color sharpens the focus on these textures, allowing them to become the dominant feature of the piece. This creates a more immersive experience, where the viewer is drawn into the subtle interplay of textures and tones, rather than being distracted by colour.

Image: Busy B, the textures of the Cool B’s series were a delight to create with contrast in softness v reflective wings and glasses.

Conclusion: The Subtle Power of Texture

In monochromatic art, texture becomes a language of its own. With no color to lean on, every stroke, every shading decision, and every grain of paper contributes to the overall story of the artwork. Texture helps to define the subject, adds depth, and evokes emotion in ways that might be more subtle than bold color, but no less powerful.

For me, as an artist working primarily in charcoal, my goal is always to draw texture—to create the illusion of it—rather than rely on physical texture. This allows the work to remain clean and minimalistic while still conveying the intricate details that make each animal unique. It’s a process that requires patience and a deep understanding of light, shadow, and the material itself. But when it all comes together, the result is a piece that feels rich, detailed, and alive, even in its monochromatic simplicity.