K H A Z A R I E M

Empty faces' is my style of drawing men and women. They don’t have any features displayed. When I was comprehending the idea, I was hesitant because I felt it was difficult to communicate emotion with - with nothing!

When I managed to create my first face-less face, I could not complain. It did not appear lacking to me (it is subjective of course); I then immediately drew a second face, this time with the eyes and the mouth.

The difference I observed was that an empty face ended up showing a lot more emotion; a lot more mystery and it’s difficult to describe, but if I try, it felt like it wasn’t demonstrating a specific person, it was demonstrating an emotion, and essence and a persona which anyone could be - you could be that person.

The face with the eyes and the mouth was definitively speaking of a person, not a persona.

And the truth was, with what I had set my direction in, I was drawing more than a person - I was drawing persona.

My work is intended to be very light, and very clean and very calm. It should draw you in, just as soft whispers cause you to listen more. It’s meant to caress your eyes.

One of the most important words to describe my work is restraint.

It is essential in my own craftsmanship for the pencil to create the emotion. As in all drawings, a pencil is not used as a draft. It is used to tell the story, and it has to be used to such a skill to convey completeness, yet private-ness, like being an insider.

There is no where to hide, and every drawing has to be powerful on its own. No other medium in essence should be needed to enhance its power. The power of the pencil is that it should not need enhancement. When color is added it’s done very cautiously. The slightest hardness, or exertion or pressure overworks the piece and it’s power, and preciousness, is lost.

I started drawing distinctively when I was 13 years old. At 14, I drew my first figure. It became my first passion, and many more women followed. I give a lot of my works a human name, because each of them is one of my women.

After 15 years of dedication, I drew what would become my signature style.

It took years to reach what I would deem my version of the finest craftsmanship - in essence, among many artists, what was the style that I could offer to the world.

After splashing colors, sharp lines and full-figures - what one can perhaps call bold art, I drew my first definitive figure. Unlike my past women, she was drawn highly delicately, nothing but a pencil to give to her rawness. It was drawn on discipline, and with a huge focus on lightness and etherealness. It was meant to be airy, feathery, breathable. To that effect, color had to be added in hushed, muted tones to bring out the lines and the stress of the pencil, and serious restraint had to be exercised not to over-color it.

My work is a search for refinement—of extricating the extraordinary from the ordinary. Over the years, I have developed a distinct approach to drawing, one that relies on restraint, precision, and the power of minimalism. Every piece is created with a delicate hand, using only a pencil to craft raw, ethereal figures that feel both intimate and universal. The philosophy is simple: a drawing must stand on its own, without excess, without embellishment—only the quiet strength of the line itself. When color is introduced, it is done sparingly, in muted, whisper-like tones, always in service of the composition’s emotional weight. Even the materials used — pencils, soft papers, and, unexpectedly, cosmetics— are chosen for their ability to enhance the art’s breathability and lightness. The process is one of discipline, where every mark is intentional, and every omission is just as vital. At its core, my work is not just about capturing a subject, but about evoking a presence — one that lingers, that speaks in silence, that invites the viewer in.

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