Some time ago, someone asked me why, back when I mainly worked with coloured pencils, my progress photos barely showed the sketch underneath. The truth was simple...

Black objects often contain hints of indigo or deep navy tones. I remember that when I first started drawing animal portraits I leaned heavily into those cooler hues.

Now, for what I think is the second time in a row, I’m attempting to build black using a combination of coloured pencils and watercolour. Since I’ve never really described my process in detail before, this might come as a surprise...

If you click the link below, you can watch a short video showing the layering I talked about in one of my latest blog posts.

Inside the Studio is my way of encouraging you to look for your own answers, to go further and to find a balance between what you see here and what you can discover on your own.

This technique solved things I had struggled with for years. Combining pencil with watercolor opened up so many possibilities that I just couldn’t get with one medium alone.

Among them, one colour clearly stands above the rest. Whether I am working with pencils or paints, it is always there. Over time it has simply become a natural part of my visual language, a tone I return to again and again.