Cristina Penescu’s work is about as good as it gets in the genre of realistic scratchboard. I can’t think of anyone who has a more consistent portfolio of excellent work.
What sets her work apart from most is her attention to composition and light. She isn’t just taking a photograph and doing her best to mimic it in scratchboard. It’s obvious she is carefully choosing the reference photograph and planning the way it will be presented in the composition, including the background. Her subjects look like they comfortably belong in the space she creates for them on the board. Her use of bright highlights and dark shadows leads the eye on a visual journey through the strongest points of interest. And, her use of airbrush gives her work a greater tonal range than is generally possible with scratching alone.
I also like the fact that she is not afraid to show her work at large sizes. It is easy to admire someone’s work when you can see it in such detail.
I had seen these videos before, and ran across them again as I was researching using an airbrush for scratchboard—something I haven’t yet tried but have a strong desire to try. I wanted to share them here with anyone else who might be interested.
I am very interested in learning to apply airbrushing to my scratchboard. Could you tell me if you use, ink, acrylic, or airbrush paint?
Your work is stunning. I love what you do. I am doing animal portraits and animal art but fairly new to this medium . I worked in other mediums for many years but have found my passion with scratchboard.
Thank you for your help with your tutorials and for showing your beautiful work for all of us to enjoy.
Hi Shar,
Cristina Penescu created the videos that I linked to, and I’m not sure what she is using for ink. I would assume it is the black that Ampersand sells with their color ink set, but it could be something else. Ampersand talks about ink on their website.
I posted the videos because I have the same interest as you. I want to see what I can do with an airbrush. It won’t be long before I make my purchase and start experimenting. Until then I can’t speak with any authority on the subject.
The best place to ask about using airbrush with scratchboard is wet canvas.com. It is a very active community of artists of all skill levels. There is a scratchboard forum and the people are very friendly and willing to answer questions.
Russ
Thank you for your response. I really enjoy your site.