Pencil has always been my first love and large works in this medium are both daunting and thrilling to undertake. Before I start on a large painting I will complete a detailed study, giving me the opportunity to get the anatomy of the subject and the composition right. If the drawing works I am pretty confident that I will be satisfied with the painting. Satisfied is probably the wrong word.I don’t know any artist that isn’t full of self doubt, so happy might be more accurate. Ink on scraper board has been recognised as an illustrators medium for a very long time, probably because with early printing methods it reproduced so well. It’s a sealed china clay surface that can be drawn on with ink and then scratched to reveal the white surface beneath. I work with a scalpel to scratch the surface giving me the finest detail possible.