Who Am I?
My name is Conor Smith and I am a Scratchboard artist based in Staffordshire in the United Kingdom. I specialise in creating realistic wildlife artwork. I am a member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists and I have been awarded Signature Status. My work is shown through online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. I have created multiple YouTube videos showing how I create my artworks to help inspire and motivate current and new scratchboard artists. I have been featured on the cover of International Artist Magazine and have been a finalist in the prestigious David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year.
When I am not creating artwork, I am working as a Paramedic within the National Health Service in the UK. I love being able to help people as a paramedic, but unfortunately it doesn't leave me with a lot of time to pursue my passion for art. But in life I find that you must make time for your passions and hobbies. So, whenever I get the chance, I pick up my tools and I get scratching.
My Process
Wildlife has always been my passion, and I think this was one element of my artistic journey that has never wavered. My aim when I create a piece is to try and create something with dramatic or interesting lighting or texture, and this is where the Scratchboard medium excels. My pieces will always try and have a strong focus on lighting, with areas that are starkly contrasted to the blackness of the board. I often choose subjects that have significant meaning to me, with the majority of my pieces focusing on big cats, with an emphasis of trying to highlight the endangered and vulnerable status of various wildlife around the globe.
When it comes to starting a piece, I always strive to find a reference that speaks to me, either with a dramatic or thought-provoking pose, interesting or complex textures, or intense lighting. If I can find one that incorporates all 3 it is normally a miracle. Choosing a reference photo is a critical component for me in my process, as the monochrome nature of my scratchboard work means I need to create interest with lighting, textures, and form, rather than colour.
When I have finally found my reference photo (which can take weeks), I then start to plan out the artwork, identifying areas where I can push highlights, problem solving how I will tackle certain textures, and manipulating areas of the reference I am not happy with. Scratchboard is a great medium for creating fur textures, however most marks are created using various lines and dots. When I am planning, I have to carefully think how I will render certain textures, such as the patterns of an iris, or the intricate undulations of a nose. There is also meticulous planning of tones, as the darkest value is the black ink of the board, and the brightest highlight is the white clay underneath the black ink. I have to plan which areas will be the brightest and darkest, and I aim to get these in early in order to help me plan out my midtones. All this planning is done before I even start the first scratches.
My Story
When you look at my artwork now, I think it becomes very clear, very quickly that I like to work in a style creating realistic wildlife art. But that hasn’t always been the case. Finding and developing my style as an artist has taken many years of experimentation with mediums, surfaces, and styles. I feel like saying this might be a cliché, as I think many artists find this challenge all too real. I started off with a determination to create artwork that was far flung from realism, using an impasto technique with oil paint to create tactile art that allowed the viewer to not only see the artwork but feel it. However, what I found after each piece, was a voice in my head, urging me to add “just a little more detail there”, and “just refine that area around the eye”. I found myself edging closer and closer to a style I initially had no intention of working in. But it started to intrigue me, drove a passion in me to want to create a realistic artwork that would make someone stop and question if it was a photograph.
Fast forward and I found myself trying a multitude of different mediums, from my original oils and acrylics, to coloured pencils and pastels. But none of them quite felt right for what I was searching for. I was always striving for more and more detail, always wanting crisper marks, brighter highlights, and deeper darker values, whilst finding I was loving the dryer mediums.
When I came across a medium known as Scratchboard, straight away I was unable to put it down. I felt like after years of searching and experimenting, I had finally found a medium that just felt comfortable and right. Scratchboard is a notoriously unforgiving medium, every mark made is forever etched into the board. And for some reason, this restriction and unforgiving nature draws me to it, the permanence of every mark, the fact that every mark must be laid with confidence and commitment. I feel like this is both as far away from my early days as an artist as you can get, but also there are elements that feel the same. If you really look close at my artworks, you can see and feel the scratched indented lines, there is a tactile element to it. The restrictions of every mark being permanent also gives me freedom in knowing if I put a mark down that’s incorrect or that I regret, I just incorporate it and carry on (as much as it frustrates me at the time). There are always ways of darkening certain marks with ink if you find you have made a mistake, but I rarely do this, as I prefer to use a completely subtractive technique and embrace all the marks made.
The materials used in scratchboard can be both limiting and expansive at the same time. I use Ampersand Scratchboards as my surface which has both incredible durability and smoothness when scratching. The materials used to scratch away the ink can vary. This is where I can have a bit of fun and experiment to see what different textures I can achieve. My go to tools are, an Xacto knife / Craft knife, and various tattoo needles. I use these tools for every piece I create, but any tool that can scratch the surface of the board can be used. I can also use a fibreglass brush, an ink eraser and even sandpaper to try and get a variety of different textures.
