There is something particularly appealing about images created by an
artist who is strongly skilled in the medium of scratchboard. This
slightly arcane and quite demanding medium is the
through-the-looking-glass version of pen and ink; in which black ink is
taken away from the coating on a clay-surfaced board, and the image is
built from lights rather than from darks.
It may be the texture, the balance of dark to light, or the
characteristic line work, but I often find scratchboard images
particularly compelling.
Patrick Arrasmith is an accomplished illustrator who works primarily
in scratchboard, and his work is an excellent case in point.
Arrasmith’s clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, The Village Voice, Entertainment Weekly, Reader’s Digest,
Outside, The Weekly Standard and numerous other periodicals and book publishers. txt via