Black & grey
Black & grey is built from black ink, diluted to different strengths from the most transparent grey to solid black, and lets the skin itself provide the highlights. Everything depends on value: where the light falls and what sinks into shadow. It's the classic technique for realistic portraiture and one of the best at ageing, because the contrast between black and skin doesn't fade the way a light pigment does. Here it rarely comes alone: a teal gaze, red eyes or violet crystals — a single accent of colour that jumps out precisely because everything else is grey. It's the palette of nearly all the realistic portraiture in the portfolio, and of part of the neo-Japanese work.
