Master Watercolor artist Laurin McCracken came to us live from Texas on Friday, July 30th for our weekly Up Close & Personal Conversation on Zoom and Facebook Live. He shared lots of great tips and enlightened all of us with his watercolor expertise.

For many years, Laurin blended his own special black to use for his signature painting style. Artists all over the world would regularly ask how he got his backgrounds so deep and dark with such a smooth, matte finish – and he happily shared his unique color blending process.

Laurin then worked with our chemists to create an exciting new black that would meet his needs right out of the tube. We’re proud to introduce this DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolor, McCracken Black – a complex black with a slight granularity and a degree of transparency.

Listen to Laurin tell the story about how he developed his signature style:

Click here to learn more about Laurin’s process for creating this spectacular still life below and stay tuned for more of his tips and tutorials coming soon!