THE CHARCOAL FOUND HIM: OTTO JORGENSON
What started as self-taught sketching quickly turned into a deep dive into portrait and figure work: bold, emotional, and unapologetically human.
Alaskan born Otto Jorgenson grew up in Flagstaff and now calls Phoenix home. Four years ago, he picked up a pencil and hasn’t looked back.
He began with pencil but fell hard for charcoal, drawn to its grit, depth, and honesty. And when Mad Art Materials dropped the Woodless Charcoal Pencil, Otto knew he’d found the missing piece in his toolkit.
In May 2024, Otto met Mad Charcoal (Josh Hernandez) at a live show at The Marshall Gallery, in Phoenix AZ and the connection was instant. Since then, the Mad Mafia has been a source of inspiration, mentorship, and creative fuel.
See more from Otto @ottojorgenson & OttoChromeStudio
Artist Bio:
An Arizona-based artist whose work captures the full spectrum of human experience, our best days, worst days, and everything in between. Through expressive mark-making and quiet observation, he weaves visual stories that speak without words, leaving behind the fingerprints of both artist and emotion. A close friend of Josh Hernandez, Otto and Josh first connected through Instagram DMs. A digital spark that grew into a creative friendship rooted in storytelling, honesty, and the shared pursuit of truth through art. @ottochrome