- "Safety" - Final
"Safety" 7" x 5" Claybord (white scratchboard) with India ink, ink wash, watercolor (eyes), Pitt Art Marker (shades of warm grey) and a 7B pencil. I used the pencil near the end to add a layer of light shadow to the fabric on the right side. Scratched with a #16 X-Acto. This one took a LOT longer than I had planned, but I'm really happy with how she turned out. "Safety" received a Silver award (2nd place) in the Master's division of the 2017 International Society of Scratchboard Artists' Annual Exhibition. It also sold from the Exhibition. - "Safety" - Framed
"Safety" framed I'm really happy with how the framing turned out. The 5 x 7 scratchboard is glued to an 8 x 10 Ampersand Gessobord that I airbrushed with warm grey mix of inks and then distressed (using various methods that I will probably never be able to replicate). The frame is simple, black wood. - "Safety" 1
Here's the first, sloppy stage of "Safety", 7" x 5" The reference photo has a lot of light values in it, so I used Claybord (white scratchboard) for the drawing - that way, I didn't have to remove a lot of black. using artistic license I chose to make the upper and lower left sections dark instead of showing the dog's body. The shape wrapping around her head is an arm in a fleece sweatshirt. At this stage, I blocked in the values by painting with full strength India ink & ink washes. It looks really rough here, but all this became detailed with scratching as I worked through the process. I used a Rapidograph (technical pen) filled with India ink to draw the eyes and to scribble the stripes of her brindle pattern. At this point I had just started "texturizing" the solid black areas by scratching. Here's an Instagram video showing stippling on a portion of the background: www.instagram.com/p/BH4aLolBaqP - "Safety" 2
At this stage, everything has been scratched back to blend the rough look from the previous stage. I added watercolor to her eyes. The background is finished - through a process of scratching, stippling, scratching, stippling, etc. to get that textured look. It's much richer and almost velvety compared to the first stage, where the background was simply a layer of India ink. I posted this video of the scratching process to Instagram: www.instagram.com/p/BIYm9c4hROX - "Safety" 2 - Detail
A detail of the 2nd image in the series. - "Safety" 3
Washes of ink over the previous round of scratching. With the scratches underneath to provide texture, this layer of ink is smoother than the first layer. Still rough, but becoming more refined. - "Safety" 4
Getting closer, the left side of her face needs more work, as does the lower right corner of the sleeve. Instagram where you can see me using a Pitt Art Marker marker to add grey: www.instagram.com/p/BIhG627BlO7/ - "Whuuut?" Pit Bull Pup
"Whuuut?": 2" square scratchboard in progress. All scratched, ready for color - "Whuuut?" Pit Bull Pup
"Whuuut?": 2" square scratchboard with colored ink. *sold* - Addie, Cocker Spaniel
Addie: 2" square scratchboard with colored ink. *commission* - Desire
Scratchboard with Colored Ink 5" square, framed to approx. 8.5" square Available Here - French Bulldog
French Bulldog: 2" square scratchboard with watercolor. *sold* - Golden Retriever Pup
Golden Retriever Pup: 2" square scratchboard with colored ink. *sold* - Hanna 1
Hanna the Harrier (breed of Hound), in progress. 5" x 7" scratchboard Reference photo provided by my client. I started with the railing to be sure it was headed in the direction I wanted, then began scratching on Hanna. - Hanna 2
Watercolor on the railing: I've scratched & added color twice. I'm still building the contours & wood grain, but I like how it's going. I'll add some color pencil to define the grain further. Just scratching so far on Hanna. Clearly, I'm not worried about drawing the eyes first. Every drawing is different, the eyes happen when they happen...