Scratch Board

The subject of my creation is a many pine needles that were encapsulated in ice after a storm in the winter. This artwork was created using a scratch board, slowly carving away the black layer on top to reveal the white surface below with several different tools to give different textures and tones. I chose to create this specific artwork because I needed a black and white photo that had some interest, and this one included many different tones/shades. Also, I thought it would look intriguing if I was able to pull off the look of a semi transparent ice. In this project I used the following elements and principles of design: value in the different tones included, texture in all the lines left by the tool, and contrast since the project has some sharp blacks on whites. This is composed all over the place, not necessarily in a central location, but your eyes are drawn to the main branch.

The composition rules and techniques included in this project are informal balance since it is not centered on one main thing, sharp focus since the reference image was a detailed close up of it, and grouping since the pine needles are mainly grouped up into sections naturally. My project evolved because when I was scratching, I accidentally moved down a row of squares, so I had to readjust to fit everything in by condensing the middle of the photo.

The story behind this is that it was one of the many snow days we had this year, and I noticed that there was ice clinging to everything, so I thought it would be cool if I got some photos of it and this is what I ended up with. This project relates to my life because it is based off of a photo that I took myself. If my artwork could be stronger, I think I would have made the proportions more exact to the reference image, and I would have made the "scratch strokes" a little more controlled looking, since as of now I think they look a little messy.