Scratchboard

Artist Statement:

For this assignment, we had to make a realistic image using scratchboard. This was my first time using scratchboard on my own, the only other time I had used it has been in one of those little kits where the image is printed on and you just etch it in. The subject I chose was my grandmother's Australian Shepard, Pi. I thought that the original image had good contrast which is what I needed for this piece. The reason I chose this image in particular, is that my grandmother's birthday is coming up in the following week and I thought that she might like an image of her pup sleeping in her favorite chair.

The materials I used for this piece were scratchboard, assorted scratching tools, and ink. Personally, I was quite nervous to use scratchboard because once you make a mark it is on there for good. Using scratchboard was definitely a learning experience. I always had a scrap piece of scratchboard next to me so I could test a tool and find a good grip for the mark I needed to make. I used the ink in the end to correct some of my values.

The process for this piece was somewhat of a long one. First of all, I had no idea what I wanted my piece to be of, I probably spent a total of 35 minutes looking through two different camera rolls. After I found the image I wanted to make I graphed it along with graphing my board. Then began the process of making the actual piece which took roughly 3 hours to make because each line is one single etch. Overall I'm somewhat satisfied with how this piece turned out, I rushed a bit in the end because I thought the piece was due sooner than it actually was, and just a few of my proportions are off because I didn't draw out my image beforehand, which I think I would do if I ever did this again.