Scratchboard

The main idea that guided this artwork was my image. I chose this image because it has been in my camera roll for a long time and I have never used it anywhere. I also like the angle that this photo was taken at. The tree blocks the sun, making it appear black, or really dark. As I made the art my work started to look more mysterious to me. It sort of gave me a dark and hidden vibe, hence the name.

I made this art using scratchboard. Scratchboard is completely new to me and it wasn't my favorite medium to use. I had a hard time pulling the highlights out instead of the shadows, which is what we are used to. I also had a hard time making the background look like clouds. Eventually as I went on I started to feel more comfortable with it. I also didn't like how if you make a mistake there's no way to erase it.

First I printed out my image and then I covered the whole back with graphite. Then I used this image to trace on where the branches of my tree were. This was very helpful for me. I chose this method instead of gridding because I wouldn't have been able to erase the pencil marks from the grid. In the first half of my project I used mostly the tool with lots of fibers, then as I went I experimented with using small strokes with the metal tool.