Tag: scratchboard

Oil Pastel Urban Landscape

No Comments

8″ x 10″, oil pastel on wood panel

I’m challenging myself to draw more freely and not rely so heavily on photos. I always use my own reference photos and generally draw with my laptop in front of me, referring to the image and zooming in to analyze details. Some part of me has had enough of that approach, however, but I know I’m not an imaginative artist and prefer references. So, I went back in time, thinking about film photography and considering using references that are small. Perhaps they capture the composition, the season, a particular mood, but they’ll leave room to improvise and loosen up a bit. I’ve leaned toward this more and more this past year with my drawings, but I decided to test myself.

I bought an Instax wide instant camera, and now I can take photos that can’t really be blown up to obsess on detail. The quality is mediocre, but the process is delightful. Having the photo develop right in front of you creates a certain kind of nostalgic magic. Although some photos turn out very nice, especially with bright lighting, most are kind of crooked and murky. I know I could also rely upon a plein air sketch, but I’m not quite that ambitious. Yet.

With this particular drawing/painting, I put down a coat of Gac100 as a sealant and then a coat of black gesso so I’d have a dark layer. I covered everything with a moody layer of oil pastel and scratched out my drawing. Everything that’s dark is scratched out.

I love the idea of using the scratchboards that come with a pre-applied layer of black, but that process is to scratch out highlights. I’m more interested in scratching out the darkest areas. I’m now in a period of exploration. What’s coming in the mail? Water soluble beeswax paints.

India Ink on Claybord

No Comments

Probably a final Inktober offering, a rather dreamy landscape based off a photo taken just down the road. There are so many layers on this it’s hard to count. It started as a white Claybord I inked to be mostly black, and then the scratching and layering of Ampersand inks began.

9″x12″, ink on Claybord

Categories: Art Ink

Tags: , , , ,

Goldfinch on Claybord

No Comments
6”x6”, ink on Claybord

I’m so pleased with this one, not because I like the image—I think the bird is a wee bit wonky—but because I varnished it and it turned out great. I reached out to the Spectrafix company and asked about some of their products and also asked what I could do to diminish brush marks when using Natural Glass. Delia wrote me back with a variety of thoughts, one of which was pouring the varnish instead of brushing. I gave it a try (over three coats of Final Fixative) and held my breath and it worked! I’m very happy with having this option for finishing these Claybords so I can frame them without glass.

Categories: Art Ink

Tags: , , , ,

Sleepy Sparrow

No Comments

Yet another 6″x6″ drawing on Claybord of a little bird, this time a very sleepy female House Sparrow. I used ink, graphite, and scratchboard techniques.

Above are four different stages, with the final one at the top of this post. As always, part of me likes the first version of this as much as I like the final version, but I can admit I’m not crazy about anything in between. If I ever had enough nerve, I’d experiment with a more stylized version and stop with a sparse, simple final product… but I kind of doubt I’ll ever have enough will power to actually do that.