Cost: $15 per member (including an optional $12 materials fee for a kit containing Ampersand Scratchboard piece (5 by 7 inches) plus other practice pieces including UK Scraperboard, transfer and tracing paper etc.). You will need to advise Barbara prior to the workshop if you would like a kit.
Scratchboard is a great way to achieve remarkable detail and contrast (particularly in black and white). It is a medium which is clear and precise, as well as unique and dramatic. It can be coloured and reworked to present many interesting possibilities. Scratchboard consists of white porcelain clay with a coating of black India ink. Using a variety of specialised and ad hoc scratching tools, artists can scratch through the top layer of ink, with varying degrees of pressure, to expose the white clay beneath.
Colour can be added to the pieces using inks, colouring pencils or acrylic paint. Techniques used include cross-hatching, feathering and stippling. The medium is particularly effective for animal fur and feathers but is also very dramatic for landscapes.
Generally, artists use Museum quality, acid-free and archival Ampersand Scratchbord from the US. Some useful tips on scratchboard from Ampersand can be found here: https://ampersandart.com/scratchbord-tips.php
Workshop outline:
This 3 hour workshop will introduce participants to the basics of producing Scratchboard art. Issues to be covered include:
- Choosing your picture and composition;
- Choosing your substrate (card v board) (black, gold and silver!) (also cover Claybord);
- Brands of Scratchboard – Scratch Art, Ampersand, Scratch-Brite, Esdee Scraperboard (card);
- Choosing your tools (pens, knives, blades, sgraffito nibs and others) (inks, steel wool, line tool, wire brush, fibre brush - See https://ampersandart.com/tools-accessories.php);
- The types of marks – modulated lines, feathering, cross-hatching, stippling (dots or small dashes) etc.;
- How to create different marks - patterns, form, textures and tonal values;
- Tips and tricks;
- Transferring your image (e.g. white transfer paper);
- How to progress your piece – a step by step demonstration of a simple picture;
- Fixing mistakes – Ampersand correcting ink, Pitt pens;
- Adding colour or hints of colour – Ampersand inks, acrylics, artist quality coloured pencils;
- Finishing off – signing, varnishing, framing, including floater frames;
- Art forums or sites – International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) at https://scratchboardsociety.org/, Wet Canvas has a scratchboard section at http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=347 and www.ampersandart.com.
Barbara will provide an information session including reference to key texts in this area (see below) and do a demonstration. Participants will get a chance to try out different tools and techniques on Ampersand Scratchbord and other types of card scratchboard. Time may not permit the conclusion of a piece by students but advice and directions will be given to enable a picture to be commenced which can be finished in the participant’s own time.
Materials:
Basic Craft knife (available from Kmart, Artery), medical scalpel or an X-Acto knife with a No.11 blade
Ampersand Scratchbord 5 by 7 inches – available at Adart or online (already included in optional kit)
Reference photos (although the tutor will have some on hand)
Paper towel or towels or old handtowel or wet wipes
Fibreglass tool or Ampersand Scratchboard kit (available from Artery or online) OPTIONAL
Any tools you would like to scratch with! – fine sandpaper, oil-free steel wool, nail file, pins etc.
Any colouring pencils or inks you would like to colour with.
There will be some tools available to scratch with if you don’t want to purchase any special tools prior to attending.
References:
Diana Lee “Starting from Scratch” 2012 1st Edition
Ruth Lozner “Scratchboard for Illustration” Watson-Guptill Publications New York 1990
Ampersand website - www.ampersandart.com