About Scratchboard Art

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My scratchboard artwork is done on material called Black Claybord by Ampersand. It is a masonite board covered in white Kaolin clay and then sprayed with India ink. I transfer my drawing onto the board using white transfer paper. Then using a sharp instrument, in my case, a scalpel, I make small, sometimes tiny scratches in varying depths, revealing the white beneath and eventually the image emerges. This can be left as is at this point or I can “color” it, using thin coats of colored inks which I used for this rose, made especially for claybord. I scratch in again and re-ink several timesto achieve the depth of color and highlights that I want. I coat it with an acrylic spray sealer, to protect the finished piece.

Detail from Maryann's Rose