aquabord

My recent focus on painting portraits has proven successful in eliminating most of my apprehensions, so I’m off and running. One thing I’ve learned is how much fun I have painting white-bearded males! Capturing white hairs is a challenge when painting in traditional techniques of watercolor on paper, where the white of unpainted paper is preserved vs. using any white paint – but a good challenge can help develop artistic skills. Recently I decided it was time to do a … Read More

I  created “Sweet Dreams” with a few new twists – not counting the twisted body of the cute little kitten: The reference photo is not one I took I selected an unusual palette of colors The application of paint was unconventional Watercolor pencils added some finishing touches From the first time I saw my friend Dawn’s photo of this kitty, I knew I had to paint it. Dawn had rescued her the middle of the road when she was ‘no … Read More

Here are valuable reference sources and hot links to help those of you who attend Scratchboard 101 presented by Judy Lavoie… and to help anyone else looking for great scratchboarding information! https://wfi.xfi.mybluehost.me References and Resources: ONLINE: Ampersand Art, Supplier of Aquabord™, Scratchbord™, Claybord™, other art panels, tools, inks, and great source of information: ampersandart.com Ampersand blog post about Aquabord™ Aquabord 101 Ampersand supplier for the UK, with a good blog post on scratchboards and other panels: Extraordinary Surfaces for Your … Read More

My reference photo I finished this newest scratchboard painting a few weeks ago but I’ve been too busy to blog about it until now. This wild Lady’s Slipper blossom, which I photographed in my forest late last April, was my chosen subject as a deadline neared; I had to deliver 8 original paintings for a solo show of my work as 2019 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year. Generally, I don’t cram at the last minute, but I thought … Read More

An art idea hit me like a bullet one day – how about an alpaca painting? I love painting animals, alpacas are adorable, people love alpacas… I should have thought of this long ago! A friend had told me about her pet alpacas a while back, so I contacted her and asked if I could visit for photos. Right away, Beth invited me to come by, and we chose a lovely sunny afternoon. Three alpacas were in the fenced area: … Read More

  Continuing my current MO of experimenting with new art materials and methods in my paintings, I’ve completed another scratchboard, this time with a new set of watercolors. I’ve Got Sunshine is my first painting with QoR® (pronounced ‘core’) watercolors from Golden Artist Colors (read more about the paints at the end of this post). As with my painting “Jasper,” I’ve painted this on Aquabord®, a white-surfaced scratchboard panel. When seed drops from our bird feeders into the gravel below the … Read More

  When I opened a new package of three little Aquabord™ panels, I thought I was trying a new painting surface… a thin layer of fine white kaolin clay on a hardboard with a pebbly texture, heralded as ideal for use with watercolors. The surface absorbs watercolor pigment similarly to cold-pressed (textured) watercolor paper, but the paint can be easily removed. It’s sometimes known as scratchboard, and when I was a kid we created our own by covering heavy paper … Read More