Scratchbord®

Have you ever heard that scratchboards are unforgiving and mistakes can’t be fixed? Forget those rumors, I’ve proven this is not true (fortunately)! This project began three years ago, when I took a one-day workshop focused on setting up still life arrangements as references for paintings. The class was presented by my dear friend and gifted trompe l’oeil artist Laurie, who is also a terrific art instructor. When each student was ready to create an arrangement, Laurie provided different sized … Read More

My newest scratchboard is an alpaca, from photos I took several years ago of the three alpaca pets a friend was raising. Not long after my photo shoot I did my first alpaca painting, a colorful watercolor on Aquabord™ titled “Happy Harley.” For this newest art, I selected one of the alpacas named Charlie – I was inspired to create a scratchboard painting of him. The hair kept grabbing my attention!

A walk through my friend Lil’s gorgeous gardens inspired my newest scratchboard “Summer Hummer.” I had been pondering a suitable painting subject to use some new metallic watercolors. A male ruby-throated hummingbird seemed perfect, with his sparkling emerald crown and red throat. I could paint our summer visitor as if he were hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar; Lil’s brilliant red tubular flowers of “Crocosmia Lucifer” (native to South Africa) gave me the ideal floral reference. A … Read More

When I display my scratchboard artwork, these are the most common questions I hear: What is Scratchboard? How long does it take you to do a scratchboard? Do you need a lot of patience? How do you add color? What if you make a mistake? I answer all these questions below. My newest scratchboard “Warm Fuzzies,” which I recently showed in progress for several scratchboard demonstrations, is now finished and posted below, with detailed step-by-step photos and explanations to help … Read More

I often get a row of beautiful sunflowers blooming on the ground below our porch, from seeds dropped by birds at our feeders. Sunflowers follow the sun, and I captured this backlit photo early one morning. There were still dew drops on some petals, The early morning sunlight highlighted the yellow petals beautifully, especially in my backlit view. The image had lots of elements I like to capture in my art. I’ve painted sunflowers in watercolor and acrylics, but this … Read More

I’ve been sparse on blog posts lately, while busy with other art projects. After more than 40 years, I’ve returned to teaching! In the late 1970s I was a public school art teacher, covering grades K-12 during those years. When we moved to a community which didn’t need an art teacher, I learned new art skills on-the-job as a graphic artist. Now I’m teaching again… this time it’s scratchboarding! Scratchboarding is an uncommon art form and frequently generates great curiosity … Read More

It was love at first sight when I saw my friend Tammy Kokjohn’s fabulous photo of a mother duck and her ducklings. One little babe had was cozied up to mom’s neck, looking like he was serenading her. I knew it would make a lovely painting and immediately added it to my list of future scratchboards. I’ve been on a roll with scratchboards of birds, and this subject lends itself well to the texture and detail possible with scratchboarding. I … Read More

I’ve just added a rabbit to my list of scratchboard subjects. The soft and mottled fur screamed to be scratched and creating this 7” x 5” panel was great fun. Ampersand Art’s Scratchbord™ is an ideal surface for realistic artwork of animals and birds, allowing textures and details to be beautifully rendered. My very talented artist friend Laurie asked me to create a scratchboard painting for her from a photo she took while visiting Australia. Laurie is an award-winning painter, … Read More

You might say I added a pelican feather! “Breeding Plumage,” which I created on scratchboard and colored with inks, has won an award. It was just selected for an “Award of Merit” in the current Arts in the Airport exhibition at McGhee-Tyson Airport in Knoxville, TN. Juror Terri Jordan chose 3 winners from the 44 artworks in the show, awarding “Best of Show” plus two equal “Juror Citations – Awards of Merit.” This show is open to all types of … Read More

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” – William James I liked the above quote and it inspired the title for my newest painting “Wise Eyes.” Unintentionally, it seems I am in a ‘bird’ phase. My three most recent scratchboard paintings have been a black swan, a brown pelican, and this northern whitefaced owl. Feathers can be beautifully rendered on black scratchboards, as can fur and other textures. I recently taught a class on … Read More