If you’d like to see some samples of the world’s most amazing scratchboard art, I’ll take you there! The International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) has posted its 2020 Online Show, and I am in awe of the creativity and artistic talents of scratchboard artists.
As a new member at the “active” level of the ISSA, I was allowed to enter two of my scratchboards into the annual non-juried show. I entered “Purple Cow” and “Heart To Heart.” Even at the Active Member level, the work of my peers blows my mind, and that of artists who have achieved higher Signature and Master status is absolutely breathtaking.
You can view this exhibit online. Realistic animal and bird images are popular in scratch art, but those in the show present many unique approaches. Other subjects are included, with still life, portraiture, landscapes, cityscapes, and botanicals. When you click to enlarge any of the images, be sure to note the size of the artwork. Many of these are surprisingly small, illustrating the power of capturing great detail with scratchboards, as well as the proficiency of these artists.
This show truly inspires me to explore this unusual art media further and experiment with new techniques to improve my own scratchboarding skills. My next goal for my black scratchboards is to get accepted into the ISSA annual juried show, this year slated from November – January in Tucson. Meanwhile, watch my blog posts for the upcoming scratchboard paintings, currently at the ‘floating around in my brain’ stage.
