My work is created using a knife tip to make scratches. Scratchboard is a subtractive medium. I scratch through the black India layer into the white kaolin clay beneath to create a black and white image. The more I scratch the lighter that area will become, allowing me to create a range of tones. Some of the tools I use are an X-Acto knife with a scalpel blade (makes an extremely fine line), sandpaper, tattoo needles and fiberglass brushes. Because these tools leave quite fine marks, the medium is great for realistic details. Multiple layers of scratching in an area creates a lighter, brighter white, but care must be taken not to cut too deep as this would affect further layering to be accomplished. After I scratch out the image in black and white, I can color in the scratches with transparent colored inks using a brush. Because I use transparent colors, the black scratched areas still show through. A scratching layer must be done after each layer of color to effectively create tonal values in the colored areas. Adding color adds twice the amount of work and time. I love the amount of detail that can be obtained with this medium. Literally everything you see has been scratched out by hand. Once completely dry, I apply several layers of varnish for a nice looking finish that doesn’t scratch as easily as it does prior to. Small pieces take me about 2 weeks to finish; large works can take several months (the only drawback to this new fine art medium).

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