WIP: Dawn: African Lions. Prismacolor sketch pencils on black paper, 10 x 8 in, 2007.
Before I start a new scratchboard I typically make a fairly detailed drawing in graphite. Because scratchboard tends to be an unforgiving medium, it’s important that I have a good grasp of things like: composition and light/shadow placement, as well as nuances of fur, before I start etching the board.
It recently occurred to me, however, that making a dark drawing on a white ground, i.e. pencil on paper, might not be the best way to go about this… I thought I’d try an experiment and begin my prepatory work with a light drawing on a dark ground, i.e. white charcoal on black paper. The above is the result.
The reference is from the WetCanvas! reference image library, otherwise known as the WC! RIL, and it’s by jerrirose (Thanks, jerri, for such a great photo!). The photo shows the lions facing to the left of the picture plane, but I flipped them and I set them farther left of the picture plane - I wanted to make sure the male’s eye fell into a pleasing spot in the composition.
Why the flip? When lions are in the first blush of their mating ritual, they often adopt similar postures and poses - they begin to mirror each other. Whether they do this as a result of being close or because they are trying to signal closeness, I’m not sure; but other animals do it as well. Even humans - don’t believe me? Next time you’re down at the local watering hole, watch how a couple flirting with each other will make similar movements: she touches her hair, he touches his; he laughs and tosses his head back, she does the same. At any rate, these lions are looking off into the horizon together and I wanted to signal to the viewer that they were at the beginning of their relationship. I’ve come to think of the right of my picture plane as “east” and light coming from that direction as dawn or sunrise - thus the beginning of things.
I’m quite pleased with how this has worked out. Pleased enough that I’m going to be buying a lot more black paper…
Longing. Scratchboard, 10 x 8 in, 2007. $280.00, framed.
Well, I’m all packed up for the members show of the Nipawin Art Club; it runs throughout July and August. In addition to the horse above, I’ve entered the leopard scratchboard:
Camouflage: African Leopard. Scratchboard with acrylic ink, 5 x 7 in, 2007. $120.00, framed.
And I’ve also entered the larger grizzly board as well; remember, from May?
Grizzly. Scratchboard with acrylic ink, 12 x 9 in, 2007. $380.00, framed.
So, if you happen to be in Nipawin this summer, check out my work at the Nipawin Library and Art Gallery in the Central Park Learning Centre. And if you come that far… stop and play a while - Nipawin has great camping at Nipawin Regional Park, fishing at Tobin and surrounding lakes, or play a round at the Evergreen Golf Club.
Today (well, in Canada at least) is National Aboriginal Day, a day for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people to celebrate and share their cultural heritage. And how did I mark the occasion? Well, I did bake some bannock last night and had some leftover this morning with jam… does that count?
This morning, walking with Mack (my Golden Retriever), I saw some graffiti spray painted on a garage door, “I’m a creative Cree native!” it read. While I can’t approve the support this artist chose for her/his work, it sure reads a lot easier than if I’d have painted it: “I’m a creative person of mixed Métis and Hungarian heritage!” Just doesn’t have the same ring…
Recently, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect spray fixative and varnish for my scratchboard art. I had been using Lascaux’s Fixativ matte finish spray but I’m not sure if they changed the formula or what, but it’s been leaving a sort of “spotty” finish on the surface of my favourite support: Claybord Black.
I know most scratchboard artists use Ampersand’s Claybord Fixative spray, and I’ve heard that it’s an amazing product. But I can’t get it locally and the brokerage fees from shipping things across the ‘49 are killing me! So I went back to the drawing board and pulled out my tech sheets on a few sprays, got out some scrap boards and started playing around with some varnishes I could get locally. And the winner is…
Golden’s MSA Spray Satin Varnish!! http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/msavar.php
and I think I’m in love (or maybe it’s just a high from the fumes?) at any rate, the varnish is exactly what I was looking for: archival, removeable for restoration purposes, with ultra-violet light protection, and a finish that’s not too matte but not at all glossy. I’m still going to use the Lascaux Fixativ underneath - as an isolation coat, but the final surface will be Golden.
Ahh, artists are so easily amused.
Meet for Coffee. Scratchboard, 5 x 7 in, 2007.
I fell in love with scratchboard during a workshop in 1999. The instructor was the late Bill Haussecker http://www.billhaussecker.com/ and halfway through the workshop I felt like I had come home. I was working on a rabbit, and I loved the way the scratchboard was so well-suited to depicting the fur and how the subject seemed to emerge from the darkness as I worked.
Since then, I’ve become more skilled and my subjects more varied, but I still love watching how the scratches model light, shadow and form.
