Scratch Art to Digital Art
My primary source for artistic outlet for decades has been photography. I was formally trained in all aspects of portraiture, from posing to composition, to lighting – be it natural light, on and off camera flash or studio strobes. Having had that outlet, I did not feel the pull to explore more traditional forms of art… until recently.
Oh, I have created plenty of graphic art pieces in due course, since about 10 years ago we (a family run business) ventured into the world of metal art created with a CNC plasma cutter. We did extremely well, as we offered completely custom made metal art. I drew the designs as graphic art, converted them to machine code, and my son cut (or more properly vaporized) the metal into unique and popular pieces. I have never promoted that business here, as there was never any need. People found us and we were very busy creating custom metal art for people around the world. Alas, overwork, and the outrageously rising inflationary costs of our materials burned us both out and forced us out of business. We still have requests for our services and dismay at its lack, but we decided to shutter this thriving revenue source as it had become impossible to charge what we needed in order to simply cover our materials costs. Having sat down every day for about ten years, to draw, albeit with a computer mouse, I suddenly felt adrift with the lack of creating. So, I turned and looked backwards at the art foundations that had been laid in the learning years, at school, at college, and felt the pull to create.
So, I did. I tried my hand at watercolor, which I had never studied, and seriously lack knowledge and technique. Though I have improved, through a bit of study and effort, I begin to wonder if I lack the patience, as you must paint in layers and allow the layers to dry completely between application of water/paint.
I found I can still draw fairly well with graphite or charcoal, as those had always been the mediums I leaned upon in my early life. My eye had been trained early on to look for the values, the darks and the lights and the shades between. I still like it, but I guess I was searching for something new.
So began colored pencil. Here was the medium I loathed in art/drawing classes. Little did I know way back then that I had been using inferior materials. Using good pencils, and good paper made what was once something I gritted my teeth to get through into a soothing, almost meditative process. Joy! I found a new medium!
But I wasn’t content to stop there. I have always admired scratchboard art, although I had only ever produced one piece of it in an art class, many decades ago. Scratchboard is a stiff board with kaolin clay ground (like a white plaster) over the top of the board that is evenly coated with (black) India ink over the top of the clay. You scratch away at the black ink to reveal the white clay below to render an image. It is subtractive, rather than additive, meaning that you remove material, kind of like sculpting, rather than adding paint or graphite or charcoal, to reveal an image. Interestingly enough, it relates closely to the graphic art I had been drawing for the last decade, for in the metal art we created, we removed material to reveal an image.
So, that brings us to Scratchboard art to digital art. I thought I would have a go at adding the galloping horse to a few of my Zazzle products. I really like the dynamic movement of the horse through the billowing dust. If you like it as well, let me know if you think it translates well to physical products. Here I have added it to a birthday card, and a sweatshirt. What do you think?
https://www.zazzle.com/store/novelteeart?rf=238097717578414568
https://www.zazzle.com/scratchboard_galloping_lusitano_horse_art_hoodie-256213014741325048
eponaleah
Eponaleah's Photoblography 