How I created “Great Horned Owl” scratchboard

“How I Created Great Horned Owl scratch board”

One of the mediums I’ve really liked working in is scratch board.

Scratch board is a board with a thin layer of clay that is then covered with India ink.  A sharp tool is used to scratch out lines and create an image.

An image is created focusing on the light detail areas. It’s a reverse from working in other mediums such as charcoal or pen and Ink where an artist draws black lines and dark areas of an image on a white paper.

I use an exacto knife to scratch out the image.

I’ll show you my work at each stage as I created “Great Horned Owl” in this medium.

Here is the reference photo I picked to use for this image. I photographed this Great Horned Owl at an Audubon Society exhibit.

I started by deciding where I wanted the owl on the scratch board.  As in the photo reference, I  decided to have the owl image vertical on the board like a portrait.

As a rule, I don’t place the image in the exact middle of the board but just off center.  It creates a better composition overall.

I then start to scratch out lines of the owl.  Because I’m working on a black background my focus is on the light detailed areas of the image.

Here is a detail image of the face of the owl with eye and beak.  I scratched out a line for the pupil and the eyebrow and light areas to define the face.

I worked the image of the owl and branch that I chose to place it on.  In the reference photo the owl is on a perch.

I like to place the animal in a more natural setting so I placed him on a branch.

Building on a natural setting, I added a moon peeking out of clouds and a thin twig above to indicate more of the tree.

Lastly, I added a slightly lower branch to fill the space at the bottom of the board.

I’m happy with the final image. I then signed my name at the right hand corner of the board.

That’s how “Great Horned Owl” was created.

Thank you

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Please feel free to contact me with questions on art/products and/or comments at lisa@lisasart.com

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BankRI exhibit: scratch board works by Lisa Wald Guarino.

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Visit The Equine Art Guild website at www.equineartguild.com .

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For more information, contact Darla (darla@darladixon.com) or visit SoldierPortraits.org.

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