SCRATCH THAT ITCH

SCRATCHBOARD WITH WATERCOLOR

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scratchboard, nubs/pen holder & watercolors

Every year the kids are intimidated but excited to try this completely new medium.

They've seen the results from years before and they want to give it a go as well.

I buy the nicest scratchboard I can find because if you don't it won't hold up to the watercolor.

I get mine at Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster, Ca. 

I'm sure they take online orders. 

You will also need two different types of nibs that fit into a pen holder.

One is pointy and the other is a scoop shape.

tiny amplers done by seniors Christian Balbido and William Tan

1 1/2 " by 3"

2" by 2 1/2"

I start the kids by demoing the two different nibs on a tiny piece of scratchboard.

Then I give them all a small sample piece and have them choose a subject 

and practice working on this little piece.

Then they practice their watercoloring over top.

In the meantime at home they are searching for a great subject for their larger piece.

Here is another sampler.

It looks enormous but is really very petite.

Probably about 2 1/2"  by 3" at the most.

I believe this kitty was done by Sarah Oh as her practice.

These are the larger pieces from last school year.

Some of these photos didn't turn out as colorful as I was hoping for

so I apologize ahead of time.

The best resources to work from are photos are animals because of their fur.

Most of the nib strokes are done with crosshatched or hatchure lines.

Some of the kids like to incorporate pointillism as well.

In this gorgeous owl by junior Angelica Luza, 

you can see her watercolor much better along with its range of value.

They had to bring in range in both the drawing and the painting.

These dogs above were beautifully done by senior Sarah Oh.

You can see the pointillism in the backdrop.
The kids were also required to make their own matt.
I really like the thin strip of gold that Sarah put on before the black matt.

And senior Christian Balbido choose to do his own adorable pup.

Loving the scale he worked to as well as how he cropped the piece within the matt.

 This regal and incredibly gorgeous piece is the work of senior Tiffany Chen.

I feel this work really shows off her amazing drawing skills and attention to detail.

I so wish there would have been an art competition at the end of the year.

I would have entered this piece.

Exceptional work Tiff!!

WAnd w end with this brilliant work by senior Mary Kim.

She spent so many hours on this work and it was worth the wait.

She wasn't able to complete it when it was due 

so this is the first time the kids from her class are seeing the finished product.

Exactly a year later because I'm so tardy getting these pieces posted.

SCRATCH YOUR ITCH - PART 2

SCRATCHBOARD WITH WATERCOLOR

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scratchboard, nibs & holder & watercolors

We saw the Scratchboard Prelims. yesterday,

and today their final works in this medium.

They really are quite remarkable.

Enjoy!

Senior Mayaya Sithichai

Senior Jazzrie Lo

Senior Ayesha Durrani

Senior Kevin Mao

Senior Eileen Lee

SCRATCH THAT ITCH...

SCRATCHBOARD W/ WATERCOLOR

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scartchboard, nibs & pen holder, watercolor

with a pointy nib on the most wonderful product called Scratchboard.

It's a poster-like white bristol paper that is coated with a black substance.

Making the tiniest scratch on it 

will cause the black coating to flake off and reveal the white underneath.

Then I required at least 255 watercolor to go into the white parts for added interest and value.

The kids were also asked to cut a matt for their pieces for display purposes.

This remarkable work was done by senior Risha Bhakta.

So like-like you'd think it was a photograph.

Because Risha had tons of Extra Credit built up,

she asked if she could forgo the watercolor and loose pts.

That's why you aren't seeing any color in hers.

The kids use a combination of techniques to achieve their values;

crosshatching, hatchure strokes and pointillism.

A close-up to really blow your mind!

This next one by senior Bernice Lin (aka Ginger Ko),

is a study in patience.

She picked an incredibly difficult subject that took her hours and hours to scratch away.

But man oh man, 

was it worth it! 

EVERYONE'S FAV

SCRATCHBOARD W/ WATERCOLOR

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scratchboard, & watercolor

All the students were blown away when these beauties were put up for grading and critique.

They LOVED this assignment.

It really showcased these young people's drawing skills.

This piece right here by senior Michael Cantu 

was easily one of the MOST IMPORTANT pieces done this school year.

And sadly it was done after the Open House show so the parents, 

teachers and student body didn't get a chance to see this remarkable work.

The subject Michael picked was one of the most difficult ever attempted

by a Whitney art student.

His attention to detail is meticulous.

His craftsmanship superb.

WOW Michael,

I'm just so proud of you.

Junior Elias Rodriquez also gave this assignment everything he had.

He chose an adorable subject,

and he's using great pointillism and crosshatch work,

with the perfect touch of watercolor.

And check out the work of senior Nathan Chong.

Love his use of watercolor.

And look at all the work he's done with lines.

Hours and hours!

And lastly we take a look at junior Jonathan Hsu's piece.

Know that it's extremely difficult to do a face in scratch board

because faces are so smooth and scratchboard is so textural.

But not only did he pull it off,

he took a unique approach with his watercolor,

banding it across the face.

Very cool Jonathan!

A LITTLE TEASE

PRELIMINARY SCRATCHBOARD

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scratchboard & watercolor

My boys took to scratchboard like ducks to water.

Scratchboard is posterboard thickness with a black coating over top.

Two different shaped nibs are used to scratch away the black to get to the whiteboard underneath.

Then watercolors are applied into the white areas.

But good quality scratchboard is hard to find.

My source here in the Southland is Westminister Art Supply Warehouse.

But it's expensive so be warned.

Senior Nathan Chong drew this beauty in it seemed like just a couple of minutes.

It was one of my favorite pieces of his all year.

And this was only his practice piece!!!

Know that these practice pieces are tiny,

only about 2" by 2" or so.

They have to be because of the expense.

Senior Jovani Garcia did this landscape with the fisherman.

Junior Jonathan Hsu drew this very expressive bird.

And we end with senor Michael Cantu with this magical landscape.

I'm looking forward to sharing the larger after pieces.

They are incredible!

Scratch It!

SCRATCHBOARD W/ WATERCOLOR

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

scratchboard paper, nibs, watercolor

Once again the kids outdid themselves with this assignment.

If you've never used it before, it's a poster board coated with black ink.

You use two different shaped nibs to scratch off the ink to get to the white paper.

Then I have the students bring in watercolor to make it really pop.

For extra credit they can matt it up.

Senior Anne Allan did just that in her piece above.

It's magnificent Anne!

Senior Justin Hwang drew this beautiful bird, then bordered it with gold paper to give it a really dimensional effect.

This gorgeous work above was created by senior Jasmine Zhao.

And love how she matted it up.

Her craftsmanship was impeccable.

And we end with senior Cathy Luo's exceptional lion.

Wow!  Incredible work Cathy!

These kids really knocked this assignment out of the park, and make my job a joy!

Shout Out to Belinda Wu

Art Center's newest treasure, senior Belinda Wu.  Already you are thriving there, one of the best art colleges in the nation.  I'm so very proud of you Belinda  and I wish you much success.  You are going to blow all those other newbies out of the water with your gift.  

This drawing/watercolor technique is done on scratch board, a white poster board covered with black ink. (extremely expensive if you get the good stuff-which I do).  You use very shape pointed and scooped nibs to draw with to remove the black surface so you can get to the white to watercolor over it.  this was Belinda's incredible piece that was done after Open House, so many of you didn't get a chance to see it on display.  It was probably one of her most amazing pieces all year.  Brilliant!!

Preliminary Scratchboard - Student Work

These two practice pieces by junior Michaela Platt.

My Intermediate 2-D kids love working with scratchboard, but before I give them the pricey material, I cut up very small pieces for them to practice on.  Scratchboard is a piece of heavy white board covered in black ink.  You draw with either a pointed or scooped nib.  You use the nib to scratch thru the black to get to the white.  If you make a mistake there are no do-overs.  That's why it's really important to practice first.  After finishing the drawing, I have the kids bring in watercolor onto the white areas.  The results are striking. 

The eye study was done by senior Halah Elsahhar, and the house/hut by senior Belinda Wu.

The bird belongs to junior Megan Yeu, who will be coming back next year as one of my strongest drawing/ painting students along with Michaela Platt.  

This last one was done by senior Kevin Tang.  I accidentally bought a piece of scratchboard that had silver instead of white board underneath, but the results are very cool as you can see.

Scratchboard with Watercolor

Every year I really enjoy displaying these pieces on the blog, and the Intermediate 2-D kids really love creating them.  There are two drawbacks when working in scratchboard.  One, it's very expensive, and two, once you scratch away the black coating you can't put it back if you've discovered you've made a mistake, so these kids have to go into their deepest right brain skills so that they don't make an error  

Scratchboard is a white posterboard covered in a black ink.  You use two special nibs to scratch away the black to create range of value.  Then I have the kids go back into the white areas and use their watercolors.  I grade them on both range of value in black and white and also in color.  The subject matter is up to them.  If we have time I have them matt them up.

The sensitive and lovely piece above was done by junior Laura Kadi.  Check out her attention to detail.  Wonderful job Laura!

This next colorful piece was done by senior Janice Min.  I really like how she used all the colors on the color wheel to watercolor in her work with.  I also really like the drips very much.  Cool piece Janice.

This next one was made by senior Michael Chen.  He worked this piece to death before he was satisfied, and it was magnificent.  I hope my blog pix does it justice.

This next one by senior Jessica Liu was masterful.  This gal can really crank works of art out.  Jessica will be attending UCLA's art dept. this fall.  I'm so excited for her, and I know her professors are going to fall in love with her and her work.  Have fun kiddo.  I'll be thinking of you.

And finally we have senior Michelle Lee's piece.  She worked from a photo for the butterfly but then added her own creative backdrop for a stunning work.  Michelle will be at Otis Art Institute this fall along with Michael Chen, both of whom earned scholarships with their very strong portfolios (and of course the heartfelt letters of rec. I wrote for them  LOL)  I'm so proud of all of you.  Go seniors!!