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Using White Scratchboard with Transparent Acrylic Color

Author: Diana Lee

The only real difference between white scratchboard and black scratchboard is you get to chose the color and the placement of that color. This is not to say one is better than the other, each one is great depending on the effect you want. I can't even say I have a preference. I love to work with scratchboard!

Photo: The final piece

Photo: The initial drawing

If there was more than one subject in my composition I used to draw them separately on tracing paper. Then I would compose them by moving each piece around until I got what I wanted.This is the first piece where I scanned my drawings and used the computer to work out my composition. I will probably never use the tracing paper method again!
Here is the scratchboard"Three Wolves" in progress. It shows the three main steps I go through (drawing, painting, scratching).  
I transfer the drawing onto white scratchboard using graphite paper. You needn't worry much about transfer mistakes because, unlike black board, you can scrape off any unwanted graphite marks when using white board.
I paint the scratchboard with transparent acrylic. Some colors I use right out of the bottle, some I mix. I use ARTIST COLOR brand.
I scratch just as I would if I were using black scratchboard. The best part of using white board and painting it yourself is working it back and forth. If you scratch too much you can paint it again and then scratch some more.

In this detail you can see how I have worked back and forth with the transparent acrylic and scratching.



Self portrait, Diana Lee
 Diana Lee is an accomplished professional artist who works in a variety of mediums, including oils, acrylics, watercolors, and scratchboard. She is a contributing editor to WetCanvas! For more information on Diana, or to view her online gallery of works, visit her web site at www.dianalee.com. She can be reached via email at diana@dianalee.com.