It isn’t that I haven’t been doing any artwork over the past few weeks, because I have. I just haven’t done much work that I have felt good enough about to post here. I do upload my weekly efforts, which anyone can see in my art folder; but, lately, my only sense of satisfaction has been that I have continued to churn out work regardless of the fact that I have not been very excited about the results. Compared to past years where I would just not work if the results were not what I wanted, this is a step forward.
So, lately, I have made a few efforts at trying to learn how to work with clayboard (also known as scratchboard). This involves scratching an image into a board with a white or colored clay undercoating and black or colored ink top coat. I’ve seen some marvelous pieces that artists have done with it and I want to play with this medium. My efforts are very crude, but I feel like I am learning. Here is a portrait I attempted recently. It is nowhere near where I want to get with this medium, but it is a few steps further than my first efforts.