I am heading off today to Bicheno for a 2 day scratchboard workshop on Saturday and Sunday to be conducted by Carol Gorenko from the Mainland. The event is hosted by the Tasmanian Miniatures Society. I am applying to be a member of the Society and have produced the requisite 3 miniature pieces for consideration by the Committee for membership.
I was very much inspired by the recent miniatures exhibition at the Derwent Sailing Squadron (see previous blog) and the amazing work of Joan Humble OAM. A miniature must be less than 100 square cm and the perimeter of the frame must also be less than 100 cm. In addition, the subject of the painting must also be smaller than in real life. I made the mistake of doing a bee on a flower in pastel in the necessary dimensions. However, it was larger than it was in real life so could not qualify as a true “miniature”.
I have produced 3 scratchboards which include a platypus in pastel (on pastelboard), a Tassie devil in scratchboard (with a hint of colour via artist quality coloured pencils) and a peacock in scratchboard, complete with colour! There were hours involved in scratching the peacock and also great care required in painting individual feathers!!
I am self taught in the area of scratchboard so looking forward to picking up some new techniques and tips. For instance, the kit for the workshop includes a tattoo needle, a tool entirely new to me!
