Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Other Side Solidified...

Charles Ewing was the man who invented clayboard, which elevated scratchboard from an ink-coated cardboard to something with much greater support and thus to better achieving fine art status possibilities... among inkers, his renderings are inspirational, not just to scratchboardists themselves but to all pen and ink users, especially in raising the possibilities of detail and drama far beyond mere midnight lights, as most were doing with scratchboard... and further, showing possibilities of larger works with more grand theming - something most needed to pen and ink renders, who often got [and still do get] bogged into
small sizes for the time spent on doing the detail needed for the rendering desired..... this last, for instance, is a tri-panel totaling 36"x60" - a fantastic size for an ink rendering, especially one of such realism...

3 comments:

  1. Those are incredible!

    I heard you about time with the Pen & Inks and any kind of detail. My "simple" cats with their fur takes a long time, those creations above would take years doing tradiitonal ink.
    Is there anywhere how to learn to do the above Robert?

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  2. I have not seen as such any kind of such teaching with regards to pen and ink [those, remember, are scratchboard, which while inks, utilizes blades and files and such to remove the pre-inked board, leaving these as the result]... it is something I would like getting into doing, teaching how to go and do works of these sizes, with that kind of composition... I can only say that using a crow quill nib and white ink, it should not really take much of any more time doing a work that way than the scratchboard with blades [and, too, using larger nibs for covering coarser areas, and other 'unusual' tools for special effects, much like they do with theirs]... in a way, am trying to put into practice my own theories as am doing my latest... there is no question that a lot of hours are involved in something of this nature - but if others can do it, then it can be reasonably be done... from what have gathered in my visiting the scratchboard forum, most manage getting stuff of 24"x36" or less in under a month - which while not mean a lot during the year, with this quality and size, can be offered in a 4 figure range without problem, even to an unknown [and into 5 figure when become known] - a thought to be considered...

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  3. I should add, it DOES require much forethought on what is to be rendered, even if working from photos, as most of them do, to say nothing of from the imagination, as I do...

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