Module 4, Chapter 4: Sgraffito

Extra activity: Experimenting

Although the extra activity comes second in the Module, I thought it makes sense to start with the experiments. 

 

The first page was done on heavy paper (240 g/square meter) primed for oil and acrylics, and so is the third. I use this paper to wipe excess colour from my brush during painting. The paper has a fine linen texture which helps to retain the colour. All the sample drawings are numbered.

 

1. oil colour (still wet), gouache, nib It was nice to scratch into the soft colour, but there was not much colour left after scratching. 2. industry painter and wax pastel, acrylic ink, nib The industry painter dries to a hard surface, so the colour stays strong. Unfortunately there are only three basic colours. 3. Jaxon wax pastel, gouache, cutting knife Works well, but still the colours look washed out. 4. Jaxon wax pastel, acrylic ink, pocket knife The  curved blade of the pccket knife is good for broad strokes and varied pressure. 5. acrylic ink and wax pastel, acrylic ink, cutting knife The acrylic ink dries to a hard surface, the colour stays strong. 6. Neocolor II wax pastel, gouache, nib I painted  the gouache very quickly over the water soluble wax pastel. Later I found a better solution. Two other examples of this combination are 16 and 18 further below.

Second page:  trials on smooth cartridge paper. I have written my comments below, row by row.

 

 

 

7. acrylic ink, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink, cutter
My idea was to separate two layers of acrylic ink with a layer of transparent oil pastel. The difficulty is to spread the oil pastel evenly over every part.

8. Jaxon wax pastel, transparent oil pastel, arylic ink, cutting knife
I like this example. With the transparent pastel just under the gouache layer scratching was easy and smooth, and the colour is almost unchanged.

9. Necolor II wax pastel, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink, cutting knife
The idea from no. 7 works well to separate the water soluble colour from the wash. I used it in some other examples to try colour combinations (17, 18, 19, 20)

10. inktense pencils (washed), gouache, cutting knife 
Not successful, the gouache clings to the inktense colour.

11. inktense pencils, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink
Again this is much better, although I did not cover up the inktense layer evenly.

 

 

12 and 13. coloured pencil, acrylic ink:
Acrylic ink clings to much to the pencil layer.

14. Neocolor, transparent oil pastel, wax pastel, cutting knife
The wax pastel leaves a thin coat on the transparent pastel. Might be good for a pale wash.

15. coloured pencil, transparent oil pastel, gouache, cutting knife
This works quite well. I wanted to try coloured pencils as they can be mixed and layered to a wide range of colours.

16. and 18. (below) neocolor II(water soluble), gouache

 

17., 19., 20. are all combinations of neocolor, transparent oil pastel and gouache in different colours.
My question was: How can I prevent the colours appearing washed out after scratching?

21. coloured pencil, transparent oil pastel and gouache, pocket knife
Can I make the red more intense by a green coating?

Third page: on structured heavy paper again

22: colour squares painted with Jaxon wax pastels, black gouache, different scratching tools:    1. nib – tip and flat side    2. letter opener    3. cheese knife – good for parallel lines    4. pocket knife with a curved edge which is   good for broad strokes 23. colour squares with Jaxon wax pastels (partly metallic colours which look a bit misty), Winsor & Newton viridian ink, cutting knife Winsor & Newton ink is even more shiny than acrylic ink. I find the effect quite dramatic.

 

Activity 4.4.1: Sgraffito drawing

 

All the drawings were done on smooth cartridge paper

	13x18 cm A detail of the field edge. I transferred the outlines from my line drawing and coloured it with neocolor II, transparent oil pastel and gouache. The motif seems to lend itself to this technique. With varied pressure the stalks fade into the dark background. And i could scratch out the hairs on the poppy stems and the bud in the foreground.
	19x14 cm The shoe does not lend itself to this technique, all the shininess disappears. Oil pastel and acrylic ink.
	17x16 My well-worn boots are a better motif again. Drawn with Neocolor II, transparent oil pastel and gouache. The background came out too light, so I added a thin coat of oil pastel. But still I found the colour too light.
	Stage two: horrible. I have put another coat of very soft Sennelier oil pastel over the background (after a few days to dry) and coated it with a new layer of gouache. Unfortunately I had completely forgotten to protect the boots with transparent pastel. And the gouache connected itself firmly to the water soluble first layer.
	Stage three: After giving up on this drawing altogether I thought “What the hell” and added some colour on the boots, scratched light outlines around boots and shoelaces and a few more stalks into the background. Now the boots have a really weathered look.
	20x17 Another drawing with cornflowers. Done with Neocolor II which I washed after colouring.
	Covered with transparent oil pastel and Viridian ink. The ink has seeped into the Neocolor layer where the oil pastel has not quite covered it. The boots seem to hide in the field. But: the colours of the Neocolor wash do not come out too light. This shows better in the original. So I have found one method at least.