This is been a very busy spring for me, with a lot going on that made me feel like I couldn’t be very busy in the studio. And then I had to give up on my last scratchboard, which was supposed to be a pair of swans. I hate to let go of a project and set it to the side, but sometimes it’s for the best. Most artists have a stack of “rejects” sitting in the corner somewhere and I had to add that one to mine. But life has finally settled down a little bit and I’ve been able to focus on getting to work. The happy result is that I have this tiger newly finished. This one was a lot of fun from start to completion and I love how he just stalks into the light.
11X11
In the Forests of the Night
Visit my Scratchboard Gallery page to view at full size.
amystauffer.com 
Hi Amy, Saw your demo at Berks Art Alliance recently and have been inspired to give it a try. Went to Blicks and picked up some supplies and a DVD by Sally. I decided to freehand a drawing on your sample with white chalk and need to erase some of it. I don’t have any notes that addresses that subject. Can you advise please what to use. Next time I decide to do a picture I will definitely do the transfer procedure. None of the drawing has been etched (scratched). Your blog of pictures is amazing. I hope you do have a workshop in this area soon. You probably could bring your baby along if that is a problem. I feel privileged to have seen your work. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Nadine! I’m glad you liked my demo and left feeling inspired. Sally Maxwell is one of the artists I was referencing who works in scratchboard at enormous sizes. If you browse her website, you’ll be very impressed. She’s been working in the medium for longer than I’ve been alive. 🙂
Regarding the white chalk, there probably isn’t a way to erase it as completely as you would like. By chalk, do you mean stick chalk, or a “white charcoal” pencil. I typically do my tracings on the board with white charcoal, for anything larger than a 8X10, and most of my guide lines ultimately get rubbed off from handling over the course of creating the etching. You could try to paint over the lines with a wash of black india ink. You’d want to paint over a large area, not just draw with ink over only the lines. That would probably work to make them invisible once the piece is varnished. That’s part of the reason why I avoid doing any freehand drawing on the board, because I can’t even erase any changes to my guidlines – I always finalize my composition beforehand.
I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out for you, and feel free to email me at contact@amystauffer.com