Feature Art No. 14 by Catherine Palacios 

Title: King of the jungle

Description: This piece is done with a scratchboard. The technique is to use sharp knives or tools to engrave into a layer of white china clay that is often coated in black India ink. Unlike many drawing media, where the artist adds in the mid-tones and shadows, with scratchboard the artist is working by adding in the highlights, the way they do this is by removing or scratching the ink off the paper or board to reveal the surface below. 

Art teacher, Vicky Belmont assigned students to find an animal of choice and trace it onto tracing paper, it is later traced onto the Scratchboard with a white pencil. After that process, it is up to the artist to scratch whatever design they see fit.

“I chose this Lion because it was looking upwards, as if it was seeking divine guidance,” Palacios said. “Which is how I feel like I’m doing now at this point in my life. It was very meaningful that even the ‘King of the Jungle’ looked up to the ‘King of the World.'”

This author can be reached via twitter @RivasCayla via email: Cayla Rivas.