Scratchboard Portraits

International Academy students created these whimsical scratchboards in the style of Gustav Klimt. We began by looking at several artworks by Klimt including The Kiss, taking note of the realistic figures and the abstracted, ornate clothing and backgrounds. Students created scratchboards by coloring a piece of tagboard completely with oil pastels. We colored using stripes and the more color the better! We then painted over the pastel with a thin and even layer of black acrylic paint. Once this is dry, you can use a pin to scratch away and reveal the beautiful color underneath. We used a full figure image from a magazine and placed it on the scratchboard. After tracing the figure, we glued the skin to the board and cut the clothing away. Students then drew patterned clothing and backgrounds that showed a great amount of detail. This is a really fun project to do and yields fabulous results!