More scratch art work inspired by a class I took at Woodmere Art Museum in spring 2021. Look here for the first post, which explains the origins of this inspiration and some general background on the medium.
Here’s another one. The photo is of a building in the train yard in Bryn Mawr, PA. I was intrigued by a lot of scenes in this yard and took a lot of photos. I like this one for all the shapes and lines.
And here is the image. I think this one had a lot of potential but the black/white balance is off – it’s too evenly distributed between the tones. I should have left the roof at left in solid black and then it would be fine.
On the other hand, there is a lot to look at here – I am happy with how I depicted the scene as far as the lines and composition.
Lesson learned. You can take away the black color and once it is gone, it is gone. There is a procedure for cleaning up small problems but not large areas, and in reality, no error correction in this medium looks good, I think.
Note to self: Try to map out the blacks/whites very clearly in your mind before you start to cut away and…pause to review the image as you go along.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
It would have been a different piece if you had left the roof black, but I really like it as it is. Energy radiates from all those lines surrounding the central pole
Thank you. I am liking it a lot better now. Sometimes I can’t see what I have done, right after I have done it. And you have hit on what interested me the most – those power lines. I could draw or depict electrical power lines all day long, I think.
I think if you had left the roof solidly black, it would have read more as the scene the photo depicts. However, I like what you have created because it looks like an abstract map.
Thank you. As I look at it now I am liking it a lot better. I think, since I have more distance now from what I was depicting and I see how I let the image sort of evolve, and at the time I did it I thought that was bad, now I realize once again it is what is meant to be in my work. And to make this kind of picture, well, it is very satisfying to figure out all those lines and intersections and so on. Appeals to my sense of order.
Gasp! That is exceptionally awesome! It is fun to see your inspiration and then be wowed with your interpretation 🙂
Love it! The original photo is fascinating (places like that are, aren’t they!) but I like how your piece diverged from it. The area above the building reminds me of a map – almost like a map of the energy flowing thru the train power lines. VERY cool! 👏👏👏
Thank you. I think I was disappointed that I did not depict the scene but I neglected to enjoy the image I did create. This is a lesson learned for me. Let the piece be what it is and not what it came from.
I like the haunted feeling here. (K)
I think the scratch art medium lends itself to drama and strong emotions. That is interesting to me.
This is really cool!
Thank you. It’s a great medium to try out, very forgiving, and the results never disappoint even if the picture doesn’t come out right – there is always that contrast of black and white to punch up the effect.