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Clapton, 2021
A Mixed Media by Richard Sele
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This piece is not a photo or done with a pencil or paint. It is scratchboard, one of the most difficult art mediums. It originated in 19th century Europe and was used for book illustration. The scratchboard panel is made with a special clay layer and coated with black ink. Using a scalpel and x-acto knife, I made hundreds of dots and scratches by tapping the tip of the blade on the ink. These scratches revealed the white clay and formed the image.
I used a little water and diluted ink to create some tone differences. I finished the piece by spraying a museum archival quality clear varnish to protect the work. Since I'm working with very small details, I use a magnifier on all my pieces to enable me to get the best possible view of the scratching surface. I worked about 100 hours on this project. I framed this beautiful scratchboard in a black frame with a white mat. It's been hanging on the wall with similar pieces in my home music studio. I'd love to see it in the home of a fan that appreciates the genius of Eric Clapton.
I'm partial to Clapton's earlier days with Cream. However, he continued to make phenomenal music in his later years. His acoustic versions of his electric classics are amazing. I enjoyed doing this piece a lot. As a guitarist, I found a bit of a bond with the piece as I worked on it. I hope you enjoyed viewing it as much as I enjoyed working on the piece.
