Share On:
In Memory of Four Icons, 2022
A Mixed Media by Richard Sele
Information
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 roughly 100 hours total on this project. It's been hanging on the wall with similar pieces in my home music studio.
These were originally four 5x7 pieces of Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Eddie Van Halen, and David Bowie. I decided though, that I would rather see them mounted together as one large piece. Each one individually is a memorable piece but when placed together, they make such a tremendous impact. The photos embedded in the work depict them over the years. These four superstars are lost but their music lives on. I decided to use ArtResin as a topcoat for this artwork. The resin cures as a very hard and high-gloss layer.
