Scratchboard Art

BOMONSTER is a California artist who grew up watching his dad build his own race cars during the week and then race those prototype contraptions at weekend drag races all over Southern California.

Scratchboard is basically the art of drawing with a sharp knife. Each board starts out as a white clay coated surface on top of a masonite base. On top of the white clay surface is a smooth layer of black ink. By scraping away the black surface, the white under coating is revealed. The process was invented the late 1800s as a way for illustrators to create an etching-like effect for excellent magazine reproduction in less time than it took to create a fine steel engraved etching. The trick is to complete one without making any mistakes. The best way to display them is to frame it under a mat to keep the surface free from touching the glass.