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Activity: Scratchboard painting

Materials:
Large box of crayons, poster board or thick paper, toothpick or paper clip
Time:
30 minutes
Skills:
Art & design

Introduce your child to the technique of scratchboard painting. The technique involves etching images on a black surface to reveal the colors beneath. Guide your child in following the instructions below to create his own scratchboard art:

  1. Using crayons, apply a thick layer of an assortment colors to different areas of a sheet of poster board or paper.
  2. Apply a thick layer of black crayon over the entire surface of the paper.
  3. Using a toothpick or paperclip, scratch the picture into the layer of black. A rainbow of colors will come through, forming the lines of the illustration.


For further exploration of scratchboard painting, check out the works of Brian Pinkney, an award-winning children’s book illustrator who uses scratchboard painting in his artwork.