Line by line, scratchboard artist works to capture Moses Lake's K-9 Chief
Raines etches her portrait of K-9 Chief into “Scratchbord,” made by the Ampersand Art company, a ⅛ inch thick white clay boards coated with a smooth, thin layer of black ink and a Masonite-type backing. Though Chief already looks like he's about to jump out at the viewer, it's still a work in progress.
Courtesy photo
When Raines starts sketching out her newest scratchboards, she first prints the photo to the scale she wants for the final product, she wrote in a recent Facebook post. She then coats the back of the paper with soft willow charcoal so it will transfer easily with pressure, fix the paper to the board, and trace the major features she wants to use as landmarks for the drawing. She then traces over the charcoal lines with a mechanical pencil so they don’t wipe off as easily while she's working on the portrait, completing the outline.
The subject of Raines' portraits slowly appear out of the clay slate, gradually building detail, depth and shading.
Months after it was deemed medically necessary for him to retire, K9 Chief’s one-eyed, toothy smile is being immortalized into a slate of black and white clay by nationally recognized K9 scratchboard artist Allie Raines.
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