Acrylics on Claybord
by Rock Newcomb

A few years ago, I discovered the advantages of painting on Claybord Smooth™. Paintings on Claybord Smooth™, as they move from my studio to galleries all over the world, are not affected by the humidity and temperature changes that cause the contraction you experience with canvas. The luminosity of the clay surface along with the sgraffito techniques I use make my paintings come alive.
Step 1: Sketching and Laying in Patterns and Washes   Step 3: Creating other Textures

Since Claybord Smooth™ is forgiving, I can draw and rework pencil drawings right on the surface. After sketching, I used a mixture of Burnt Umber and Mars Black to lay in the bold dark patterns on the pots. Claybord Smooth™ is very absorbent so your paint will dry quickly. Using subtle washes, I then concentrated on the shaded areas on the prehistoric Indian ceramics. This began to develop form in space. Make sure you use a matte medium when diluting your acrylics with water to preserve the integrity of your paint.

One of the great advantages of Claybord Smooth™ is the layering of color you can achieve. Using warm earth tones (sepia, burnt umber, raw umber, transparent red iron oxide and cadmium orange), I established the ground and the background. To further develop the form of each object I used many layers of very diluted sepia and raw umber washes, which warm the objects.

  

Both the Claybord’s surface and rigidity provide me an opportunity to experiment with different materials, often using mixed media at virtually any stage of the painting. For example, I wanted the petroglyphs to appear as they had been pecked into the stone background. I sketched the images of four quail and a vortex and then brushed art masking fluid onto these drawings using a small stiff brush in a pointillist style (small dots) allowing some of the under painting to show through. I then painted over the dry masking fluid with a wash of sepia and red iron oxide and then peeled off the masking fluid, which revealed a somewhat darker background with a lighter image of the quail and the vortex. Then, I darkened the ground with sepia and red iron oxide, which gave it the appearance of the texture of stone, and added diagonal stripes of what appears to be mortar.

Finishing
One of the exciting aspects of finishing a piece on Claybord Smooth™ is the ease of framing without glass. To protect and finish off the piece, I airbrush two to three coats of Golden's UVLS polymer varnish (70% gloss, 30% matte, 100% water). Strain the mixture through a paper towel (doubled) each time before using. Now my collectors can enjoy the luminous quality of my work without glass!

Step 2: Creating Texture and Detail
  
About the Artist
One of the advantages of Claybord Smooth™ is that the thick clay surface allows me to incise right into my paintings. I carved, sanded, and erased through the acrylic paints with sgraffito methods to cause the ceramics to look very, very old. I use razors, scratch knives, or just about anything to work the clay surface of the board. I then painted in areas with sepia, and highlighted them again by scratching back to the white of the board or to a lighter layer of color underneath. Using these sgraffito methods you would swear there were pits and holes in the ceramics. After I finished carving into the surface, I went over all the painted patterns on the ceramics where they are in direct light and applied a 50/50 wash of titanium white to reemphasize the light. Then, I cut in highlights to define the worn spots.  

For more information about the artist, please write Rock Newcomb, 103 N. Bryce Circle, Payson, AZ 85541 or fax 520-472-8792.

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