This scratchboard work showing a juvenile little owl, was part of the exhibition ‘MoVo – Modern Bird Paintings’ 2013 at the Museum Heineanum in Halberstadt, Germany. I was drawn to the unique pose of the little bird exposing all the beauty of its wing patterns. I decided to do a scratchboard work and use the limitation of black and white to create an interesting contrast and underline the shape of the bird while stretching.

The scratchboard technique allows a very detailed work of black and white pictures. A scratchboard is made of a wooden panel covered with a basic clay layer and the surface is stained with black Indian ink. White lines were generated by scratching the surface and the remove of the ink coat.