Fantasy Scratchboard Triptych

The Commission

Originally, this commission was just going to be the center panel. But as the client and I discussed and planned this project and her wall space, it grew into a triptych. For those unfamiliar with the term, a triptych is a picture that covers three separate panels and are hung side by side to see the whole picture.

Welcome to My Garden, Alexis

Alexis had seen a black and white drawing that was similar to this, that I had done several years ago. She loved the idea, but wanted to see it in color. I accepted the challenge and this drawing is the result. In the gallery below, you can see the prelimenary sketch I did. As you will notice in the next image, I made some changes and additions before I was finished. You can also see detail photos of the final drawing. The finished drawing is 20 in x 16 in.

The Magick of Nature & The Future of Magick

Both these drawings measure 16 in x 20 in. These were designed to be an extension of the first drawing. Alexis wanted one drawing to have a fairy and one drawing to have a white unicorn. That was all the requirements she had. She gave me free reign to create these images. I did give her a sketchy idea of what I had planned, but the details were a pleasant surprise to her. In the gallery below, you can see the prelimenary sketchs, the black and white drawings before color was added, and details of the finished images. Click on 'zoom' to supersize each image in a separate browser window.

General Information

As with all my drawings, these were created with an exacto blade on black scratchboard. Very fine lines were drawn with the blade, building up the highlights and detail. Tiny dots were used to create the eyes. Because I was going to be using color (opaque watercolors), I was more agressive in the amount of black that was removed. The color was applied with a small brush. Some metallic paints were used to accentuate the jewelry the fairy is wearing. Then some more highlighting was done with the blade. Please note that the squiggly line effect is caused by digitizing the images for the internet. The lines on the actual drawings are smooth. The colors in these drawings are much richer than I could reproduce in these images for the internet. And the colors may vary depending on your monitor settings. The copyright notice on the images is for protection purposes only. The text does not appear on the original drawings. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M Z O O M ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM Artwork copyright © 2005-2008 Denise M. DesLauriers. Do not use without permission.

Collection of A. Smith