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Care For A Finished Scratchboard
Completed scratchboard artwork is sprayed with a protective varnish and are actually more durable than you might think - considering the...
Melissa Helene
Jul 14, 20213 min read
1,723 views
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Art Festivals: During and After A Show
After participating in my first two juried art festivals of summer 2021, it feels very appropriate and timely that we are discussing what...
Melissa Helene
Jul 1, 20218 min read
392 views
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Preparing for a Juried Art Festival
[Grab my free Start Your Art Biz Checklist to help start, build, and grow your art business without all the hassle, questions, and...
colorcodedcreative
Jun 10, 20216 min read
312 views
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The Ins and Outs of Applying to Juried Art Festivals
Welcome to my three part series about juried art festivals! This first section will be all about applying for shows - the research...
Melissa Helene
Jun 3, 20216 min read
428 views
0 comments


A Day in the Life of a Creative Entrepreneur
What It's Really Like to Run a Creative Business Being a full-time artist and entrepreneur often sounds more glamorous than it really is....
Melissa Helene
May 26, 20213 min read
56 views
0 comments


Scratchboard Tutorial: Creating Realistic and Soft Fur Textures
Today's post is all about FUR! I use a combination of the small fiberglass brush and an x-acto knife to create realistic looking fur....
Melissa Helene
May 20, 20213 min read
2,011 views
1 comment


Protective Varnish for Scratchboard Artwork: Tips, Tricks, and How To
Scratchboard is a delicate medium and requires a finishing varnish to help protect the surface once it is out in the world. There are...
Melissa Helene
May 6, 20213 min read
1,005 views
0 comments


Scratchboard Techniques: Black vs White
My scratchboard artwork is all black and white (with many variations of grey), but the approach I take for creating a mostly 'white'...
Melissa Helene
Apr 22, 20213 min read
440 views
0 comments


Tool Feature: The Other Tools in my Kit
There are two tools in my scratchboard tool kit that I use on EVERY SINGLE piece that I create - the small fiberglass brush and x-acto...
Melissa Helene
Apr 8, 20213 min read
233 views
0 comments


Imposter Syndrome and How to Kick It!
[FREEBIE: Grab my Start Your Art Biz Checklist to help you battle that imposter syndrome - it will help you plan and map out your next...
colorcodedcreative
Apr 7, 20214 min read
57 views
0 comments


Scratchboard Tool Feature: Inks
Fixing Mistakes One of the most common questions that I get asked, especially at art festivals, is about fixing "mistakes" on a...
Melissa Helene
Mar 11, 20214 min read
580 views
0 comments


Five Ways to Get Organized in Your Creative Business
[Freebie: Start Your Art Biz Checklist - we don't know what we don't know and this checklist will help you strategize and plan.] Do you...
colorcodedcreative
Mar 4, 20214 min read
96 views
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The Importance of Art Festivals in My Business
Business As An Artist "Why don't you just sell online?" "Are you selling your work on social media?" "...but they're having an online...
Melissa Helene
Feb 24, 20213 min read
55 views
0 comments


The Importance of Reference Images in Realistic Scratchboard Artwork
My scratchboard artwork is photo-realistic and hyper detailed, which means that the images I use as references for my work are incredibly...
Melissa Helene
Jan 28, 20214 min read
270 views
3 comments


How to Create Black Fur on Scratchboard | Tips + Techniques
Scratchboard Tips and Techniques - Take One! I get asked all the time if and how it is possible to draw a black animal on a scratchboard...
Melissa Helene
Sep 9, 20203 min read
620 views
0 comments
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