Reverse Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw is most often done on a light background using dark pigments; the media of choice usually being various forms of ivory which shade from almost white to cream and tan. As a variation, depending upon the subject matter, I sometimes do what is termed 'reverse scrimshaw' in which I use a very dark medium such as buffalo horn which can be black. The pigments then will be white or other colors that will be much lighter than the background. This is a portrait of a Mountain Gorilla silverback, a male leader of a troop. The medium is buffalo horn, a very dense black, and it is mounted on a base of African Blackwood.

The technique of scrimshaw remains the same, no matter what the medium is; incising the surface, applying pigment, wiping off the excess, and repeating the process until the desired effect is accomplished. Most of my work is done using the stippling technique, which consists of thousands of dots punched into the surface. I often combine stippling with fine line work, as was the case with our gorilla friend here.

While the technique remains the same whether I am using a light-colored medium or a dark one, my thought processes definitely change when I work on dark surfaces. In executing an image on ivory, I do not find it difficult to decide where I wish the pigment to go in order to create the design. However, that all changes when I decide to work in reverse scrimshaw because at that point I must think where I do not wish pigment to be. In effect I will be creating a negative image, and must constantly remind myself of what I am doing. The gorilla portrait is basically a black-on-black image, with only the highlights incised into the surface. In a future post I will show an example of a white-on-white image.