David He contacted us a couple of times regarding his scrimshaw work, and we’re glad to include him on our site. An accomplished artist in/on several media, David has started working on ivory alternative but works on traditional ivory as well. He scrimshaws on regular size pieces as well as doing some astounding micro-scrimshaw. See a quick overview at https://www.scrimshaw.com/scrimshaw-artist-david/
Mystery Artist 13 “LS” “LLR” or “LLB”? Train on a Sperm Whale Tooth
A new mystery artist with the initials “LS LLR or LLB” as far as we can make out has surfaced and we hope someone has more information about them for the owner of this beautiful work of art. The high-res images can be found on http://imageshack.com/i/1n21fmj where you can go to the right hand side and access the images directly. This 6.25″ tooth was originally owned by a gentleman living in San Francisco, and depicts the Lahaina Kaanapali sugar cane train. It’s origin may well have been Hawaii. The original owner was a train buff and had a poster that may have been the art this was based on, as well as a straight blade shaver with an ivory handle that also has a train artfully scrimshawed into it.
The artwork is now in the hands of the gentleman’s descendants who would love to get in contact with the artist and find out more about the artwork as well as the artist. If anyone has any information please either add a comment to this post or email aperkins@scrimshaw.com and put “Mystery Artist 13” in the subject line.
Scrimshaw Artists Jason R. Webb and Belle Ochs Latest Works
Jason R. Webb continues to create beautiful work in his unique style. He has just finished a scrimshaw skull with a beautifully stylized cross on the opposite side.
Belle Ochs has just finished a Viking scrimshaw display piece on ivory. Belle’s husband Chas is a custom knife maker and has been making knives since the 1970’s (his site can be seen at http://www.oxforge.com/.
Both artists do commission work. Information on the artists can be found by clicking on their respective pictures or links that will take you to their “Artist Page”.
Halloween Scrimshaw II
Jason has just finished another Halloween scrimshaw, this one on a beautiful heart shaped piece of mammoth ivory, and he’s done this as a two-sided work. One side has a skull intricately scrimmed on it’s curved surface with the detail and shading that is becoming his trademark. On the other side is an exquisite cross that looks as if it were made of wrought iron.
Jason’s eye for design and detail comes from many years of drawing, some art schooling and a passion for his craft. See Jason’s interview page for more information on this contemporary scrimshaw artist.
Do you have a scrimshaw project you’d like to discuss with Jason? Email him at jasonwguitar@gmail.com with the subject “scrimshaw” and he’ll be glad to respond.
Halloween Scrimshaw?
Jason R. Webb has been hard at work creating more masterful scrimshaw. His subject? Skeletons! Perfect for this time of the year, and any time if you need a real challenge. The piece we’re focusing on is some old ivory piece he polished the back of, and has scrimmed the entire picture before putting down the ink. This technique does two things:
- It allows the artist to create extremely fine lines that would lose their ink if subsequent inkings and rubbings were done (every time you rub away the ink you run the risk of compressing the ivory, especially if you have to rub hard)
- The ivory has less of a chance to become stained or saturated by multiple inkings.
It is a painstaking technique I have not mastered, but seeing Jason’s work makes me want to try at least one or two in order to see how well it comes out. Jason uses an OptiVISOR