Steph Bucci Art

04/03/2026

A new art form, introduced to me by Pam Sharp (her great stuff here https://www.facebook.com/prairieskullpture). This was my first effort at scratch board (Ampersand product), and it was quite a fun project! This took about 4 hours, give or take, and it's marvelously tedious process. 😊

One tiny scratch mark at a time is made using a variety of tools including small metal scraper tips, tattoo needles, cutting "pens", fiberglass scrubbers, Copic pens, etc., gradually removing the black coating on the board in a process of revealing values from dark to light. Directional marks are highly effective at producing the look of fur -- REALLY satisfying!

Obviously, there is a whole world of skill and technique to be learned here, and this is far from a perfectly executed example of scratchboard work, but I was very happy with my first result and look forward to learning / practicing more.

SIZE: 5x5"
MEDIUM: Scratchboard, watercolor

02/19/2026

So much to learn--and with watercolor you can't undo MUCH once it's on the paper.
Better here on the eyes and overall shapes, but this time it's the mouths that just aren't quite right. Nevertheless, starting with the somewhat "cartoon-ized" reference photos is quite interesting. A few lines, followed by the first layer of paint was encouraging, but deepening the shadow shapes alone (as long as the placement of features is accurate) took the painting a long way!

I have another in the works, but different people, and hoping for accuracy on all points...

TITLE: WeTwo
SIZE: Approx. 5"x6"

02/12/2026

Oh my, oh my, just SO . MUCH . FUN!! The Nassau Art at the Callahan Depot the weekend of Jan 29-31 was graced by some exceptionally good youth artwork, in addition to the usual adult entries, but my favorites were some high school students' self-portraits done in monochrome--first place winner is shown here. I was totally impressed with the quality of the work, and I was inspired to try yet again and not give up, as this is something I really DO want to get better at!

Soooo, I went hunting for ideas on monochromatic approach, downloaded a little phone app that helped me edit a reference photo to something that feels less intimidating than the original photo, and... here is my first attempt. It still has problems (as usual🫤) with perfection of the eye shapes, but this is the closest I've gotten to the goal of a really good likeness, IMHO.

The essence of the approach is to lay down a light wash of color and let it dry; lay down the mid tones of color and let dry; finish with the darkest shadows and let dry; fine tune with a smaller brush and fairly thick paint to get nice fine details. I also used fine line black markers to get very darkest "low lights" and fine eye detail. Pretty fast, and relatively simple. Hehe..."simple" is quite a subjective term, isn't it?! 😅

I bought a new pen, too--a white, water-based, multi-surface, ultra-fine tip paint pen, by "Apple Barrel", which made finishing the hair highlights a total breeze. Hope the pen has a better track record than I've seen in reviews of other white paint markers of this type.

01/14/2026

You can now become a paid member of the West Nassau Arts Alliance! And remember that paid WNAA members who participate in the Nassau Art at the Callahan Depot are eligible to submit an additional piece of artwork...

01/05/2026

A fun little card for friends, done on card stock with pen and watercolor pencils. I was unsure how this would work on a non-watercolor paper, but if one is careful with the amount of water applied to the watercolor pencil colored areas, there is only some minor buckling of the paper, easily resolved by following process:
- Lay it between two sheets of paper on top of the dryer
- Run the hot iron over it
- Set a heavy object on top of the paper
- Allow it to cool

TITLE: Crab Cheers
SIZE: 4.25x5.5"
MEDIUM: Mixed

12/29/2025

Last post showed the other leaf image I painted along with this one. I think this was my favorite, but...leaf paintings are hard to choose between. 😸

ACEO Original Watercolor
TITLE: Petite Maple
MEDIUM: Mixed
SIZE: 2.5x3.5"
PRICE: $15

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12/22/2025

Leaves, changing of the season, not nearly so dramatic as it was in WA where I came from, but there are still many beautiful leaf specimens to be found, and painting them in watercolor is really a blast! Watercolor is so perfectly suited to create the random color mixtures found on fall leaves, and creating realistic images is incredibly easy. I can definitely "get in the zone" working on them and they, as Marie Kondo says, "spark joy"! I did two of these tiny paintings, and on a whim added them to my merchandise for the Callahan Christmas Parade vendor event--I was truly caught by surprise when someone bought this one!

ACEO original watercolor
TITLE: Loose Leaf
MEDIUM: Mixed
SIZE: 2.5x3.5"

12/17/2025

12/15/2025

For a gentleman who really likes horses...

TITLE: ChardonHay
MEDIUM: Mixed
SIZE: Approx 4x5"

12/11/2025

This was last in a series of abstract impressionistic 3-D nativity ornaments made with mixed materials. I particularly liked the slightly lacy appearance of the base shell--it also reminds me of frost or snow. The less-than-perfect edges add to the charm, in my opionion. Made with olive shells, a petite augur, and the tiny "jingle" representing the manger, this one might be a favorite!

TITLE: Seashell Nativity - Style 6
SIZE: Approximately 3.5"x2.5"x1"
PRICE: $15.00 + $6.00 shipping

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12/11/2025

Another seashell nativity ornament, capturing the simplicity of the first Christmas event. The carved look of the oyster shell "Mary" on the right is fascinating, and the tiny bits of lichen add some textural interest. Shells from Fernandina Beach, FL>

TITLE: Seashell Nativity - Style 5
SIZE: Approx 3.75"x2.5"x1"
PRICE: $15.00 + $6.00 shipping

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