A technique not always associated with painting but it has been used by some fine artists. One might not even realise that one is looking at this technique. #Sgraffito is the scratching away of one layer to reveal another. In painting, one coat of paint is applied and left to dry. When dry a second layer of a varying colour is applied. The artist then uses a palette knife or a scraping tool ( even the non-bristled end of the paint brush) to scrape away the top coat to reveal an image displayed in the original colour. The piece displayed here is one I picked up a few days ago. It does not use multiple layers of paint. It begins with a layer of grey watercolour on artist paper. The artist has then rubbed and etched/cut into the paper (thus allowing shadows to appear in the deeper cuts) to reveal the scene he has chosen. Here a ship is seen floundering close to a pier and the sgraffito is well used in the portrayal of the waves and the outlining of the ship and pier.