Silverpoint

Drawing student Courtney Klingensmith is learning to draw with silverpoint, and we spent the morning yesterday preparing some papers with a traditional silverpoint ground.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to write a little about this ancient drawing medium.

Silverpoint was the medium used to draw fine line drawings before graphite pencils were invented.  Many Renaissance drawings were done in silverpoint or "metal point" on tinted papers, with some areas heightened with white tempera to strengthen the lights.

Here is an example by Filippino Lippi, from the collection of the British Museum.

  Silverpoint is unsurpassed as a medium for fine delicate lines, used in a hatching technique.  This drawing by Raphael is a beautiful example.

In order to draw in silverpoint you need a stylus, which is basically a silver wire or rod inserted in a holder of some kind.  When I first started drawing in silverpoint, I used a cheap mechanical pencil into which I inserted a section of silver wire I purchased from a local jeweler.  It was held in place with a little wad of kneaded eraser.  Now one can buy very nice products from the people at the "Silverpoint Web."  Here is a link to their online store if you want to take a look at their collection of silverpoint drawing tools.
http://www.silverpointweb.com/catalog.html

You also need to prepare your paper to "grab" the silver line.  There are many ways to prepare your paper - the easiest is to buy some Golden silverpoint ground, available at art stores.  It is an acrylic based ground, and it is what Courtney used for her first silverpoint drawing. 

The Golden ground is quite aggressive - making nice dark lines with very little effort.  It is not erasable, however, making the process a little intimidating.

I did this drawing of Dall Sheep on a traditional zinc white and rabbitskin glue ground using a recipe that creates a somewhat "soft" ground that allows you to sand out mistakes.  (Sorry about the poor quality of the photo...)

Courtney and I spent the morning on Friday preparing some paper with this traditional ground, and she will be experimenting to see which she prefers. 

Another beautiful feature of silverpoint drawings is that they "tarnish" over time and the lines turn a warm brownish color that is very mellow and lovely.