Silverpoint

Silverpoint on gessoed panel 30 cm x 40 cm, Gouden Handenrei,  Bruges, Belgium 2006

I began experimenting with silverpoint in 2005 or 6 (I don't remember when exactly).  I was able to get a local silver smith to create some silver nubbins, while I gesso-tone-tinted a batch of watercolor papers, since I'd read that silverpoint requires some "tooth" in order to release its pigmentation.  The paper didn't work out so well initially but the gessoed panels that I use for my oil painting prep did.  Thus, here are a few examples on the right as I continue to experiment with this medium.

I used the silverpoint here to describe movement and texture in much the same way as I had used india ink for the Golden Hands West underdrawing.  It rendered a softer underdrawing than the india ink.  Though I like the soft, fuzzy feeling (like an old daguerrotype), much of the information can get lost in oils.  Nevertheless, the silver point serves well for an egg tempera underpainting.