Silverpoint: Underdrawing

Silverpoint on gessoed panel 30 cm x 40 cm, Gouden Handenrei East,  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 which I then inserted in a pencil stylus.  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 for silverpoint but the gessoed panels that I normally use for my oil painting prep did.  Thus, here are a few examples on the right as I continue to experiment with this medium.

The silver line is both soft and fine.  I can render a lot of detail without creating too much darkness.  So the midtone of the underdrawing is quite rich.  In some of the more recent pieces, I have experimented with using india ink to bring out the deepest shadows in the foreground in an attempt to render the effect of distance from the beginning.