Sketch Book for the Artist

PORTRAITURE

Silver Point

SILVER OR METAL POINT was familiar to

illuminators of medieval manuscripts,

who used it to outline initials and border

characters before painting. Numerous early

European artists also enjoyed its fine

qualities (see p. 156). Metal point is simply

a strip of metal bound in a holder. Drawn

across a prepared surface, it leaves a

deposit, which quickly oxidizes into a gray

line. This browns with age unless sealed by

fixative (see pp.54-55). Metal point does not

work on ordinary paper; the surface must

be primed with a ground such as gouache.

Historically, artists mixed white lead, bone,

or eggshells with animal glue, laid on paper,

parchment, or wood. The most common

metal has always been silver—hence the term

"silver point." Lead, copper, platinum, and

gold have also been used, and alloys work

on matt emulsion. Note how domestic

paintwork marks with a coin, key, or ring;

an exciting indication of how large-scale

drawings could be made on a wall.

Opposite, I combined silver point with

painted white gouache on a pink ground.

This is called a three-tone drawing. Pages

142 to 147 are illustrated in silver point and

techniques are explained on pp. 144-45.

MATERIALS

To begin, you will need to stretch paper and lay a wash (see right

and opposite), purchase silver wire, and make or buy a holder. If

working on an emulsion-painted wall, choose a silver object.

1. SOFT FULL BRUSH: When laying a
   wash, choose a soft full brush that can carry
   plenty of liquid. Make sure it is completely
   clean to avoid unwanted streaks.


2. ZINC WHITE GOUACHE: Dilute with
   water Add color if required (as opposite)
   before priming stretched paper. Gesso
   or matt emulsion can also be used. It is
   available from all art shops.


3. SILVER POINT WIRE HOLDER: These
   can be purchased and tend to be heavy. I
   make my own from old dip pens. Empty
   mechanical pencils designed for thick leads
   (see p.54) can also be used.


4. SILVER WIRE: Purchase different
   gauge lengths from a traditional art
   supplier or jeweler. For important
   advice on preparation and use, see p.144.


5. METAL OBJECTS: All metal objects
   mark a prepared surface, some more
   effectively than others. Silver is best.
   Find an item that you can hold and
   draw with comfortably.

STRETCHING PAPER

A sheet of paper that has

been made wet with the

strokes of a paintbrush will

buckle due to its uneven

expansion. Stretched paper

remains taut as a drum, and

is therefore useful when using

watercolor as well as silver

point. Lay a clean drawing

board on a flat surface. Take a

sheet of any type of paper (for

example, white drawing paper)

and cut it to fit your drawing

board with a generous border

around its edges.Tear off four

lengths of brown paper gum

tape, one to fit each side of

the board—these will make

the glued frame that holds

your paper in place.

1

Find a clean sponge and bowl

or deep tray and fill it with

water Wet the paper evenly in

the tray or on the board. Lightly

sponge off the excess. The paper

will look buckled, but don't worry.

2

Straighten the worst

buckles. Wet one length of

gum-strip and use it to fix one

side of the paper to the board.

Wet and fix a second strip to

the opposite side, and the third

and fourth strips above and

below. Be swift and firm.