Artists

68 Artists & IllustratorsSILVERPOINTDRAWINGARTIST ADELE WAGSTAFF FINDS THE SILVER LINING OF THISINCREASINGLY POPULAR RENAISSANCE DRAWING TECHNIQUEsilverpoint is drawing with a piece of silver, or a styluson to a prepared piece of paper or ground. The touchof metal on the surface of a piece of paper alone willnot leave a mark, but once a surface has been preparedyou will be able to explore the potential of this beautifullyresponsive and linear of mediums.Once your primed surface has dried it will provideenough of a tooth to remove tiny amounts of metal as astylus strokes the paper. It is this remaining metal thatcreates your mark. However, once a mark has been madeon the surface it is diffi cult to erase, so it’s best to begin todraw so lightly that you can barely see the marks.``````PREPARATIONSA selectionof silverpointpreparations,including a zincwhite gouacheand a traditionalbone ash recipe.A paperclipwill enableyou to explore``````SKETCHBOOKHere a page ofsketchbook isprepared withsilverpoint drawingground. A softbrush will give asmooth coveragebut do makesure that all thesurface has anequal amount ofground as, if thereis a patch with noprimer, the metalwon’t be visible.``````SCRAP PAPERDifferent typesof paper, bothsmooth andtextured havebeen preparedfor doodles andscribbles forexperimenting witha silver stylus.``````Once you have done this, you can slowly increase pressure.Silverpoint is an incredibly sensitive and delicatemedium, and drawing with the lightest and most fl uid oftouches will make a mark on the page.In exhibitions of Renaissance drawings you will frequentlysee the term metalpoint used to describe the techniqueused. Drawings can be made using all metals: gold, silverand copper, and you can experiment with any bits of metalyou can fi nd such as a paper clip or a nail. They will makequite a pleasing range of marks.Silverpoint is the most commonly used metal for drawingand the beauty of using silver is that as the drawing ages,``````mark-makingpossibilities.The woodenhandled silverstylus has a goodweight while thesmall metal holderallows you to drawwith differentthicknessesof metal.``````RECOMMENDED MATERIALS``````PREPARATIONS mark-making``````IN DEPTH68 Silverpoint.indd 68 09/06/2016 10:54