Metalpoint Workshop with Koo Schadler

Silverpoint study of rhinoceros. Silverpoint on a ground of Natural Pigments Traditional Silverpoint Ground on Crescent museum board. The ground was applied with a sponge, and tinted slightly with yellow ochre pigment.

I spent a lovely several days in New Hampshire, taking a workshop in metalpoint with Koo Schadler.

Koo is a wonderful teacher and struck the perfect balance between history, information on the technique, and time to draw. She covered a wide range of supports and grounds, as well as a variety of metals, including silver, gold, copper, etc. 

For those of you unfamiliar with metalpoint, it was a technique used by artists, including Albrecht Dürer and Leonardo da Vinci, before there were pencils as we know them today. When a metal wire - often silver - is drawn over an abrasive surface, it leaves a residue. It resembles a light pencil drawing, however, it does not behave like pencil. When silver or another metal leaves a mark, it cannot be easily erased. Over time, silver will tarnish, taking on a brownish tone, and copper may take on a greenish tone. 

Deeper values are achieved by layering strokes. I use a technique called hatching, which consists of small lines applied in many layers.

Detail showing layered strokes.

Links:
Koo Schadler
     https://www.kooschadler.com/
Natural Pigments Traditional Silverpoint Ground
     https://www.naturalpigments.com/traditional-silverpoint-ground.html