More on Metal Month

As posted a while back, October is a Metal Month for me. That is, my drawing plan for this month has been to do at least one metalpoint every day. The genesis was an event founded some years ago by an artist who decided to do an ink drawing every day of October, and called it Inktober, his stated purpose being to hone his ink drawing skills. Since then the idea has taken off so that now many do some sort of daily drawing during the month of October and post it online. 

So my purpose in doing and posting a metalpoint drawing every day is simply practice, and more practice. Metalpoint drawings aren't much different from drawings with graphite or chalk or any other medium although there are significant differences. The range of darks possible with metal is more narrow, so that you have to be very careful with values. And of course you can efface metalpoint marks, depending, but erasing them without damaging the surface is problematic at best.

"Cyclamens," silverpoint on gesso panel, 4x6, 10-4-21

This drawing of a group of cyclamen blossoms is from a reference I shot some years ago. In this case, my interest wasn't just the drawing but also the support. Silverpoint is done best on a slightly abrasive ground like gesso or the special silverpoint grounds you can buy. This little panel was certainly suitable for the metal, and the darks are attractive.

Untitled, silverpoint on paper, 5x7

The drawing to the left is another silverpoint, this time on a kind of paper that's rough enough to accept the metalpoint marks. This particular drawing was based on an online photo reference from a few years ago. This paper is relatively thin and won't rub off enough silver to make darks very deep. So a way to overcome the paper's lower level of abrasion is to cross-hatch, as I did in this image. Even so, the darks aren't very dark.

Untitled, silverpoint on prepared paper, 5x9

The evergreen in the silverpoint drawing on the right is outside my studio window. It's part of a group of three or four that are thirty feet tall, or so. This drawing began as an experiment with paper. I have a sketchbook that I prepped with a metalpoint ground to make it usable--otherwise the paper was too slick. The ground comes as a liquid and is simply brushed thinly onto whatever surface one is preparing. The paper in this sketchbook is substantial enough to accept the ground without much cockling. I've been using it for metalpoint drawings this month while experimenting with other surfaces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure, silverpoint on paper, 5x7

The figure below is another that I did early this month in my metalpoint sketchbook. This figure is a professional model. Although the paper surface was one of my interests in doing this particular drawing, mostly I was interested in trying very very hard to make an accurate line drawing with firm lines. Using a broad point on the silver stylus allows wide lines. Also, one of my habits is to use a kind of searching line as I draw, sometimes moving it a lot or making furry, scratchy marks. Here I wanted to see a solid drawing without any of that. Surprisingly, this drawing felt considerably more free than some of the earlier ones.

The month continues, more to be posted in a week or two.