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Silverpoint Drawing Complete
A note on the "Competition:"

Back to the Grounds Workshop

See Also/Next:

Drawing Techniques Workshop
   Getting the most from the medium: cross hatching, gradual tonal buildup, direct dark drawing, blending methods. Experimenting with different types of points

Making your own metalpoint
  Manufacturing tips and holders. Alloys, hardening and annealing.


Quite some time ago, I acquired the marble dust, bone ash and rice paste silverpoint ground from my only major competitor. I really wanted it to work out well, for then my search for a good silverpoint ground would be over and I could concentrate on drawing. Unfortunately, based on my research in the British Museum and knowing what was possible through my observations of some of the masterworks, I felt that my search must continue.

I recently performed a comparison test of "their" silverpoint ground and the Old Master Formula Silverpoint Ground ™.


Here are my notes from the Silverpoint Ground Evaluation session:

  1. "Theirs" cleans up very easily with water, even after completely dried. (Permanence / damage issue?) See "Water Tests" below.
     
  2. Very fine tooth.
     
  3. Marks are not quick or easy. Initial marks are light, gray. Good response after considerable buildup work.
     
  4. Excellent tone control - a function of how much buildup is required for darker tones.
     
  5. After buildup, darkest darks are almost but not quite as dark as on surface prepared with Old Master Formula Silverpoint Ground ™. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give theirs an 8.5, mine a 10. (See picture below.)
     
  6. "Direct Dark" technique with theirs is not possible - dark marks require buildup.
     
  7. "Their" ground is too easily removed and damaged by the point.
     
  8. Water Tests: Drop of water allowed to stand on surfaces for two minutes and gently blotted with paper towel. "Their" ground suffered greatly, almost all marks on surface completely destroyed; Old Master Formula Silverpoint Ground ™ sustained no damage at all.

 

Mixing up their ground was an adventure - I thought that stuff would never mix in to the water! - though, to be honest, the amount of preparation for their ground and my do-it-yourself ground kit are similar.

Theirs is by far the best of the possible alternatives - but at $5.75 for four ounces, I would choose the Old Master Formula Silverpoint Ground ™ which has better response, better durability, and a much lower cost-to-coverage ratio. Unless "subtle" is your preferred approach, or you want to duplicate the late medieval / early Renaissance look

Incidently, my pure silver point works much better on their ground than their $25.95 silverpoint tool does. So does my "Traditional" silverpoint stylus. Hmmm...


 

 

 

MINE on top; theirs on the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Grounds Workshop

See Also/Next:

Drawing Techniques Workshop
   Getting the most from the medium: cross hatching, gradual tonal buildup, direct dark drawing, blending methods. Experimenting with different types of points

Making your own metalpoint
 Manufacturing tips and holders. Alloys, hardening and annealing.

 

Last update: January 2007