Metalpoint drawing from Eric Black

Gold- and Silver-point

I started teaching myself metal point drawing in the year 2000. Of course with no classes to take it was all teach myself. I did find that for support I used liquid white gesso with zinc oxide, then thinned it out and used an airbrush to apply the support to my board or paper. The airbrush gives a much smoother surface than any brush I ever found (no sanding). Put on 10-12 coats of the diluted mixture and it works fine.

Also in 2008 I spent the summer in Alaska where I was able to pan gold. When I returned I had the gold melted down into the nib I use today. Pure 24k Klondike gold. It’s wonderful but doesn’t get very dark.

Lately I’ve been using silverpoint as a “wash” then using pen and ink over it to darken shawdows and such. It gives a very striking result with great contrasts. You can see most all my work at etsy.com/shop/drawingflies/ if your interested.

The problem with metal point is that since no one ever heard of it, including galleries, it’s a tough sell. I still like to use it anyway in a mixed media format, with ink or sometimes with pastel.

I’m glad you’re around and teaching metal point.

Thanks