We had Cheyenne again this week and since I had already done an oil painting last week, I thought I would try out my new gesso for gold and silverpoint. I prepared the paper by soaking it in water then taping it down to a board. After it had dried I applied two layers of silverpoint drawing ground. I lightly sanded with a 400 sand paper. The paper must have been too thin because it developed some buckling which I didn't care for. Next time I will use an illustration board or much heavier paper. They recommend 2 or 4 ply strathmore. I think I used 2 ply. The ground is absorbed in to the paper rather quickly making it difficult to get an absolutely smooth surface. I worked very fast but maybe did not use enough of a pool in the middle to spread. The head study came out ok, I like the hands the best. Ya'll know how I love to do hands. Also a draw back of this gesso is that you absolutely cannot erase and it is very hard to get an even grey tone.
2 comments:
You should be using tinted casein for the ground for silverpoint. Soaking paper is not good. Use bristol board. I've done silverpoint drawings for 30 years.
Thank you for the advise. What is tinted Casein? I didn't like soaking the paper and it's good to know that there is something else out there. I will look for it.
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