Artwork Gallery - Metalpoint Drawings

* all works ©Kathie Miranda

 * all works framed unless otherwise noted and available for acquisition *

* contact info:  kathieartist@gmail.com

What is metalpoint?

Literally drawing with a metal wire, an ancient technique that pre-dates graphite pencil.  Silver became the most popular because it produces extremely delicate pale gray lines, which tarnish over time to warm mellow tones. I use sterling silver and add a touch of color to impart a contemporary air to this Old World medium:

In the beginning...(Aloe), silverpoint + pastel, 14 x 11, $475

Foxtail (Agave), silverpoint + pastel, 9 x 11, $350

Horrida (Agave), silverpoint + pastel, 16 x 14, $425

Paddles (African Paddle Plant), silverpoint + egg tempera, 11 x 16, $425

Sun-catcher (Agave), silverpoint + pastel, 9 x 12, $350

Starflower, silverpoint, 12 x 15, $425

African Violet, silverpoint + pastel, 8 x 10, $350

Spotted Wintergreen, silverpoint + pastel, 12 x 9, $400

Indian Pipe, silverpoint + pastel, 10 x 8, $350

Globe Artichoke, silverpoint + casein on board, 7 x 5 (unframed), $250

Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia), silverpoint + casein, 14 x 11, $450

Pink Ruffles (Petunia), silverpoint + casein, 12 x 9, $400

Buddies (Amaryllis), silverpoint + pastel, 14 x 11, sold

Glad Blossoms, silverpoint + pastel on panel (unframed), 12 x 9, $400

The natural imperfections of stone tiles provide a perfect surface for these tiny succulent plants the hug the ground in African deserts (aerial view):

Ice Plant 1 (living stone), silverpoint + pastel on Travertine stone tile (unframed)

3 x 3, $250

Ice Plant 2 (living stone), silverpoint + pastel on Travertine stone tile (unframed)

3 x 3, $250

Ice Plant 3 (living stone), silverpoint + pastel on Travertine stone tile (unframed)

3 x 3, $250

As aluminum oxidizes it becomes whiter.  This lightening creates a lovely contrast on a black surface:

Hosta Shoots, aluminum-point + pastel, 12 x 9, $400

Jelly, aluminum-point + pastel, 12 x 10, $400

Mantid Photo Bomb, aluminum-point + pastel, 12 x 9, $400

Website Update!

March 6, 2020:  My website has been hacked! It appears I was selling Viagra for a few days 😅

The site has been taken down, but a new one will appear ASAP.

Meanwhile, please check here from time to time for my latest news - art classes, exhibitions and industry information.

In the beginning... [Aloe] Silverpoint + Pastel + Colored Pencil 14" x 11" framed $475

Upcoming Silverpoint Workshop

March 13 & 14, 10:00 am to 3:30 pm

Location: Stamford, CT.

Please email me for more information

What is TerraSkin and What Do I Do With It?

TerraSkin is paper made of stone!  It's actually mineral powder + resins formed into sheets of varying thicknesses indicated in points: 10 pt and 12 pt are the thicknesses I favor.  It is translucent like Mylar but a creamy color.

I use it for silverpoint drawing primarily because it is beautiful to work on but also it requires no surface preparation.  The sheets can have some flaws: linear scratches across the surface likely due to the method of manufacture (?)  Once I know where they are, I adjust my silverpoint application accordingly by working around any lines I may find.  Shallow flaws are quite easy to disguise in the finished piece.

Though it is "stone", the surface is delicate: easily damaged and unforgiving if erasing is necessary.  The dark joke is we botanical silverpoint artists never erase: we just turn our stray marks into another element like a flower bud or berry!

TerraSkin also accepts pastel dust - my favorite technique for applying a touch of color to my silverpoint work.  The artwork in my Blog header, "Horrida" (Agave horrida), is a larger silverpoint on TerraSkin (11" x 14")  The one shown here is a smaller work (8" x 6.5"), "Sun-catcher" (Agave attenuate)

I use a light box to transfer my original line drawing to the surface.  I then began the piece by applying light layers of silverpoint using a shallow elliptical application rather than the more traditional cross-hatch approach.  I shape the silverpoint tool into a rounded tip for this; and sometimes to cover larger areas, I use a blunt-angled tip.  My way gives me a smooth, even tonal coverage.  TerraSkin accepts many layers, so I achieve a fairly broad value range.  Where I need more darks, or to better define detail, I use a sharper silverpoint tip and work with it linearly, like a pencil.

There are a couple of options for applying pastel dust to the finished silverpoint work.  Sometimes I scrape the side of a pastel stick with a straight-edge blade into the well of a watercolor mixing palette.  More often now, I use Pan Pastels.  In both cases, I dip a dry watercolor brush into the dust and gently apply it to the desired area by gently pushing the strokes into the surface.  It takes just a tiny brush-tip full of dust for lots of coverage!  Transparent color passages glow on the TerraSkin surface.

Windows…

I grow African Paddle Plants because they are gorgeous and do not require a great deal of attention from me other than my devoted admiration of their beauty. This one flowered in an amazing profusion of blooms!

Kalanchoe thyrsiflora flowers

I prepared cold pressed watercolor paper with 3 different grounds: one has a layer of white casein paint [far right]; one a coat of white casein paint with Daniel Smith copper watercolor powder mixed in [lower left]; and one is white casein paint tinted with pale green egg tempera paint [top left].

Once dry, I created the images entirely in silverpoint.  The image on the right received a coat of pale green egg tempera over the silverpoint work.  I couldn't resist adding a hint of the maroon edges on some of the paddles.

It was fun to pull the image out of toned paper - adding darks with silverpoint; mid-tones are untouched paper; and lights are enhanced with white egg tempera paint + touches of white charcoal pencil.  All 3 images are matted together as one finished piece.

[Obviously this is a home-made scan so the image got cropped all around. I resized the canvas to give you a better idea of the actual border - someday I'll learn Photoshop :-) Replaced the image today with a pro scan.  The silver has tarnished - as it should - so the overall value range extends into the darks.