News Update

[this post has been edited on March 5, 2010]

I was going to remove this blog completely, but since I like many of the pieces on here, & it does get some traffic, I'm now resolved to leave it here. However, I will be removing the prices, as they were very low compared to what my work usually goes for. Most of the pieces will still be available, prices available on request.

I haven't done any silverpoint drawings for quite a while, as the "drawing a day" format forced me to sit down & create a silverpoint drawing every morning (or afternoon or evening in a few cases). While many people might find this kind of discipline useful, I personally found that it was having a reverse effect -- I seemed to be creating less work than I might otherwise, as all my efforts were being channeled into the one particular piece for the web site.

So, I may create & post some more silverpoint pieces, but it will not be on a day-by-day basis. I shall leave the existing 50 daily pieces here (including the 2 by Jim Stevenson, unless he requests I take them down for any reason), & add to them on an ad hoc basis.

Thanks,
William T. Ayton

Day 50 - the final day: Da Vinci's Angel

[To see the concluding text for this blog, please scroll down in the right sidebar]

As it began, so it ends. The first silverpoint image I posted in this blog, to demonstrate silverpoint's look & feel, was Leonardo's study of an angel which was used in the Virgin of the Rocks. So, I thought it was only fitting to bookend this blog with the same image, or my copy of the same:


Da Vinci's Angel by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on card prepared with Mars Yellow-tinted gesso, 8" x 6". WTA110. Signed, dated & inscribed "after Leonardo."

Click on the image to see a larger version.

I very rarely make copies of other artists' work (an exception being the Isle of the Dead), though if I do, I usually alter things at least a tiny bit.

There are various differences between the original & this one, the most obvious probably being that Leonardo was left-handed & I'm not, so the hatching lines run diagonally upwards from left to right in mine. Leonardo's original was heightened with white chalk or similar, mine is not. And so on. But, if you're going to copy or steal, copy or steal from the best. I think I learned quite a lot in making this little copy.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 49: The Penultimate One

The title of this silverpoint drawing of a head derives from the fact that it is the second to last one in the series:


The Penultimate One by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on tinted card, 10" x 8". WTA108. Created today.

Tomorrow should be the last day of the series of 50 silverpoint drawings. I hope to have something interesting uploaded.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 48: The Warrior Reflects

A new silverpoint drawing on light Mars Yellow over light blue ground:


The Warrior Reflects by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on tinted ground, 10" x 8". WTA107. Created today.

I guess this is a kind of anti-war image (in the spirit of my installation, The War Room), where the hero reflects on past wars & perhaps has some kind of realization.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 47: Young Orpheus

Silverpoint drawing on light yellow ground over magenta ground:


Young Orpheus by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on tinted ground, 10" x 8". WTA106. Created yesterday.

Depiction of the mythical Greek poet as a youth.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 46: Dissolving Head

This silverpoint drawing was done on a Mars Yellow tinted ground, over a magenta-tinted ground:


Dissolving Head by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on tinted card, 10" x 8". WTA104.

The theme of a head dissolving into the landscape/background was most likely influenced by Leonardo's "sfumato" ("rendering in smoke") technique, whereby the outer lines of an object blur into the background or other parts of the image.

This drawing also contains more cross-hatching than usual to define the tonal regions.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 45: Grotesque Yet Melancholy Profile

New silverpoint drawing on blue. Done today (Saturday). I hadn't intended to work on the weekends with this blog, but I missed a day a while ago, and this means the series of 50 silverpoints should be finished this coming Friday.


Grotesque Yet Melancholy Profile by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on blue-tinted card, 10" x 8". WTA103.

Inspired by yesterday's somewhat grotesque image, and also by Leonardo's grotesque heads, and the monstrous inventions of Bosch...

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 44: Craggy Profile

A new silverpoint drawing on blue, done today:


Craggy Profile by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on blue-tinted card, 10" x 8". WTA101.

Partly inspired by the work of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby, whose work I mostly followed from the mid-late 60s to the early 70s. His work often featured characters with literally stony faces, from Ben Grimm to Darkseid. Here's to you, Jack.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 43: Vestiges of a Forest

Silverpoint drawing on light blue:


Vestiges of a Forest by William T. Ayton. Silverpoint drawing on blue-tinted ground, 10" x 8". WTA099.

Mostly tonal drawing of trees, etc. Inspired by surrealist "landscapes" of the 1930s & so on (Magritte, Tanguy, Dali, Ernst -- the usual suspects.) You could also see this as a small ecological statement...

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 42: The Burden of the World

New silverpoint drawing on light blue-toned ground:


The Burden of the World by William T. Ayton, 2009, silverpoint drawing on blue-toned card, 10" x 8". WTA098.

This kind of light blue prepared ground seems to be one of the best options for enhancing the contrast of silverpoint.

The image is based on a 2008 painting (of which there are 2 versions) of the same name.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 41: Figure Stuck Between Two Walls

Silverpoint drawing of a male figure on a light blue-tinted ground:


Figure Stuck Between Two Walls by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on pale blue ground, 10" x 8". WTA097.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 40: Figure on Magenta

Silverpoint drawing of a figure on magenta-toned ground:


Figure on Magenta by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on toned card, heightened with white pastel pencil, 10" x 8". WTA096.

A silverpoint drawing of a crouched figure in a rocky landscape.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 39: Woman on Magenta

Silverpoint drawing on a magenta-toned ground:



Woman on Magenta by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on magenta-toned ground, highlighted with white pastel pencil, 10" x 8". WTA095. Created today.

The ground was almost too lurid & powerful. However, I think the image survived.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 38: Young Man

New silverpoint of a young man's head, done today:


Young Man by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on toned ground highlighted with white pastel pencil, 10" x 8". WTA094.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.

Day 37: A Winged Man

Silverpoint drawing on ground toned with Mars Yellow:


A Winged Man by William T. Ayton, 2009. Silverpoint drawing on toned ground, 9" x 7". WTA093. Created today.

From an ongoing series of angels/winged figures, partly inspired by the Duino Elegies of Rainer Maria Rilke.

Price available on request. Please leave a message on this post, or email "info" "at symbol" "ayton.net". Thanks.