Silverpoint

Jeanne E. Gugino was awarded Third Prize in the Newton Art Association Annual Newton Library Show in 2010 for her silverpoint and watercolor "Zinnias".

Silver point is a medium with very particular traits that requires a great deal of forethought and precision. There is a nice contrast between the delicacy of this difficult medium and the subject of Zinnias, the very indelicate, sturdy flower. The work has a wonderful sense of time, not quite static but slowed, an expression of the desire to linger in the moment. The composition of the flowers, stretching to the right and left margins against a mostly flat, white background together with the small scale of the work creates an intimacy that reinforces the delicacy of the medium.

Juror: Joseph Carroll, Owner and Director of Carroll and Sons, a contemporary art gallery in the South End neighborhood of Boston.

About Silverpoint: Used by ancient scribes, metalpoint was a tool for writing and keeping records. Draughtsman such as Leonardo da Vinci popularized this drawing method during the Renaissance. Using a variety of grounds the silver will tarnish, just as sterling silver, and become a rich sepia tone. When graphite was invented people abandoned metalpoint. The medium has been rediscovered and is now enjoying its own renaissance. The work presented here is shown on a variety of "grounds". Sometimes watercolor used for color.