Joshua Henderson Reveals the Secrets of Silverpoint

Art by Joshua Henderson

“Historically, silverpoint was deemed an important medium, as apprentices to Old Masters had to earn the right to paint by first demonstrating proficiency in silverpoint. It was the chosen training methodology because it is notoriously difficult to master. Furthermore, the bioactive element ages as it transitions through oxidation. This gives the drawings a subtle reflective patina unique to silver. The oxidation process and patina remind us that life experience is what gives us our own unique “patina” as we age. Our perception of life, our stories, and the nature of our thoughts are exhibited on our faces.”

- Joshua Henderson

How did you get started with Silverpoint?

{JH} I began working with Silverpoint shortly after coming home to a massive tormented oil painting I was working on. My life had completely fallen apart at that time and when my painting on the wall had greeted me the way it did I realized I didn’t want to come home to a dark tormented painting and other people probably don’t want to either. My work was an expression of sadness, trauma and mental illness, but I didn’t want to contribute more sadness to this world. This stimulated my search for a new medium. Shortly after I began searching I took a drawing workshop with Steven Assael and on his materials list he had listed silverpoint as an optional material. I had heard about the medium but had never used it. I was never interested in it before, but when I saw it listed this time I imagined it to be the exact medium I was looking for. It’s minimalistic, subtle and elegant, yet considered to be one of the most challenging mediums to master.

The Last Samurai | .999-Silver and 24K-Gold on Legion Art Coated Cover| 9”x12”

The Monkey Wrench Gang | .999-Silver and 24K-Gold on Legion Art Coated Cover| 9”x12”

What is your process like from start to finish?

{JH} My entire drawing process is an act of exploration, indicative to my experience of life. In the initial stages there is only blank space, both in my mind and on the sheet of paper. I call it “The White Void” and just about every time I begin a new drawing it causes me to enter into the existential phase of the process - an undetermined amount of interstitial time when I feel compelled to answer the questions: “What is the fundamental value of drawing, especially in our time?”, “What is my reason and purpose for drawing?” and “How does my drawing contribute to the progress of the human species?”

Only after I give up on trying to answer these debilitating questions do I begin actually making marks in the white void. The first marks are made so lightly that they are barely visible. They indicate potential place holders for the overall composition, although I rarely commit to them.

As things progresses, I slowly darken certain areas in an effort to lead myself and potential viewers through some sense of design between lines, a variety of forms, shadows and atmosphere. Due to my process being explorative I try keep my drawings as open as I can, from start to finish.

Why do you use Legion Art Coated Cover?

{JH} I use Legion Art Coated Cover, an almost velveteen surfaced paper, because it is durable and can withstand silverpoint without easily tearing. This feature of the paper allows silver to build up and appear darker than other papers. Additionally, its surface is uniquely dynamic in that a variety of textures within a single drawing are possible. As an example, the paper is similar to the texture of human skin, but becomes increasingly smooth when silver is built up in layers, yet becomes embossed with rivets when the silver wire is heavily dragged across its surface. These features allow a variety of layers and textures and make this dynamic paper ideal for silverpoint drawing.

What other tools do you do use?

{JH} The tools I use in my drawings are: paper, silver (or some other metal), a metal file, a chair, a table, a skeleton and a variety of other references.

What other mediums do you work with?

{JH} I’ve used a variety of other mediums, although I haven’t tried ice-carving or pottery yet. I’m relatively proficient at stone carving, clay modeling, casting, oil painting, drawing with charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, colored pencils, crocheting, digital painting and wood carving.

Silverpoint is special to me for a number of reasons: It’s a very simple and direct drawing technique, yet somehow the most challenging medium of all the mediums I’ve tried; if not technically then psychologically, for me it’s both. It’s not “eye candy” like painting and it’s not sharing space with us as sculptures do. It’s a subtle medium all it’s own that requires intense focus; the drawing process becomes a reflective puzzle and I like that.

Additionally, I think the properties of the element silver are incredible. It’s a bioactive element that basically attaches itself to and suffocates bacteria. It’s not a dry or a wet medium, yet it feels like both. When I’m drawing with silverpoint I feel like I’m painting and stone carving at the same time, but it’s more than that and it’s less than that and that’s a mysterious feeling I like very much.

Art by Joshua Henderson

What else should we know about you and your work?

{JH} No one should know anything about me or my work. I’m not more unique than anyone else. I was, however, clinically diagnosed recently as “manic bi-polar with psychosis” it’s been a ride. This diagnosis has solidified my interest in connecting psychology directly to the drawing practice. The value of silverpoint drawing for me is in the optimistic resilience cultivated by exercising the mind with it. I believe the fundamental value of drawing is to process ideas and emotions. To me this means nurturing healthy mindsets. Leonardo used silverpoint to design things, I use silverpoint to design the mind.

Any advice for someone looking to get started working with Silver?

{JH} Jump in and get started, enjoy the exploration and what you find, remember to have patience with yourself and when a silverpoint drawing seems like a failed drawing keep working on it. Don’t worry about erasing or restarting; work through it, even if the paper tears, let your mistakes exist among your best work.

Learn more about Joshua Henderson’s work.

Learn more about Legion Art Coated Cover.

Artist Spotlight: a conversation with Katie Heffelfinger

A series of eighteen of Katie’s paintings are currently on display on the newly renovated fourth floor of Saks Fifth Avenue. This space, featuring new, emerging and legendary brands is the perfect backdrop for her creations.

You can visit Katies her work at Saks, online at Katie.Gallery or in person on Gansevoort St in Manhattan on weekends.

Can you start by introducing yourself?

I'm Katie Heffelfinger. I am the lead artist at katie.gallery where I create original watercolor paintings using a unique process of latex resist and handmade paint on Legion's 100% cotton Coventry Rag paper. 

What inspired this series? 

What inspired me was Otto Piene in the 1960’s and his work with the other German zero artists. I saw a piece of what I thought were impressions in the paper laid out in a grid with a human hand with slight irregularities making it impossible to look away.  I’ve never seen them in person, just in catalogs. But they took my breath away.

The washes are just part of me. My mother was a watercolor artist and I loved her work. I just lay on the color and create compositions.  Much of my inspiration is part of the mixing and chemical process of the different paints I develop in the studio. It's often like making crystals develop on the surface as the mica dries with the funori. They develop into beauty, I give it a place to happen and a direction, but I don't always know how it will come about.

Yayoi  Kusama and Dorothy Napangardi are always present in my work and my two biggest influences as women artists who master the dot. The Albers are my color teachers and I have to thank them often for their vision.

What materials do you use and why?  Are there any favorites?

For me Legion Paper’s Coventry Rag paper is more than half the piece. My studio mate artist Jed Miner introduced me to Coventry Rag five years ago. It was only later I realized the paper's properties were so perfect.

The resist (dots and lines) are done in Marquee Behr house paint. There is something about the formula that works differently than any other. The funori in the paint I make pulls away from the Marquee paint and there's a reaction between the sizing in the paper and the Marquee that creates many of the effects.

My framer Rooq is another key piece to my success. Their show room on 4th street is my favorite space to show clients for the lighting, and at their giant work tables I always feel comfortable there with my clients. Their quality is great and prices reasonable.  Regarding materials, Rooq uses Rising Museum Board to support my work.

Can you tell us a little about your watercolor process? What makes it unique?

The traditional binder of watercolor is gum Arabic. This is a thick kind of jelly medium that binds water and color (pigment) to the paper, thinned to about 2-7% of volume with water and mixed into water and pigment gives us watercolor.  When you mix heavy pigments or mica into the paint adding more gum Arabic makes it sticky slow drying goo like the coating on an old photograph.

Funori changed the game of watercolor painting.  It's a Japanese seaweed which is used in bookbinding.  Jed Miner brought a rigorous daily practice and a skill for invention into the work. He experimented constantly with old binders and coatings. Working with him we created some of the chemical process I use today. It's exciting to make all of the paint myself and be able to tweak the ingredients.

How did you come to work with Legion Paper?

At the Gansevoort street outlet at the base of the highline, I met Josh Levine [Legion CEO].  He was walking with his wife, saw my work and casually asked what paper I used. I said My favorite was Coventry Rag.  When he said that Legion created Coventry Rag I was pulled into one of those synchronicities that only seems to occur in NYC!  

Art is a business and making that first large (for me, anyway) investment in really high quality materials was the first step on a trajectory to where I am now.  Josh mentioned they happened to have some slightly irregular batch of Coventry Rag they rejected and we traded paper for a piece to be named later. Josh also supported me getting access to their “seconds” and off-cuts. This was a huge game changer. I was able to touch samples of almost every kind of paper that Legion has and as a result I could make more informed choices.  

In our conversations prior to this you’re very specific about what you look for in a paper.

Everyone should be!  These higher-quality cotton papers are so different from other papers it's like night and day. I get this feedback from people all the time, particularly people from Europe and other artists who can see and feel something is special about my paper.

Michael Ginsburg, co-founder of Legion (as well as the rest of the staff) was patient with me dragging large rolls of paintings to show him that other papers suck the pigment into the center of the sheet, sometimes pulling it to the back of the sheet. Watercolor papers just weren't made to do what my handmade paints needed, which was to keep the mica and pigment on the surface while allowing the water to evaporate without buckling. 

And sometimes you have to be resourceful.  For example, because of the demand for my work in larger sizes, bigger than Coventry Rag’s 60x44, I was having such a hard time finding a paper to use that for my larger pieces.  For this series I had to use a bit of an off label product from the Legion paper family - I actually used the reverse side of the 1 sided Entrada rag, used typically for photographic printing, but the reverse side is very similar to Lenox 100, while feeling to me a bit more sized. The coating keeps the paper held well on the reverse and stable for the many layers of paint I put down.  

How did The Saks Fifth Avenue series come about?

My process is always the same:  great designers happen by my outlet spot on Gansevoort. (Meatpacking + Whitney + High Line: it’s a nexus of a lot of cool things and people looking for cool things.)

The buyer for Saks came by and was complimentary and kind, but it was a fairly fast meeting, he liked what he saw and said he'd connect.  After that it was very fast: we met again and he selected the pieces. We made a date to meet at the framer (Rooq) to double check particulars about the order.  Rooq owner Jawed helped me box and package the paintings (18!!) and I delivered them to the legendary 5th Avenue store in midtown where the work will be part of a new look for the 4th floor.

If you could create something for a dream client (individual or corporate) who would it be? 

I’m not sure if this is public knowledge yet but my dream paper is about to become real. It's a 60 inch roll of Coventry rag vellum and smooth!!! Now that my perfect paper is real, I'll be able to make gallery sized dot pieces that on this scale will ungulate and truly absorb and envelop the viewer. 

What I'm seeing now would be three of these giant form pieces let's say 5' x 8' in quicksilver gray and blue colors.  I wish these could be completed before my show at the gallery Sensei in the Bowery because I feel like that would be an amazing presentation but I guess I’ll have them for the winter art shows.

But your question didn't ask what but who, as an ideal client!

The truth is I work with my dream clients now. Saks is a dream client. All my buyers and the awesome people who come to me from all over the world and make my pieces part of their lives - I honestly feel that I live the dream. I just want to do more of them, bigger ones and keep working with the really cool people I get to work with.

I am getting the dream I had of being in the Legion Paper offices which is absolutely for a Coventry Rag Superfan like being on Justin Bieber's wall when you're a preteen girl [laugh], you know like that's just awesome.

I also really hope that Behr paint (masco coatings) will understand my love for them and my complete obsession with Marquee paint and get something for their corporate offices in Southern California.

One day at the booth someone walked up and said, "My husband and I have selected your piece to build our lives around."  My piece was the first thing they placed after their renovation was finished and they added all the other furniture and decor around the colors in the piece.  I could feel them placing their soul into my piece in a beautiful way.

These are my dream clients.

 
What’s next for Katie?

The Mansion residency program [that Katie created in Allentown, PA.] is being overhauled and I will be unveiling my new course and eBook. Hopefully, readers will get to use the process to hone their art into something very salable. Instead of helping a few dozen artists over years as we have been one at a time in a residency capacity, I want to help thousands realize my goal of removing the term starving artist from the lexicon. 

"Doing it like Durher" will debut at an NYU class this fall. This beta version will be what I take to the Internet next year in 2017. It talks about how old a profession we are in and that the rules haven't changed since Durher was making full sheet prints of well rendered watercolor bunnies in 1502. Simple, time tested (like centuries) solutions to teach people to quit their Day-jobs and let their creativity be the fiscal engine fueling their lives,  making your existing art practice into a job no one can take away from you and you can do forever anywhere on the planet.

It is my goal to bring people into the understanding this is an amazing profession. People, all human beings, need what we do as artists. In a home we crown the architecture and bind the themes that someone brings into their visual center.

If we understand our profession as a business and take it seriously, how awesome to have our practice as a vehicle to raise humanity, simply by being great artists and fixing and surpassing our limits and preconceived ideas of what can be possible in a life. This is how we can change the world.

Mirri Sparkle: Tickets for PPA Awards

Each year, the PPA hold an awards ceremony to applaud the excellence and innovation achieved in the UK’s magazine media industry. The glamorous event, this year hosted by BBC Radio 6 Musics’ Lauren Laverne, provided a benchmark for all consumer and business media brands to be judged. In its 35^th year, the night was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London’s Mayfair.

Celloglas produced the tickets for this year’s ceremony. To compliment the grandeur of the event, Mirri Sparkle from Mirri – a division of Celloglas, was the chosen stock. Mirri Sparkle is a new product that offers a glitter texture that glistens in the light. Sheets are 35.4"x27.5" and comes as a 6pt and 16pt.

The reverse of the invitation was pre coated for HP Indigo and printed with four colour process. The front of the card was finished by foil blocking lettering, using a purple foil. This process was carried out at Celloglas Reading.

Grace Harrison, Events Manager at the PPA commented, ‘When we received the tickets from Celloglas we were so pleased with the result. Mirri Sparkle was the perfect choice for the tickets as it really emphasises the glitz and glamour of the night. The purple foil gave a premium feel and the colour really popped against the silver sparkle.’

NY Public Radio Calendar by Vote for Letterpress

Five year old letterpress studio Vote for Letterpress, tasked with creating a calendar for New York Public Radio, hit this one out of the park with this intricate print on Coventry Rag.  In their words:

3-color split fountain? Check.

Intricately detailed illustration by Felix Sockwell? Check.
2,000 posters, printed one at a time on our hand-cranked Vandercook SP-20? Check mate.

This was one of the most challenging jobs we’ve printed. There’s a crazy amount of detail in this poster, and while tight registration of the colors wasn’t critical, it was still important to get it pretty close. Press preparation (called makeready) took 3 days alone before we were ready to print the black plate. Total press time probably neared 40 hours. 

We're big fans of people who love paper and VFL has our vote.

"All American" by Ganzeer

Congratulations to Ganzeer on his first US show at the Leila Heller Gallery here in NYC. You can experience it now through Feb 21st.