The artwork for this comes from an assortment of sources across a couple of centuries. The Aberdeen Bestiary and the The Alphonso Psalter plus assorted vinework and drolleries. It's not really a good example of a period piece, but it was amusing to do and I think it has a certain charm, especially if the recipient is someone who's interest lies away from scribe stuff.
The gilding on the piece was certainly the trickiest bit. Lacking a good gilding size, or really any knowledge whatsoever about how to do this kind of thing, I looked up directions for how to do it. There aren't any really clear directions, but I did find a sizing recipe that is Elmer's glue, water, and a little gouache so I could see where it was on the paper. I used an archival bookbinder's PVA instead of Elmer's and hopefully it will withstand the test of time. Once it was mixed up, I painted it onto the areas where I wanted the leaf to go and let it dry. Once dry, I "activated" it by breathing on it, like you would breathe on a window to fog it up, and pressed the leaf to it. The leaf I'm using came from my grandmother's art supplies - about 30 years ago. It's certainly older than I am and it's the loose stuff which wants to float around at the slightest hint of a breeze. This was not an easy task, but it turned out alright in the end for a first go. Hopefully I can pick up some tips and tricks to make this process easier.
The rest of the piece is done in Windsor Newton and Holbein gouaches. I signed it with a crane to represent me and a black martlet to represent House Fulton. It was cute and fun and I'm totally hooked.
No comments:
Post a Comment