I learned a lot of things while making this D! I discovered that I’m terrible at drawing monks even when I’m copying from a reference that’s right in front of me, for example. I learned that I have better control with a 20/0 taklon brush than with sable - I think because the fibres aren’t as soft, so my inexperienced hand finds it easier to control. I learned a lot about controlling the consistency of gouache to draw tiny lines and not huge blobs. . I used some very fine shell gold to fill the background around the monk, but I did not use enough to make it really look lush - I didn’t want to waste it! . I learned that spilling your gold size on your painting is a bad, bad idea ... 😂😂😂 I used Miniatum instead of Instacoll this time but I don’t think it made much difference. I am still pretty clumsy at handling loose leaf gold; I am going to need to buy the right tools (like a gilders knife and tip) because I think I’m reaching the limits of “just make do with your fingers” 😅 . Also, I learned that flakes of gold leaf will stick to a wet kitten nose and then you’ll feel like a terrible cat owner. (The kitten won’t care.) . The design of this D is from a manuscript first written in 1303-1313 ish. The monk who painted it first probably didn’t have access to good glasses, nontoxic white paint, or air conditioning... I’m not trying to recreate it quite that faithfully 😂 . . . #illuminated #illuminatedletters #gold #gilding #calligraphy #calligraphylife #magpieglitters #52in2018 #moyagraphy #calligraphyvideo #burnishing #shellgold #gouache #watercolour #melbourneart #artprojects #manuscriptstudies
