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Award of Arms for Marlene Smithyswife
by Lady Kayleigh McWhyte (Cellach Mac Faoitigh)
(Best viewed in maximized window)
Detail - Portrait of Marlene
-a.jpg)
Pictured above:
Newly-minted Lady Marlene in the miniature
(entire picture area was 8"x10"), wearing a slightly different version
of the Irish dress she had on in the initial portrait given to me by the
contact for this scroll. The pastel blue and pink colors were chosen to
reflect the style of the prayer book from whence this came - The
Prayer Book of Michelino da Bessozo. Good book, gorgeous work, I
highly recommend you get your hands on a copy if you don't have one already.
Marlene received her AoA for tending to the children of the Canton of Ynys Y Gwaed, Barony of Ruantallan (Prince Edward Island), as well as for her support to the Baronial fighters, her cookery, her needlecraft / garb, and her support to her husband, Lord Thorgar.
Nitty-Gritty....
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUE:
Winsor & Newton Gouache, W&N Gouache
mixed with Holbein Gouache, yellow-gold Sumi ink, ShinHan watercolor mixed
with W&N Gouache (fleshtones), pencil, t-square, 6" ruler, right-triangle,
18/0 brushes, 000 brush, 0 chisel-tip brush, and 1 gel-grip liner brush.
Gold is 23kt patent/transfer leaf, on permacol (brushed loose bits away
with a soft small makeup brush, burnished with bone and glassine). Hand
is my own Italian Rotunda, using Walnut ink, and Speedball pigmented purple
ink, Mitchell fine nib. Wording was cut short due to space availability
- initial wording available upon request, but the picture should say it
all.
INSPIRATION:
The Prayer Book of Michelino da Bessozo
-- Purification of the Virgin
Done to the style of other bordering pages
about the saints, the chrysography (lettering in gold) was brushed in with
a size 0 chisel-tipped brush in permacol, before laying down the leaf once
it was dry. Marlene's name is practically in lights.
WHAT I LIKED:
The folds and pleating on Marlene's dress
came out very well, and the layout turned out just gorgeous.
WHAT I *REALLY* LIKED:
Ox gall. WOOHOO! The petals of the flowers
were done in Ultramarine Deep, then highlighted with a stylized section
of a tint of the same color. By using the ox gall as a blender, I was able
to "push" that highlight into a nicer looking blend (softer).
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Dirt. Lots of it. Pencilwork was so intense
on this when I started working on it, that once I had the permacol down
where I wanted it, I soon realized just how much pencil-smudging had gotten
onto my adhesive before the leaf started going down. The result: Tarnish.
I had to put extra layers of leaf down in spots here and there, in an effort
to conceal the dirt. Also, this is when I learned that Sumi gold rubs off....
What I would change?
1. Don't sit at this for too long - began
to lose "the drive" by 3+ hr sitting sessions w/o breaks. (By the end of
work, it required a mental kick in the ass to get moving again).
2. Find a less distracting environment to
paint in, esp during fine linework.
3. Wonder how it would look with period pigment,
and period glue?
4. Consistency with the permacol - some were
buttons, some were not...
5. Figure out how to make darker shadows in
contrasting color. Use of brown for shading is OK, but I refuse to touch
black or grey (kills color). Scroll is definitely vibrant as it's supposed
to be, but lacks a lot of the "depth" of dark shadows (not same color in
richer hue).
Would I do this again?
Hmm. Depends on how whacked
out on caffeine I am next time. :P