And in comes June with a bang. The Tyger Signet sent me an Order of High Merit to complete. I sort of panicked. The previous two I had requested and she trusted me to complete them under Camille’s guidance. This one was a “hey you got this” nod from Signet. Suddenly, the bar got raised.
Eoin has been a friend for years. He’s been supportive of Cody in his endeavors in Archery, and never had a negative word to say. (Unless in jest, and you sort of expect that.) I was glad to hear he was getting this honor, and equally tickled to do the scroll. Like his squire brother Thomas, he likes dragons. I may have sassed their Knight about this. Scottish personas with loves for dragons. I showed a couple of possible exemplars to Eoin’s wife, and this is where we ended up:
This is page from Saint Gregoire le Grande held in the Dijon Library (MS00168). This piece depicts George with a shield and sword, so in the end, I adapted it to wield a bow and arrow appropriate for a Sagittarius recipient.
I took complete ownership of this scroll, crafting the words, performing calligraphy, and of course the illumination. I have a love-hate relationship with calligraphy. This was a step in the right direction, but it’s still not my favorite task, so I’ll continue to use other resources for future scrolls. I used the exemplar as best I could to form the letters. In the end, I think they came out alright, but certainly a slightly wider nib would have been better.
The painting was fun. This was a brand new style for me, and a challenge to learn to shade correctly. In addition, the lines for the figures were more bold, almost cartoonish in width. Feeling confident to make those lines wider took some steps.
In the end, I learned I don’t like the weird flowers on the borders, but for a first try they came out acceptable. I was most pleased with the people, which goes a long way because I don’t much like drawing or shading people. These guys came out pretty darn good though, and I was happy with them. The shading on the dragons could have gone a little wider, but overall, I am pleased.
Paper: 11×14 Bristol – Vellum Finish
Ink: Ian the Green Oak Gall Ink
Paint: Holbein Gouache, Winsor & Newton Gold Gouache
Gold: 23k transfer leaf
The complete process photos can be found in the slideshow below:
The Voice of Audrye Beneyt 