November 16, 2018

Gouache paints, micron pen, Strathmore Bristol paper

My first completed piece. Made for Baron Dankwert Bathory as a gift for all the work he has done over 15 years building an amazing household, Surtr’s Brood.

I have always loved to paint.  Mostly with acrylics and in abstract, graphic ways.  When I joined the SCA and saw the beautiful scrolls that people were creating I knew I wanted to try my hand at it.  Having no actual art background or schooling I had never heard of illumination. I honestly felt silly because I really knew none of the terminology that people were using; scroll, manuscript, scribe, illumination, gouache, exemplar.  I, of course, had an idea of these terms, but no real application of them in regards to the SCA. I began researching to find out what they all meant. I also started asking the local scribes, as I was instructed to do by friends. I was given quite a bit of information, supplies to purchase, examples of what to try.  But I wasn’t really sure where to begin and how to put it all together. I continued researching and found someone’s blog, I can’t remember who’s, that explained the real basics; such as scroll layouts and the process of what to do. 

I started out by purchasing the $5 gouache paints from Michael’s, a pad of Strathmore Bristol paper and some micron pens.  I had plenty of paint brushes and pallets from my other painting. To get used to the paints I painted some simple ivy in very not period colors.  I loved doing it. I was sold.

My next task was to find a project.  I knew I was in no way ready to make a real scroll.  I decided that a gift would be the way to go. I had recently attended my first Pennsic and joined the household that had welcomed me with open arms, Surtr’s Brood.  They would be having their 15th anniversary at 100 Minutes War and this seemed like a good opportunity to express my gratitude to the man who started the household, Dankwert Bathory.  

I began to search for something that I could use as an exemplar.  I found an image that looked medieval to me, I did not yet fully understand how to find period exemplars.  I began by drawing out the design. I added the Brood’s heraldry on the shield. After the design was drawn out I outlined it all in micron pen.  Then I began to paint, starting with the gold. I changed the colors in the exemplar to complement the Brood heraldry, deliberating each color.  

Using the gouache was a challenge.  I would say it is somewhere in between acrylic and watercolor in the way it acts.  You have to use it in a completely different way than other paints and the only real way to learn it is by using it.  It does not blend in a way I was used to at all. It is hard to make even and solid. I will not lie and say that I painted this piece without much frustration and cursing.  It took my boyfriend a little bit of time to realize I was not having an emergency when I loudly cursed and that I was just having difficulty getting the paint to do what I wanted.  

The most difficult part that I found was painting the acanthus leaves.  I had never tried anything like it and was unsure how to tackle them. I reached out to Countess Honig, who I had been introduced to a few months previously and who kindly offered to answer questions for me.  She told me to go from back to front, that was a game changer for me. It clicked something in my head and I had a much easier time from there.  

The other part that I had a really hard time with was getting the black to be solid and flat on the shield as well as the blue background.  When I explained this issue I was told that it was probably time to upgrade my paints. That a higher quality paint would sit much nicer on the paper.  (Which I later found out to be very true). It is obvious on the finished piece that I struggled with this.

After getting the painting to where I was mostly happy with it I touched up the micron pen outline and called it finished.  I put it in a frame and was ready to go.  

After court at 100 Minutes our household assembled to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. As is our custom, we participate in a sumble and talk about fallen and present heroes. When it was my turn I explained why Danx was my current hero for giving me the family that I was missing and a home that I sorely needed. I thanked him for all his hard work and his caring and gave him the scroll. I was incredibly excited to be able to give this gift. He was very touched and actually cried when I gave it to him while hugging me tight. It was one of the best reactions to a gift that I have ever had and I will remember it forever. I received quite a bit of positive feedback on this piece which spurred me on to keep at it and develop my skills at illumination.