The Traditional Method of Painting Illuminated Manuscripts and More
Substrate Selection. Calfskin parchment is particularly valuable because of its softness, and fine grain, as well as durability. It is commonly used for vellum and parchment manuscripts because of its velvet-like texture. It cannot be surpassed in appearance and that is why it is still popular today. I also work on the finest quality Bristol board and other substrates with most rewarding results. For the application of authentic gold leaf, shell gold, powder pigments, I refer to time tested techniques with paint color brilliancy known to last thousands of years. The suggestion would be for the commissioner to first pursue the internet to find beautiful historical works. Select a few of interest and then contact me to work through any details and the time frame.
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Illuminated Letters A simple piece of work will take several hours like the IHS pictured ($100, single mat and frame). It is 24KT gold and metallic paint over clay bole base on Bristol board. Intricate, finely detailed artworks might take two to four days or more.
Thistle and Crown, custom made illustrations
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..."In the Middle Ages, writing conveyed far more than information. In contradistinction to the modern separation of image and text and, by implication, form and content, which was reified with the invention of printing, illuminated manuscripts made images out of words. In consonance with Christian doctrine, which declared that the Word had become flesh, letters painted on parchment assumed bodily presence to create effects of power and persuasion. Painted letters elicited modes of performance, oral recitation and ritual action. Far from calligraphic ornament or a medium with prescribed boundaries, medieval lettering reveals itself as a flexible instrument in which various categories of human experience and expression -- the audible, the visible, the symbolic and the figurative -- come together...." from Script as Image
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Special order Bestiaries
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"The medieval period was an era of uncertainty– medieval people gave thought to how they applied their presence to the natural world. Bestiaries assigned a moralization of behavior and served a pedagogical function."
Before Aesop's Fables or Brothers Grimm there were bestiaries. The Hedgehog (animation) link 
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