Beowulf Page 1

First big test of the first page.

Paper: Arches Hot Press Watercolor
Layout: modern mechanical pencil
Calligraphy: Quill pen & Sumi Ink
I used the following pigments: Carbon Black, Minium (Red Lead), Red Ochre,Orpiment, Lead White, Vermillion, Griffin Dye Work’s Peacock Blue (their replacement for Azurite) and Synthetic Ultramarine (same chemical makeup as lapis lazuli). For my green I used a mix of Peacock Blue and Orpiment that’s simular to vergaut (indigotin and orpiment)


Calligraphy done, Illuminated cap painted, now for the rest of it.

Colors going down in solid blocks of color.  Using my handmade brushes for this.

Large areas have been painted with the base color, I added the details with a sharpened quill pen using either vermillion, ultramarine, or carbon black paint.

 Details done.  Ready for white work. Again using a quill to apply the paint.

Using bread like Cenni suggests for erasing.

Finished page, surrounded by supplies.

Isaac

County Scroll Reviled

With the gifting of the county scroll done, I'm now going to post pictures of it up.
County Scroll done for Earl Duncan Arthur Ross the Black. The project had to be a larger size (16 x20), Vikingish, interests to try to include, weapons, armor, fighting, and a medieval lion would be a bonus.

Source: The Illustrated Old English Hexateuch, Cotton Claudius B.iv
Paper: Arches Hot Press Watercolor paper
Ink: Sumi Ink
Paint: Talens gouache, Grumbacher Academy, and a few ground pigments

These first two are during the finalizing of the drawings for the illuminated scenes.

Next is a page of test calligraphy I did to get an idea of the how the text looks and flows. A few final changes took place after doing this particular page.

The drafted layout of the final spacing for the full sized piece.  Yea, I'm a draftsmen...

In process, before color and during the inking. 

Now for the almost finished picture...  It's missing the Rex, Regina, and the signatures.

I didn't get any images after the signatures were done.

Isaac

New Play Piece & Pigment Research

The county scroll has been passed off for mailing.  I've done another small quick piece in the style of the Old English Hexateuch, Cotton Claudius B.iv.  The size is 5.25" x 7.75".

It's done on Pergamenata (a modern vegetable based Velum that's acid free), using the following Pigments - Carbon Black, Terra Vert,Verona Terra Green, Nickle Titanium Yellow, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Cobalt Blue Pale, Ultramarine Violet Medium, Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Pink, Red Lead, & Buff Titanium.  Not all of those pigments are correct for the style and some of the pigments are modern synthetics or titanium instead of lead replacements.

I've also been doing a lot of research into pigments lately, not only about origins or how to make it, but also the when and where for the colors.  I've recently reread Thompson's The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting and Thompson's translation of Cennino d'Andrea Cennini's "Il Libro dell' Arte" better known as the Craftsman's Handbook.  

I've also been haunting www.jstor.org for articles.  After some research I found out that my wife's OU facility access includes library access and JSTOR is included.  Needless to say, I've been downloading read all sorts of articles on medieval pigments and other sources to do further research into.  From the JSTOR articles I've been introduced to two more period source books, Mappe Clavicula and De diversis artbus (On Diverse Arts).  JSTOR has the article where the Mappe Clavicula was translated and published.  It was a very interesting read, with a lot of recipes for making gold go further or making imitation gold colors. And, it's from around the year 800 AD.

A copy of Hawthorne's and Smith's translaction of Theophilus's On Diverse Arts, should be in midweek.  I'm really looking forward to this book as it's described as the earliest (12th century) treatise on arts written by practicing artist. Pigments, glass blowing, stained glass, gold and silver work, more. And, it's supposed to include 34 illustrations.  That's a lot earlier then Cennini's Handbook that's from the 15th century and after the compilation of recipes that is Mappe Clavicula.

Isaac

Anglo-Saxon Calligraphy - Heart of Fire & Exeter riddle #50

Anglo-Saxon Calligraphy modeled after the Exeter Book.
965 – 975 AD

Poems:
Heart of Fire by Elanor O’ Ruark
Translation of Exeter Book riddle 50 by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Two sheets side by side.  I still need to mat and frame these for display.

Image of the first page. 

Image of the Second Page.

Isaac

Heart of Fire Trial Layout

A trial layout for Elanor O’Ruark’s poem Heart of Fire.

Isaac

A Few Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Calligraphy Hands

I've been looking at and comparing various Old English manuscripts for awhile now. I've been using books as well as electronic facsimiles.  Much like handwriting of today, it's pretty much the same basics, just a few changes between each hand.

A Few Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Calligraphy Hands:

Isaac

Books for Research

Picked up copies of "The History of English Handwriting AD 700 - 1400" by Sir Edward Maunde Thompson and "Parker Chronicle and Laws Corpus Christi College, Cambridge MS 173" from the Early English Text Society Original Series.

The History of English Handwriting is taken from an off print of the original article which was first delivered in 1899 to the Bibliographical Society and then published in the Society's Transactions the following year.  Tinger of the Stripe, the publishing company to do this version has added additional illustrations.  Over all this should be a short interesting read.

Having a hard copy of the Parker Chronicle is nice, as the images I had just didn't have the resolution to get a good look at the calligraphy.  The different hands in the Parker Chronicle is very similar to the other Anglo-Saxon/Old English hands I found in other manuscripts.  The differences are in little flourishes.

For my History project, I think I'm going to be combining most of the flourishes I like the best from the different Anglo-Saxon calligraphy.  I've done a test run using a cartage pen and the hand that's used on the Beowulf manuscript.  Over all, it went rather well, with only a few mistakes.  I'll be making some changes to my plan that will help create a better finished project.

The Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts has been a wonderful source for having a lot of good links to various Old English Manuscripts. Old English List

Isaac