Iluminators were known to layer paints more than mix them. Yet there are written notes and illuminations that show they mixed colors too, especially later in the Middle Ages. Mixing colors makes its own problems. The more colors you combine, eventually ends with mud. Over-mixing also dulls the paint combination. Learn by doing: mix two gouache primary colors…
I was asked by a scribal friend last week how I would critique another scribe’s scroll. In Calontir we often talk about this and how to do it. Critiquing another person’s work is tricky because of the personal pride held by the sharer and the hearer. Some encourage gentleness. Others recommend a quick comment like my…
I bought myself a present. I love the writer/artist Austin Kleon. He has a new book, Steal Like An Artist Journal. I’m flipping through the pages, seeing a little of everything. The first image I came across relates to scribes so well. Kleon describes simply the difference between plagiarism and creative repurposing. He calls it good theft…
My rocks for paint collection. Every year this question pops up in the scribes guild, “Is gouache period?” I use it because it is more convenient than making paint from rocks and plants. I get favorable results, too. But, how Medieval is it? I have a tangled answer. Unfortunately, it is a lengthy story. To…
Are you puzzled about paper? Even in this digital age it supports writing today, as it did in the past. Besides it has myriad other uses I’ll avoid. I prefer to focus on the papers commonly used in the SCA. Paper selection for calligraphy is knotty. The best looking papers may be too slick and…
Ladies Christine and Aleit checking in people. Yesterday, I joined with many others to celebrate 12th Night in the Barony of the Lonely Tower. These winter festivities extend my New Year’s celebrations a week and enliven my dreary winter. This annual event jump starts Calontir’s event calendar, with its striking armored combat and steel fighting challenges. Populace…
Scribes painting preprint scrolls. When I was painting preprint awards with scribes at a recent event, I was asked what colors I preferred. I had commented on colors I missed having because the paints provided for our use were Reeves gouache paint sets. I missed the colors I used at home. Gouache is an opaque watercolor used by…
I’ve been known to get into some vivid color discussions with artists. I seem to see colors more intensely or acutely than even my hairdresser. Perhaps I’m just more dogged about the concept. Even so, occasionally I’m out done. Luttrell Psalter Heures du Duc de Berry Color determination, being able to see the difference between…
Hope you enjoy your holidays. Thank you for your interest and support. You may still not quite understand what I do, but you’ve supported me unconditionally. I hope I don’t bore you with nerdy details, jokes, and addictions I enjoy and pass along. How you continue to tolerate my geekish banter amazes me. Thank you,…
I’m a brush collector. I have all types and sizes. I even have some for oil painting, which I’ve never tried. With each purchase, I feel that brush will be my best brush for it’s intended task. If that’s true, why do I keep going back for more? Why do I have so many? Brushes are…
Teaching scribes in the Barony of the Lonely Tower I’ve been asked the difference between watercolor and gouache paints. I thought you would like to know too. Simply put, watercolor paints are transparent, gouache paints are opaque. That’s it in a nutshell. Watercolor paints use the white of the “paper” for their white. Lighter gouache…
This is the time of the year I usually go to Calontir’s Kris Kinder event. What’s not to love? So much holiday spirit and shopping to enjoy. Nan receiving her degree. This year I celebrated something more exciting and important. Something in the works for three years. Yesterday, my daughter graduated as a Nurse Anesthetist. It…
I prefer to use a dip pen, but that wasn’t always the case. I started learning calligraphy using a cartridge pen. Why did I switch? What is the difference? I switched from a cartridge pen to a dip pen to create scrolls in a more medieval manner. Quill pens would be even more medieval but…
Are you a scribe wondering what to get that want-to-be scribe in your life for Christmas or 12th Night? How about putting together a scribal gift-pack collection? When looking at John Neal Bookseller‘s web page, like a kid dreaming for a Christmas present, I came across this unique item offered by a professional watercolorist. It is a paint…
Thanksgiving retaught me the meaning of “sated”. Defined as full beyond belief, or satisfyingly full. I choose to be satisfyingly full. As a scribe, that means knowing your limits. Knowing when you have enough on your plate to do in a timely manner, whether scroll creation or personal responsibilities, like family and holidays. Lack of energy,…
Earlier I wrote about Calontir blogs. I have an addition I missed. I don’t know how because it’s been around since October 2006. It is M. Eleanor Deyeson’s Workshop. A well organized, often updated, well researched, SCA relevant blog. Be sure you check it out. Related Prior Post: 4 Calontir Blogs That Will Inspire You
Hope you had a joyful friends and family filled Thanksgiving. I did. Now it’s on to Black Friday shopping, for me at my local Barnes and Noble. B&N is the only national book retailer in Omaha. Even so, it is limited to trending books. I took a look at its scribal related books, hoping for inspiration….
I’ve been posting information relating to the making of a scroll I can now show. How to Google For Illuminated Manuscript Inspirations, My Battle With Calligraphy, and 5 Tips To Train Your Artist Eye all sprang from my efforts to create this scroll. The scroll is an Iren-Hirth for the Duke Sir Anton Rhaghelan. That…
People don’t see detail like a camera, and yet as a scribe detail is penultimate. We anticipate what we think we should see therefore we miss things. Our logical brain gets in our own way. My first SCA art teacher, M. Gillian of Dragonsley, showed me a way around this, at least for my then…
Calontir‘s current Monarchs, Logan and Ylva, are Norse-Viking and the scroll they want me to do is for a person with a 14th century Western European SCA persona. How do I blend those two? I started by asking Google. Trolling for manuscript images with Google is helpful if you know the way it searches. Its search results…