Illuminating letter D

As mentioned in a previous post, I have dragged out some old tools and materials and started gilding again. In

gilders cushion
gilders cushion

my previous life as a bookbinder, I bought a very old gilder’s cushion that actually sits on top of a drawer. I have not seen this anywhere else; it seems a well spent USD30. Supposedly, a bookbinder needed one and made it himself.

I ordered some gesso and a burnisher from an online calligraphy shop but had everything else. It is a good thing, that gold will keep for decades :) (not so with silver leaf or other metals, obviously. You get some amazing cool metal foils and leaves. Problem is that you need to seal them to prevent corrosion.).

So. I sketched out a Romanesque D, outlined it with a Faber-Castell Pitt dark sepia, as Indian black gets a little too harsh. I am just posting images of the process without comments on how. If you have questions, feel free to use the comment field. Questions like “are you insane?” are also entirely valid.

Illuminating letter D
Illuminating letter D
Illuminating letter D
Illuminating letter D – applying leaf gold
Illuminating letter D – working in base colours
Illuminating letter D – working in foundational colours
Illuminating letter D – working in foundational colours
Illuminating letter D – working in foundational colours
Illuminating letter D – details
Illuminating letter D – detail
Illuminating letter D – done!
Illuminating letter D – done!




Ta-daah!

Illuminating letter D
Illuminating letter D – done

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