As promised, here is the finished work,
Always Illuminated! It started out as a first attempt at egg tempera, (
First Attempt at Egg Tempera blog post), but alas, that didn't succeed. This piece is from that design with some additional work all done in acrylic. It still needs to have the master scan done so the "Always" has not been completely attached to the miniature landscape. Each piece will be scanned separately. This is to show how it will look when all together and which frame I have chosen. It will not be matted, but will have spacers between the glass and the artwork. That is so that the art does NOT rest on the glass. It was done on 100% rag illustration board using acrylics, including gold and iridescent colors. The only thing I would do differently next time is to make my background much lighter. The varnish seemed to darken the work more than I intended. But otherwise, I am happy with the final image. I loved painting the tiny landscape with the fields and trees. The castle was great to do. I mean, how often do you get to add a castle to your landscape?
I wanted the work to be more than just the word, so I added a landscape to rest the word on. I used the same surface and background color. Because the letter design used the autumn leaf and colors, I tried to bring that same theme and color to the landscape.
The word is attached to a piece of rag board with acrylic gel medium to lift it slightly when attached to the landscape with the same gel medium.
Always Illuminated, ©Barbara A. Freeman, Acrylic on Rag Board, 4"x 5"
Above is the frame I have chosen for it. Sorry, it is showing more of a shadow at the top than it will have when framed. Thanks for taking the time to read about my new miniature work. I'll let you know when I have decided which upcoming show I will be submitting,
Always Illuminated to. I really had fun doing this, I hope it comes through in the work! It will be interesting to see what kind of response I get with this. I could see a series of illuminated words!
I wanted the work to be more than just the word, so I added a landscape to rest the word on. I used the same surface and background color. Because the letter design used the autumn leaf and colors, I tried to bring that same theme and color to the landscape.
Always Illuminated, ©Barbara A. Freeman, Acrylic on Rag Board, 4"x 5"
11 comments:
It's really vibrant and pretty and the castle is just awesome. Your illuminated lettering is wonderful. I love it!
Really nice--it really goes well with the castle--what show will you put this one in???
Oh Barbara!! This is exquisite! Paired with the landscape as you have done, it is just bringing so many thoughts to the surface...the steadfastness of those castles that you can see still standing in Europe...A fairy tale vibe...A historical feel...So gorgeous. I so love illuminated manuscripts and so want to do some myself. Of course, anything with an "autumn leaves" motif just sends it over the top for me. Beautiful work!
Thanks Gina, Janie and Sherry, I'm glad you like it!
Gina, It's not often if you paint landscapes, you get to paint a castle. This one I did just to add some romance to the landscape. The actual work isn't as dark as it appears here, it was raining yesterday. But in the light, the castle has a sparkle from a wash of the gold on it, as do some of the trees.
Janie, I'm not sure which show I'll put it in yet. That's always tough trying to figure out what will do best, where.
Sherry, I think autumn is my favorite time of the year. When we were able to travel, we always did so in autumn, so most of my photos are of that season. Plus, the color changes are so fun to paint.
This is my favorite of your work so far- absolutely breath-taking- and very unique. I think you've hit on something. Wish I could see it "for real"...
I recently painted a castle, and I'm working on another now - small format, not miniature, but I agree. They ARE fun to paint! You have some of the most unique creations. This is really different, and makes you look twice. Great job!
Thanks Carol and Deb. It will be interesting to see how the scan turns out since it looks so much darker here from my camera than it really is. I would like to do more, but I'll have to see. I remember the beautiful castle you did Deb. I'll be sure to watch for the next one.
Barbara,
Saw this piece a few days ago and thought I had posted a comment..hm. I really like this piece and believe it is quite unique-the three dimensional aspect of this has not been done before that I have noticed. I hope you do more like it!
Gail Hayton
Thanks Gail. No, I don't think I've seen anything like this done in miniature with the added level. I'm not sure if it would go well though in some miniature shows. I guess it would depend on how they define the rules. I'm not sure which of the upcoming shows I'm going to submit it to.
I did check to see if maybe I hadn't selected "publish" on a comment by you and the last one I had where you made a comment was on the Italian landscape. So I guess if you did comment, it got lost out there somewhere! Hope you are staying warm!
Oh I love this. It's very different and so stunning.
Fantastic job.
Thanks Dors, I'm glad you like it.
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