November 14 Beverly Hills Carolingian Illuminated Manuscript

November 16, 2009

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #9: Today DeAnn demonstrated painting the versals (drawn letters) for our project.

Illuminated Manuscript Project Steps:

DeAnn estimates that it’s about a 5-hour project. Do one step at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.

1. Design Piece and choose words

2. Write words – figure out how many will work (about 40). Cut & Paste words and illumination. TIP: use removable Scotch Tape (with blue plaid)

3. Trace Decorated Caps and decorative elements. Trace onto the pergamanata paper with a 2H or harder lead. It won’t smudge as much (DeAnn has some for sale).

4. Get all prepared.

5. On the original (i.e. Pergamanata paper using the project template):

a. Trace Design

b. Write Text

c. Gild

d. Paint versals & decorated cap design

TIP for drawing a leaf (i.e. a pointy ivy leaf like the ones in the illuminated manuscripts): draw a square. Then draw half-circles on each side. Erase the straight lines of the half-circles & you’re left with a leaf-shape.

Demonstration of painting Versals: Versals are drawn letters. Draw them for the first 2 lines of the project. Use the Versals handout the DeAnn Xeroxed to the correct size (1/2-inch x-height) to trace them. Paint them in the gouache colors that you’re using in your decorated capital with a very pointy brush.

Tip to decorate the background of your Decorated Capital: Use “diapering” so that you don’t have large areas of just one paint color. Diapering is cross-hatching, or drawing swirling vines, or painting small circles or dots, to fill a solid-color space.

If you feel the margins are too “empty,” fill it with filigree – ovals and figure-eights with a pointed brush, or use a Copperplate nib for really thin lines. Just fill the Copperplate nib with the gouache and draw the filigree lines.

HOMEWORK: Really try to finish your project. Remember, illumination can never be too gaudy, so go for it! You have to do it to learn it.

Next semester DeAnn will be teaching Gothic and the project will be a similar illuminated manuscript piece.

REMINDER: next week is our last class – POTLUCK!