Gilgamesh AoA

This past Pennsic I had an AoA go out, it was for Gilgamesh of Havres des Glaces. A scroll that I was actually quite pleased with. Granted, it would be another scroll that I wouldn't get to see go out, but as long as the recipient is happy with it, that's the part that matters to me. For this piece I wanted to try something a little different, giving myself a bit more of a challenge.

This particular piece was inspired by a Stained Glass piece, a Grisaille Panel, circa 1320-30 (pictured below). Made in Rouen, Normandy, France. The original piece incorporates three different patterns of stylized leaves and tendrils.

While I would have loved to keep the tendrils in the background, it would have made the AoA itself just that much busier when the calligraphy was added. 

The completed AoA for Gilgamesh of Havres des Glaces

 I spoke with Mistress Nataliia when I found the original inspiration piece and we actually came up with the idea of putting the the calligraphy within the lattice itself and shading to create another level of depth within the piece itself.

The words and calligraphy were done by Mistress Nataliia before any of the painting commenced.

Photo courtesy of Mistress Nataliia

The challenge that I particularly enjoyed was painting the lattice around the calligraphy. Oddly enough the shading of the piece was far easier than I had expected it to be. The center piece didn't require any shading, but I'm still very pleased with the way that it pops on the full piece.

The center detail of the AoA

I am very pleased with the outcome of this particular scroll.