15th century white vine illumination: painting, applying gold leaf and burnishing
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2018
- White vine capitals were used for many years but were most common in and around the 15th century. Here is a very condensed glimpse at my J.
Yes - I will make you a letter! www.calligraphybymoya.com.au :)
The materials used here:
- manuscript vellum (calfskin, not craft 'vellum')
- traditional medieval gesso
- 24 c loose gold leaf (transferred onto wax paper)
- artist quality gouache
Because I often get questions about it, the dotting tool is a Kemper Fluid Writer, and you can purchase them at many art stores.
The initial is a little less than 4cm square. It was a gift for my mother, whose name starts with J. 
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Are there any how to and materials tutorials I'd find this very relaxing to do, but don't know where to start.
I have alway wondered how these were done. It’s beautiful and you did a wonderful job.
When I read that this was just 4cm square my mind was completely blown ! Absolutely stunningly exquisite ! Beautiful artwork ... lucky Momma too ! ... I so wish I had your eyesight ! 👀
Wow! not only does this look great, but also it looks perfectly in style of medieval manuscripts!!
This was a pleasure to watch! Thank you for uploading it! 🥰🥰🥰
I thoroughly enjoyed watching your beautiful talent.
That looks absolutely divine!
Thank you!
@@CalligraphybyMoya Moya, may I ask what works better for you, the instacoll or the traditional gesso? Looks like with the traditional gesso, the letters get somewhat more sculptural? Thank you, and thanks for sharing your beautiful work! :-)
@@hmpeter Yes, I definitely prefer the traditional gesso! It's a lot more work and takes a lot more patience, but it's SO worth it. The results are incredible.
@@CalligraphybyMoya Thank you for your answer! I'll try it out. :-)
de -"vine" lol
That is such a delicate work! Beautifully done! Bravo!
Thank you!
So satisfying. Lovely!
I love this! Fabulous work, Moya! Keep up the great (art)work!
Finally a non speed up video. Nice work.
Really amazing. Your teacher must be so proud
WOW THAT'S SO COOL! Very steady hands!!!🥰👍😁
Extraordinary work. Bravo! 👏
so precious , delicate and beautiful . well done moya :)
Beautiful piece of art. Congratulations
This is amazingly awesome!!!
Beautiful work!
Excellent! 🕊 Thanks for sharing
Incredible work from your heart ! You have so inspired me to do this ..... I just draw a lot of foliage inspired from the Islamic world and I have a great respect for western calligraphy as you have shown ...... thought it would be a gd idea to combine both :))
I would love to see your work!
Magnífico trabajo.
This is outstanding
So much work 😮
Bellísimo
That blue!❤️
Impecable.
Thank you for listing the brand of dotting tool, without the exact name I could only find nail art tools.
The music is the Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker
marvellous...
juste magnifique
AMAZING
Do you have a video to show how you apply the letter to the calfskin please?
Excellent work for just learning.
Thank you!
Very cool!
Bravissima!
What sort of gold leaf adhesive did you use? Is that raised red bole? I also always wondered about having to “breath” on the slaked plaster type gesso... Jerry Tresser has such a gesso but the dry times and having to polish then breath on it while applying the gold leaf then waiting to burnish it... I just often wonder how long it takes you to do a piece like this?
beautiful...
Hermoso!
Wow!!!❤
Stunningly work - just so lovely. Can you tell me what you are putting the gesso on with. It does not seem to be a brush. Thank you.
It is a clay shaper actually! A little silicon tool. Very handy for such uses :)
You've inspired me
Thank you!
excelente!
WoW se ve muy Bueno! :)
WOW!
WoW, Is Really Cool! :)
Love
Por favor..Qual material e ferramentas vc.usa?
Wow
what material do you use, type of color and you use paper or skin of animal
What is that little glass tail called?
👏
Hola , que material utilizas ??
Lovely work Moya. I'm just now seeing your video. Who is your instructor? Are you using any books for reference? I write icons the traditional Russian way and love doing so. I would like to paint illuminations and do old style manuscript writing. Can you refer me to someone or books to teach myself? Thank you for sharing your lovely process. I look forward to a response. Blessings to you.
exquisite
What is the tool you're using to lay down the size?
Hi , thank you for sharing ...
Can you please tell me whats that pink thing ? Is it gesso ? And how can i get it !!
What is Applied with brush in starting?
What is the transparent burnishing tool you are using called?
Lovely, could you please tell me which is the dimensions of it?
Hi, can I ask where you get your medieval gesso or how you make it?
Very nice
Enlightened
❣️
💓
I was watching this and thinking "why is this orchestra playing Waltz of the Flowers so fast?" Then realised I had the playback speed on 1.5 X (XD). Lovely work. I noticed that you burnish without a piece of paper over the top of the gold leaf like some artists do, does this increase the chance of damaging the gold leaf or is there little to worry about if the gesso has completely dried?
I burnish first with paper, but then without - if your burnisher is smooth enough and your gesso is completely dry, usually not a problem! And thank you :)
Jajajaja xddddd
Gorgeous! What brand of gouache do you use?
Amazing work. I have a question. How do you get the edges on the gold leaf so well defined. Whenever I put gold leaf on it always turns out jagged and i have to paint over it to get a fine line. If you have any tips i would be all ears. Thanks
Thank you for commenting! Honestly it is partly that the gesso I'm using is very high quality (made by my teacher, not me) and partly just applying it very carefully.
The most important part is making the correct shape. The gesso must lay on the surface in a gentle bubble like a flattened D shape on it side with a clean definite edge. The other thing you can do is take an exacto blade and carefully scrape the edges back until they are all even after the gold is on. This is especially useful if you've "colored" outside the lines with your gesso.
@@CalligraphybyMoya Is there any chance you (or your teacher) can give a tutorial on how to make that?
I have no idea how to start, it's a completely new (art) world to me!
I agree. Please tell us how we can find the recipe and make the gesso used. @@CalligraphybyMoya
When is the right time to apply gold leaf ?
Hi, i really love this! May i ask which material did you put on before you put on gold leaf? That brown thing that turned hard.. What is this? Thanks a million.
It would be gesso
That tool you use for making the white dots?
The Kemper dotting tool: What size is that? They come in a myriad of diameter sizes.
Hi what tool is used to paint the dots. Thank you.
Hi, sorry this is such a late reply! I have used a Kemper Fluid Writer :)
It's may question also!
What is that tool called that you used for making those dots please?
Lisa Jarvis it’s a kemper fluid writer
@@YayForUnicornMeat Thank you! Yes that's it :)
What's the music on this video? It is as delightful as the art.
Vaibhav Jain Waltz of the Flowers, it’s one of the most iconic songs used the Nutcracker
Can you frame this and put it on your wall?
Such a fine work!!!
May I ask what is the name of the tool you start using at 5:09 to add the white details?
looks like a batik tjanting tool to me. You could just use a larger brush for "lake method" (loaded ink) for the dots if you want to.
Oh, he actually answered and said it was a fluid writer pen made by Kemper Tools. You can find it on Amazon.
Never answer to any questions
Can you please tell me what tool you using to apply the gesso? It looks like a pencil but I'm sure it isn't. Really absorbing video and so skillful. I am trying to create a certificate and want to replicate your beautiful letter, albeit mine is a P.
Hi Moya. Beautiful work. I'd like to ask what tool you're using to apply the gesso. Thanks for sharing!
Yes - I'd like to know too please.
Was that transfer gold? I thought you would use loose leaf on bole. Nice result anyway!
It is actually loose leaf, but I use a wax paper transfer method :)
What paint and pen are you using for the base color of the "j"?
It's a gesso made of white lead, slaked plaster, armenian bole, and fish glue :) a traditional recipe! One of my teachers makes it.
@@CalligraphybyMoya what's the name of the dipping pen and polisher/burnishing tool you are using in this video?
Haha yes! It's not the safest but it gives the best result ... but don't worry, there are modern acrylic alternatives to using literal poison. (They just don't work as well.)
I always take precautions! I bought this gesso pre made from my teacher, I don't have lead powder at home, and I wear gloves when I'm doing calligraphy anyway, and when I am shaving down the gesso or burnishing it i'm careful to vacuum up any scrapings or dust. I would still not recommend for children!
The burnishing tool is an agate burnisher, and I am using a silicon "brush" to apply the gesso :)
LagiNaLangAko23 i don’t usually! Any sealant would dull the gold. But they’re usually behind glass once they’re done, so the risk is very low. I mean even if they’re not behind glass, most people aren’t licking their manuscripts 😅
Is that gesso mixed with bole or bole by itself
It's yesso with mordent, bole, then blow into it and then apply the gold leaf. I don't think it's nice finish, need more work on lines etc.
Do you breath on the gesso before applying leaf, you don’t show?😀🖊️🏴
What paint/ink are you using? Is it egg tempera?
Gouaches mainly.
Alguien UPDT?
That was amazing!
Please tell me it’s the start of a dirty lymric.
Ah Tchaikovsky
Lovely work :) I will tell you straight of that you have to practice your lines just a bit more, but you are definitely getting there. One quick question: how many karat is the gold leaf here and how do you feel it responded to pencil size (as I heard various things about it and didn't get a chance to try it out yet, so am grabbing a chance to ask someone who actually tried it)? Again, beautiful work :D
Thank you! You are certainly right about the lines - I've improved a little since this video but there is always more to work on! The gold leaf is 23.5 karat, I think; I'm just not sure what you mean by pencil size?
@@moyac4591 Thanks so much for answering! Just to be clear, I think your lines are very good and am sure you can only improve from where you already are! I love how it all turned out!
Of pencil size, sorry, I keep forgetting some people don't call it that way, which made confusion... in my line of work, we call the gesso/adhesive used for gilding "size" or "mixtion", depending on few things. So I was actually wondering about gesso in pencil and gold, as your gold leaf seemed to work well with it, and sometimes leaf above 18 karat doesn't (in theory, to be put in pencil, gesso needs to have more dry fillers and such gesso is too brittle on microscopic level to work well with quality gold, etc.) But that goes for commercial ones and I checked comments down and see that you bought a pencil from your teacher and that it is made by his own recipe, which must greatly improve the quality of it against the ones available by few companies (as I mentioned, I heard mixed reactions to those... but now that I think of it, those were actually pens). Sorry for all the confusion, lol. Does your teacher still sell those?
@@MaylarArt Oh I see! I think the way we talk of it, gesso is a type of size, but usually I would say size only if I'm using an acrylic one like instacoll. Yes, my teacher is amazing - she is Gyounghee Lee, @gyounghee on Instagram, and she makes gesso tablets and sometimes sells them if you ask her very nicely! I have since started making my own, but I use her recipe :) It is a variation on Cennino Cennini's recipe from the 16th century book "Il Libro Dell' Arte" - she has made some changes to suit Australia's hot and dry climate, and I am doing many experiments of my own in that vein too.
We have a similar difficulty with lower quality gold not adhering so well to the commercial fillers. I have done a lot of experimenting with a lot of sizes, but the traditional hand-made recipe is absoutely the best I have ever used :) Well worth all the trouble of making it!
Do you have videos of your work online? I'd love to admire it!
@@CalligraphybyMoya Wow, I just learned something new! :D Here, we call "size" almost all types of gilding adhesive that are based on gelatin or other animal based glues, whether liquid or not. "Mixtion" is a word that would be more used for oil based ones and lately, for acrylic ones. And "gesso" here is more reserved for chalk based mixes that are usually not related to gilding at all (more canvases or wall preparation). But in the end, I honestly think that the one in the wrong here is me, as this is a hard substance in pencil, thus it has more dry matter/filler inside than gelatin, thus it is more gesso like, than the classical liquid "size".
Thank you so much for sharing your teacher's info, I will try to find and ask them about this. I have my own recipe, it is a liquid form "size" based on animal glue and it works very well for me, but I love trying out new things! I also have been making experiments with some plant based adhesives that act similarly to gelatin, like agar, but so far have yet to perfect the recipe, so I use it only for fun, non-professional projects. Personally, I do not like the non-organic, polymer based types of "size", even they have their advantages (like not being prone to molds), as they mostly dry too rigid for me and great deal of them is susceptible to some type of cracking in time or not adhering properly, which is utterly annoying. I love seeing people using old recipes, like the pencil you use! We all know old materials have their down sides, but then again, we know those down sides very well and know what to expect out of them, while new materials will yet have to prove themselves through time test. Btw, I was little amused by someone down there asking you about the usage of lead. While I absolutely understand their concerns, I find your answered it beautifully :)
I don't have my works online at all, I'm afraid. They are part of my professional work and to tell you the truth, it never occurred me to document them for internet. I'm a conserver/restorer of fine arts by profession, by the way, though in last decade or so I mostly do painting and sculpting of my own. But I put only my hobbies online, like miniatures and similar things, not professional things... some of my customers and especially places I work with do not like online exposure other than what they themselves arrange and others don't like it at all, so I bent to their wishes over time.
Where does your mom keep it?
Subscribed
Forgive me now, but when exactly was the gesso applied? I'm an iconographer and I don't recognize that any gesso was applied. Could it be the white used for the vine, or was it applied as a foundation before the original sketch?
The gesso is the pinkish foundation first applied in the video :) It's the Cennini recipe, adjusted a little for Australian weather.
@@CalligraphybyMoya Ah! Thank you.
What tools are at 3:28 and 5:25?
The first one is a dog tooth shaped agate burnisher. The second is a fine line painting pen.
@@MrArtisticGenius 2
Fluid writer pen Kemper tools Amazon
For a long time I tried to make gold lefing, I thought I was making some mistake cause every single bloody damn time the gold kinda ripped at the edges and not created a perftect straight shape... Now I know It's kinda inevitable and gold plating is kinda iperfect to the sketch I guess :/
Ha...! I had just said to myself, "Why, that's a...ah...nice baby poop brown."....and then you go and gild it...lol. Much better... 👍
Is there a reason you do the gilding first? I would have thought that this would have been a final operation. Make sure the rest of the piece turns out ok, then break out the expensive gold... you know...?
Historically the pigments were far more expensive than the gold leaf. They were made by hand from various plants, berries, clams, and minerals and so on that may not have been available in your area. Ultramarine blue, for instance, came from Afghanistan. Trade was slow and expensive. The gold could be scraped off easier in case of an error. the work was done on pages made of animal hide, not wood or rag pulp and the preparation was a long expensive process. You couldn't just crumple it up and tear out another sheet.
What tool is that in the minute 2:07 ???
Becky Braasch Yes please do tell
It's called a burnisher, although I couldn't tell you for sure what material it is. They are commonly made from agate, which it looks like this one may be. It smooths the gilding to an evenly polished finish, diminishing the flaky, glitter look so that it appears more like a solid piece of gold.
caman5 thank you 😍
sure it's made with agate!
Thank you all! Yes, it is an agate burnisher :)
🙄😒😒👍GOOD
🤨🤨🤨🤨
XD my name is jefferson
Can you teach the basics, please?
That was awesome but the white dots kind of took away from the rest of the piece- distracting sort of.
It would be great if you actually explained a little during the vid.
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Unfortunately there's no way to teach gilding in a seven minute video, it's a very complicated art. If you are interested you can definitely look up teachers in your area and see what they can offer.
@@CalligraphybyMoya I was not implying to turn it into a tutorial, just explain what you're doing is all. In your comment alone you referenced gilding. Which gives me a point of reference to at least research. Anyways I have another ques. for you. Why gouache? OMG I hate that stuff we had to use that in my perspective drawing class because the professor was super old school. Is it because the colors are so solid?