Dragon is inspired by “marginalia” illustrated in Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts. “Marginalia” are paintings in the margins of sacred books produced in the Dark and Middle Ages. Sometimes they were painted to hide a mistake, such as an errant drip, because mistakes cannot be corrected or removed. Once a bit of paint touches the parchment, it cannot be removed and thus there is little room for error. Marginalia in the form of animals, plants or designs would disguise mistakes. Also, marginalia was added to embellish prose, or could be simply a rich terrain of artistic expression. I ground authentic powdered pigments with egg yolk, according to an ancient recipe to paint Dragon. 23.5k shell gold makes this image “illuminated”. This is truly a one-of-a-kind painting because of the substrate; the goatskin parchment is Tibetan, and was taken from the very edge of a skin as it was stretched and prepared. Normally such a piece would not be used in the Dark/Middle Ages, as monasteries wanted only pristine parts of the animal skins for pages in books. However, I was drawn to the edge, and liked the nail marks and stretched feeling of the fragment’s edge. This cannot be duplicated.
Dragon is mounted on black acid-free paper with a cream-colored cut mat board. The inner measurements of the mat are 7.5” x 9.5” and the outer measurements of the mat are 11” x 14”. A clear plastic sleeve protects the artwork.
Dragon is inspired by “marginalia” illustrated in Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts. “Marginalia” are paintings in the margins of sacred books produced in the Dark and Middle Ages. Sometimes they were painted to hide a mistake, such as an errant drip, because mistakes cannot be corrected or removed. Once a bit of paint touches the parchment, it cannot be removed and thus there is little room for error. Marginalia in the form of animals, plants or designs would disguise mistakes. Also, marginalia was added to embellish prose, or could be simply a rich terrain of artistic expression. I ground authentic powdered pigments with egg yolk, according to an ancient recipe to paint Dragon. 23.5k shell gold makes this image “illuminated”. This is truly a one-of-a-kind painting because of the substrate; the goatskin parchment is Tibetan, and was taken from the very edge of a skin as it was stretched and prepared. Normally such a piece would not be used in the Dark/Middle Ages, as monasteries wanted only pristine parts of the animal skins for pages in books. However, I was drawn to the edge, and liked the nail marks and stretched feeling of the fragment’s edge. This cannot be duplicated.
Dragon is mounted on black acid-free paper with a cream-colored cut mat board. The inner measurements of the mat are 7.5” x 9.5” and the outer measurements of the mat are 11” x 14”. A clear plastic sleeve protects the artwork.
My own wax seal is affixed to every ILLUMINATION.