How do you know? Unless you try.

In the last post, I was debating whether I should try to cover up a mistake in the gilding by adding black to the piece of work. It had been suggested to me to make a high quality print of the piece and try the black on that first. I tried to do just that, but I found it very difficult to print out the gold to my liking. So, whereas, making a print is usually the best way to try something you are unsure of, in the case of gilding I found it did not work for me. Since this piece was started as a final 'draft', I decided to just go for it. Below is the result. It is definitely different from the previous version. And even though it is not bad, it is not the look I want for this piece. So my final will be as in the previous post, just gilding on vellum.

That's the great thing about art. Some things work, some don't, but you can always try again. Sometimes I get bogged down in the fear of messing up. Then I freeze and cannot create anything, instead of just trying.

Artistic decisions

I am in a dilema. The attached piece is completed as I had it in my mind. But there are a couple of mistakes with the gilding that I would really like to cover up. So I am debating adding a black border around the areas where the 'letters' are gilded. To tie that in so it doesn't look like I am just trying to hide something, I am thinking of filling in the 'letters' with black. There is a beautiful piece of work on Georgia Angelopoulos' website that has gilding with black and I love the look. (The work is at the bottom of the page.)

It has been suggested to me to make a copy of my piece on good matte paper and fill in to see if I like it. This I am going to do. But I wanted to get your opinion and see how you determine these things. What is your method for choosing the next step or deciding if the piece is complete?

Love Deeply

This image was written with sumi ink and a Speedball B-3 nib. The corners were squared off with sumi ink and a stiff pointed nib. I then scanned the image, vectorized it in Adobe Illustrator, then added an inner glow and drop shadow in Photoshop. 

"Intense love does not measure, it just gives." - Mother Teresa

Homework

This is a small portion of a piece of homework I am working on for the Reggie Ezell class, Primitive to Modern. I have posted previous homework assignments. You can find them here and here.

This image is of a draft I am working on. The background image is printed out multiple times and the layout can then be worked out without fear of messing up a one of a kind background.

Recent Envelopes with Gold Ink

I recently completed an wedding envelope project that utilized gold ink. I love writing with Dr. Martin's Spectralite Gold. It sits so nice on the paper, just gleaming and sparkling.

Commitment

I know this aspiring young artist. She is quite talented in the fact that she has a natural eye for things. Right now she has committed to taking and posting a photo a day for 365 days. I asked if I could post her account here so she can receive comments from others. She doesn't take my compliments because she thinks I have to say something nice, seeing that I am her mother.

So if you have a moment take a look and give a comment.

Thanks!

Just messing 'round

I realized, just tonight, that I have Corel Painter Sketch Pad on my computer. Boy, the time sure slips away when I'm messing 'round with these type of programs. There are so many things I should be doing but . . .

I created this instead.