Just trust the process,
I probably sang this to myself nearly any time I sat down to work on this piece.
Let’s just say the pink is PINK.
But I get ahead of myself. This scroll was for a dear friend and is probably one of my more complex scrolls to date. In part because I was mixing color and the other being the scale.
When I start a scroll I have come to like making a full mockup. Using Procreate and my iPad I can scale, trace out, and move around text before I ever lay anything on paper. As I am never sure of the size I need for calligraphy being able to see the whole thing makes what could take several days mear hours.
Once printed and taped to the back of my paper I dove in.
I did the risky bit first. Calligraphy even when traced is a liability for me and the reason I tend to collaborate when I can.
Added the outline for the illumination and then started the painting
It is a process, I like working on one color at a time. Despite living where the humidity regularly is in the low teens to single digits I still like to give dry time between layers.
As you can see the jump between flat painting and the details is drastic. The biggest trick of using permanent white is still my go-to for getting white work to sit on the color versus muddling in. I also go back over my lines with microns the help them pop. I have used a crow quill in the past but micros are my preference for ease and risk. One trick to keep them flowing is to scribble on a clean sheet of paper from time to time. The paint flakes up and can clog the pens up which is one of the big complaints when using them.
The final result.
It did come together and the pink blends right in when placed with the blue and gold.
That is it for this scroll stay tuned as I have a whole backlog of work to show off!
