Tuesday, April 3, 2018

A lovely commission

The Easter weekend was a good time for getting things done. In Sunday's post I wrote about getting the letterpress commission almost done; and today I can report that the second commission got finished as well.

Here are the leftovers - almost more beautiful than the finished piece for my mind.


Not sure why, but I imagined the calligraphy in silver. So I tried the FineTecs and I tried gouache and for whatever reason, they just wouldn't work. Maybe it was the paper; maybe it was the nib; maybe it was the weather, but some days it just doesn't flow and you think - oh oh...now what?

I wondered about straight black sumi ink, but then I mixed up some pale green gouache and felt like I was edging closer to a resolution. Ignore the wobbles in the letters!



I conferred with Barry who asked if I had any green ink. I did, and had basically not even considered it so I did a test or two and thought...well maybe!


I had to do a logo as well and tested out my watercolour pencils to see if I could get close enough to the logo colours. This was quite tough given it was Easter, shops were closed and it had to go the framers on Tuesday morning. It was a real quick commission let me say, and I was working within constraints!



I actually ended up mixing a bunch of gouache to create the colours matches as best I could, after a few trials with the pencils.



Strangely enough I nearly always try to work on two pieces at a time, in case I fall apart and ruin something on one of them.  So I prepared two 'finals' and then had to decide between a dark grey backing for LOVE or a metallic silver backing for LOVE.

Choices, choices, do they ever end?





I took the final to the framer this morning and fingers crossed all shall be well and the work will be winging its way to Melbourne next week for its important date!

10 comments:

  1. Always I love your process ...

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    1. Thanks so much Liz - every time I do a piece of calligraphy I am astounded at how many steps are involved and how many tests and trials...go well.

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  2. Replies
    1. Packed and posted it today Mo and it looked grand!

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  3. Green for growth, always a good association for love 💚💚💚

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  4. Nice to see the process you have gone through indeed. And choices are indeed very difficult sometimes. Luckily you have Barry to help you make them !

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    1. You understand just how many choices and decisions have to be made Annick - sometimes I think I will never get to finish something because it takes so long!

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  5. So much work, thought and contemplation of possibilities. A lovely result F.

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    1. Thanks Susan - it can be ridiculous the number of things you have to test and trial; but having seen the finished piece today it was all worth it... yay!

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