This scroll was a trial. It just didn”t” want to be.
The first attempt was going really well. The paper and ink were getting along pretty well. It was a recycled paper that I”d inherited and I used Noodler”s Bulletproof Black, which is a pretty well-behaved ink. There were some spots that had not been the best and I dreaded making any corrections because of how soft the paper was. The big issue happened when I went to clean up the pencil lines. The ink that I thought was dry, lied to me. Lied to me hard! The eraser wasted NO time in creating an unfixable mess.
For the second attempt, I pulled out what I thought was a random sheet of Bristol paper and switched to DeAtramentis Document Black Ink, a tried and true ink that I use regularly. Again, starting the bulk of the illumination and applying using a brush, all was going well. Hell broke loose after I did the fine lines with a pointed dip nib. I didn”t notice the feathering until I had worked my way back around and the ink had time to soak in. I”ve seen freshly born birds with less feathering. Another attempt would have to be made.
Third time is the charm. I found my actual pad of Bristol paper that I know works with the DeAtriamentis ink and started again. While lining with ink, my pen let down a huge drop of ink right onto the corner of where the arms would go, and it covered not only inside but outside of where the arms would be painted in. Fortunately, I was able to clean it up. At that point, I decided that was enough black ink on the illumination and went to work on the calligraphy, without issue. The final touches wound up being a lot of Windsor & Newton Gold ink in the S to add the sparkle the recipient deserved.
Source Images
Words:
Salutations and Greetings! Let it be known that We, Margarita, Queen of these Eastern Lands hearing much good of Our fair Muirenn ingen Bróein meic Ríáin, especially of her work in the fencing community. Often, she is found at practice honing her skill which she then puts to use in the lists where she can be seen both cutting down and lifting up her opponents, showing great skill and great compassion to all involved. Thus, do We Award unto her the sole exclusive right to bear these arms, to wit:
(yes, blades are arms, but those are not the arms that go here.)
Given this 23rd of November, Anno Societatis LIV at the 100 minutes War in Our Shire of Rusted Woodlands
