After the success of my first Augmentation of Arms, I was asked to create a second one for the outgoing King’s wife (who has reigned as Queen multiple times, but was taking a break during that run). I was provided the name, a bit about the recipient (late period, french), text and the instructions to “make it REALLY fancy”. So I went looking for the fanciest inspiration I could find. Eventually I settled on loosely basing it on a favorite – the Jewel Book of the Duchess Anna of Bavaria
I wanted this piece of artwork to look like it was made out of golden reliefs and jewelry, the more realistic the better, so that the boldly colored 2D arms would really pop. I sketched out a design then laid out the border onto hot pressed watercolor paper. Since my calligraphy for this style is still VERY basic, my friend and mentor Duchess Hlutwige kindly offered to do it. After she completed the insanely beautiful calligraphy, I started the painting.
I wanted this piece of artwork to look like it was made out of golden reliefs and jewelry, the more realistic the better, so that the boldly colored 2D arms would really pop. I sketched out a design then laid out the border onto hot pressed watercolor paper. Since my calligraphy for this style is still VERY basic, my friend and mentor Duchess Hlutwige kindly offered to do it. After she completed the insanely beautiful calligraphy, I started the painting.
I briefly toyed with the idea of doing the gold in gold leaf, but decided that since my goal was hyper-realism, and the effect I wanted was a 3D feel, that I would be better off painting it than leafing it and trying to deal with building up a thick enough gesso layer to “carve” the design into.
Since I was using Fintech gold watercolor paints for all the gold, and I wanted at least some elements of a period piece of art, I mixed my own gouche paints using period-appropriate mineral powders I have been collecting for a few years.
In order to get the 3D effect on the gold, once I applied the gold paint in a series of thick layers, I added some Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber in thin washes to get the shadows, and a few touches of white for highlights. The gems were a bit easier as I wasn’t having to work around a shiney medium so I could paint in the shine rather than try to augment it.
The final piece was completed, a seal was added and it was handed to the outgoing King during his step down to present to his wife.
