“Laugh as much as you breathe and Love as long as you live.” – Johnny Depp.  One of my favorite quotes, and daily reminders that we should all laugh a little bit more, and if possible laugh until our bellies hurt.

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This workshop will be suitable for all levels as I will be showing you a step-by-step approach on how to create this piece with me by combining different techniques, from design, to gilding and adding colour to our piece.

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We will look at Lombardic letters/ Versals briefly where I will guide you through the process of drawing and spacing out the letters, how to tweak the letterform to make the piece more cohesive.  We will then look at patterns that you can design within the letterforms and also pattern designs to fill in the negative space around the letters, before transferring it to hot press watercolour paper.

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Once the design has been transferred, we will look at some of the tools used in gilding.  Different gilding mediums, the application process, and in particular, how to apply Instacoll so that you can achieve a smooth surface.  We will test out both raised and flat gilding, how to apply gold leaf onto the gilded surfaces and I will also go through the factors which you will have to consider when gilding, as well as techniques for you to experiment with at the end of the workshop. 

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After experimenting with the gilding techniques, we will gild the piece together, before moving onto paintbrush techniques, brush control and how to paint leaves and buds so that they are more organic and less flat.  The final touch will be looking at filigree patterns, and how to incorporate it around our design using either a fine brush or a pointed nib dip pen, so that by the end of the workshops, you can walk away with something that is uniquely yours.

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​I hope you will enjoy creating this piece as much as I have.  I always try to incorporate new techniques or a new design aspect so that previous students will also be able to take away something new after taking this workshop.  As always thank you to The Gentle Penman for hosting me, forever grateful.