Undelivered Gratitude

This little thank you was done in September of 2013, probably the 23rd or so as I was in the early stages of labor & should not have been doing anything that required concentration or a steady hand.  Despite that, or rather because of it I wanted to get it done.  I had no idea how much time I'd have after my son was born, and the answer to that was "none for a year and change."

In any case, it was never given out because Branwyn had to back out of the event.  I'm not sure what happened to the scroll.  If we hadn't been so insistent about the dates and event it could have been a generic thank you for her years of service in that capacity, but this happens in the SCA due to us being sticklers for formality. 

It is loosely based on 'February' in the calendar of Petites Heures du Duc de Berry 1385 from the Jacquemart de Hesdian and shop.  And I do mean 'loosely.'  I took elements from that folio & changed them around enough that it is hardly recognizable as deriving from the original. 

Sometimes even imperfect paintings stick as favorites, and while the calligraphy only serves to show me that practice makes better (I'm much better now), I still find that illustration very charming.  I remember laying down the paint and taking joy in the bright oranges and reds, and feeling the wind blow through the apple grove and caress the gnarly bark and worked wood of the border.  I could hear the leaves rustle and skip over the hills and smell a hint of cold in all that warm autumn air.  Really it's all just paint, but some grab you like that.

The script is Black Letter and remains one of my favorites.  I'm working on the squish-factor, which I've been told is something modern writers have to get used to when reproducing old hands - squish, squish, squish.  I have since learned about nib width v. letter height and my penmanship has improved dramatically.  I recently started using vertical guide lines and that has also been immensely helpful.