This scroll came to me already started with the outline of the illuminated letter inked. I don’t know if Eleanor of Grey was the original scribe or the intended recipient but it ended up in a packet of supplies that came to me and I decided to finish it with the original design and just wing the colors.

I knew the illuminated letter was going to need some additional detail so I added some white work in the center of the O but, once I got the calligraphy (Carolingian Miniscule) on, I could see that it needed even more detail.

The hardest part about white work is getting the right consistency of pigment on the brush so the color lays down solid instead of like a wash. Painting straight lines freehand is a whole different problem.

Materials: 8″x10″ pergamenata, ruler, Ames lettering guide, pencil, eraser, 05 micron pen, metal scraper, Finetec gold paint, Winsor & Newton gouache, Princeton heritage 2/0 round paint brush, Speedball Super Black ink, dip pen