The makings of an almost period Patent of Arms.

I call it an 'almost period' Patent of Arms, as it this is almost like an unpaid commission for an individual, playing at re-creating Medieval and Renaissance times, living in a modern world. They have modern ideas and sensibilities. They have not grown up in the past, with all of the the ideas and cultural references that would have been everyday, say in the 1400s. So no matter how much I wish to recreate a perfectly accurate Award Scroll, by definition I am starting with a conundrum. A scroll is a rolled piece of parchment. What I am recreating is a modern document suitable for framing, to celebrate an achievement in a modern-day club, in the style of a six hundred plus old piece of scribe work. 

Yet, despite this, I find the whole process very fulfilling. Deciding on a style and designing and then creating, a homage to it. Firstly, I like to get an idea of the recipient, the colours they favour, any favourite images or totems (animals or plants etc), and whether they have a preferred era they like to 'play in'. This can cover from early, say Saxon, to late Elizabethan.   I need to get the feel of the form of the images, the layout, the colours and style of writing (calligraphy). This can only be done by looking at as many different versions that I can find.  Like most of my artistic ventures into a modern 'scroll' or 'patent of arms', it starts with research. Lots of research. 

Yesterday, I flipped  through a pile of my calligraphy/ illumination books and a few copies of Books of Hours, that I have at hand. I also trolled through the internet, trying to find a specific picture, that I KNOW I had seen somewhere. I did not find the specific one I was thinking of, but did find some adequate substitutes to get me started.

This project does have a few constraints, one of which is that it needs to be done in a short time. For this reason, I have decided to make it smaller than I usually do. Thus, I do not have to rush to fill a larger space. I would not be happy having to rush the painting portion as this is my favourite part and I do want to give my best effort for the recipients. This  also means that the calligraphy portion will cover less area - a bonus - as this does require more effort on my part. The standard script/wording also requires truncating, due to the smaller space available. This is still a work in progress.

The day ended with a definite size and basic layout which now requires a decision on the final decoration. The colours are mostly decided upon. I have sent a draft of the shorter version of the wording, after some help of friends, with possible translations.

I leave you with the layout and will elaborate, at another time, when more progress has been made on this project.