But this piece is just too fun not to share. HE Sionainn contacted me directly when he was put on vigil for the Order of the Pelican. He knew exactly what he wanted and asked for help. I've never had anyone provide such specific desires, and frankly it was awesome. I swear, I spend half my time deciding what to do, and the other half doing it. So this sped things along, dramatically.
This is the inspiration piece he asked for me to use. It's consistent with many period patents. He provided a beautiful art file for his achievement of arms as well. He also specifically asked for the seal, which proved to be the biggest challenge for me to overcome.
I'd heard Artemisia had a Kingdom seal, but I'd never seen it, nor had I seen scrolls with wax seals ever given out. After some sleuthing, it was found, and I borrowed the seal and made a whole pile of wax stamped templates, which can be applied either by warming the wax gently (possibly ruining the impression) or by gluing it down. I gave most of them back to the kingdom to use as they see fit, and kept a few in my stash for future scrolls.
Since there's not much research to share for this, I'll post a bunch of progress pics and close-ups so you can see the detail work I put into this baby. This piece is done with Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi ink, and J. Herbin 1670 Hematite Rouge ink on Pergamenata. I used Winsor & Newton gouache and Finetec pigment for the metallic spots. Click the pics to enlarge.
