Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Almost missed it!

I is for....
Illuminated Lettering.
I almost missed ABC WEDNESDAY this week.  First I couldn't come up with a good IDEA.  Nothing really rang a bell and I had been thinking about it for several days.  I just didn't feel very INSPIRED.  Finally I decided I would go with ILLUMINATED Letters, but when I tried to find some INTERESTING facts about the subject, I couldn't find any INFORMATION that I thought everyone wouldn't already know.  In addition, the graphics I found  were INSIPID and commonplace.  Time was passing and still I didn't have a page to post. The things that really make ILLUSTRATED lettering  worthwhile is the fact that they are an INTERESTING historical art form and frankly, because gold, silver and copper were used to make the letters and the page outstanding.  Since none of those scan too well I thought this might make the topic anti-climatic.  Then I thought I 'd look at modern examples of this form of art work.  That INSPIRED me even less.  I'm such a traditionalist!  Since time was still passing fast, I finally decided I would do one myself and dispense with colors, so that it wouldn't look like a shoddy copy of an authentic art form.  
Then it happened!  My computer went down, giving me a legitimate excuse for being late in posting! So I was able to take my time in producing my  example of an illuminated letter 'I'. I did it in pen and black INK to preserve, I hope, an historically valid sense of authenticity.
Now here it is 24 hours later and I nearly missed the opportunity altogether because I have only just been able to get my computer up and running.  
So, better late than never!


I'm sure there are at least 100 posts for the letter 'I' on abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com
So pop on over via this link and see what better brains than mine have been able to come up with.

12 comments:

Wanda said...

I think you did a magnificent job on your Illuminated letter "I". But I must admit, when I first glanced at it before the explanation, I thought you had drawn MY brain!!

The cats are up and purring on the Art Blog!

MorningAJ said...

Incredibly impressive!

claude said...

Sometimes we have no Idea for I or for any other letter. That is the reason Why I do not do The ABC wednesday everytime.

Roger Owen Green said...

INSPIRED!

BTW, I LOVE the word INSIPID, don't know why.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Rune Eide said...

This "I" had the genuine feel of the "old-fashioned" capitals used in old books, my favourite being Snorri Sturluson and his writings.

Jay said...

Wow, that's wonderful! I love it! You are talented. Maybe it's a good thing your computer went down. ;)

On behalf of the team, thanks for taking part in ABC Wednesday this week! :)

jabblog said...

How marvellous! Goodness, you are clever.
(By the way, my late sister had a large scar on her neck after having a tubercular gland removed. She wasn't as unfortunate as you, though. Six months is such a long time for a little child.)

The Weaver of Grass said...

You certainly found enough words beginning with I when the chips were down Chris.

Beverley Baird said...

I love your illuminated letter - and your post! Great work!
Have a great weekend!

Morning's Minion said...

I suspect that my ideas re the art of illuminated letters are related to reading [and watching] Brother Cadfael. I can't imagine doing such delicate work--tiny, tiny brushes and beautiful colored ink.
I'm impressed with your black and white--is it sized to an ATC?

ChrisJ said...

Hi MM: It's actually 3 x 3 inches, because I needed it to be square.

Thank you all for your kind comments. It's so much easier to paint when you know SOMEONE is going to be looking at it. It would also be harder to do a lot of these as I would run out of ideas for squiggles I think.

mrsnesbitt said...

Chris this was wonderful! Don't worry about being late - there are 6 days before the linky closes. Loved this.


Denise
ABC Team