WORKSHOP Extra! Andrew van der Merwe | Tips & Tricks for Illuminated Documents

We had just added an extra session with Andrew! On Monday, September 18th from 9am-3pm Andrew will be teaching tips and tricks for illuminated documents like certificates, resolutions, honorariums, etc. Here is his description…..

Tips and Tricks for Illuminated Addresses

Sometimes a document, certificate or letter of appreciation needs to look extra special. This workshop will be about sharing a few of the tricks I’ve learned over nearly 3 decades of doing these.

Priority #1 on one of these is the name of the recipient. I’ll share, step-by-step, one of the methods I use for building color and detail into a name.

Then there’s gold! An illuminated address needs to shine. However, real raised gold is a whole workshop in itself so I’ll be sharing a method I have of adding shine and 3-dimensionality to flat, faux gold. I’ll attach some pics of the results I get with this method The right tools and materials are essential. See the list below.

If there’s any time after that, I’ll talk about how to word an illuminated address.

-&rew

Equipment & materials

• Broad-edged dip pens, about ¼”,  such as an Automatic, wide Speedball, #8 or 10 Osmiroid.
• A few sheets of ordinary paper and 2 or 3 sheets of medium to heavy watercolor paper, tabloid size.
• Gold and/silver and/or copper gouache or stick ink (NB: mica-based shinies will not be suitable. It must be real metal-based ink.)
• Sharp pencil, very fine drawing pen (e.g. 0.1mm),
• White ink or goache, 000 brush. or white Gelly Roll #10 rollerball.
• Gold or silver powder (the Schminke powders are great!) If you don’t have, you can have some of mine.
• Two or 3 other watercolors or gouache colours. Gum Arabic as a binder, if you have.
• Artist’s fixitive (NOT the Ghiant brand). A bottle to share will do.
• Burnisher/s. See examples in the att’d pic. The two on the bottom are my favourites for this. The cheap metal one with the red handle works beautifully. The expensive agate burnisher is great too, but not essential.

Andrew van der Merwe, Calligrapher

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