Painting In The Chapel

Details, Details, Details!

At last, Dear Readers, The Noah paintings are finished! You may recall that I promised I would show you the original versions I used as a models for these two versions of the Noah story. When last you saw these paintings they were nearly complete.... or done enough to fool anyone who had not seen the originals. The version below is the mostly done... all but the DETAILS version.
If you poke the picture it will enlarge it so you can see some of the missing details.....

The upper portion of the painting is copied from one of my all time favorite manuscripts... the Visconti Hours, made in the late fourteenth century for Giangaleazzo Visconti who ruled Milan with a tyrant's fist, but was a patron of the Arts as well. The manuscript is one of the most ornate and original and visually complex of any I have seen. Here below you can see the version I have copied from.... adorning an initial letter "D"... itself only a fraction of the illumination of the page........

For my version I had to invent the portion that extended outside the oval on the bottom edge.... I did my best to just continue what he had started..... but as usual, my version doesn't come close to faithfully reproducing the original! But at least I CAN say that mine is recognizable as a copy!

It took me several days of painting to get all the details I felt were necessary.... the shadows, the spots, the eyes, the feathers, the flowers, the waves, the flooded buildings.... oh, and the trees and the antlers and Noah himself........ the more I look, the more I see to copy.... But I have decided that I have done enough and will call it finished!

And the little painting at the bottom that shows the After the Flood scene... needed as much if not more..... in part because it is smaller so each part stands out more..... Here is the version I used as the model. In its original form it is quite large at 9 x 13 inches..... so MY version at 1.5 x 4.5 is Tiny in comparison! The colors were more muted and the detail less obvious.... but just as difficult to imitate!

Here you can see a close-up of the bottom portion NEARLY completed........

And here's a view of the entire panel.....

In spite of how long it has taken to complete the Noah paintings, that is not the only work I have done on the Chapel. I finally took the ENORMOUS step of fastening the ornate candlesticks to the floor and running the wires out through the walls behind the Altar! I cannot believe it took me so long to get around to that.... but I wanted to countersink a "spike" into the floor that the candlesticks would slide onto for added stability. It seems to be working just the way I wanted!
And if you look closely you will see that I added a gilded fringe to the ends of that beautiful Altar Cloth I got from Sans!

And believe it or not, that is not all I have accomplished! I also started painting more of the Ceiling panels with Heavenly illuminations! I started with the Archangel Michael battling the demons and chasing them from Heaven...... It is not even nearly complete.... but I wanted to show you anyway.......

And the smaller panel over the entrance doorway is showing the Last Judgement....

also a long way from done......

A closer view of some of the details.......

And even Closer!

And MORE......

This is the original manuscript illumination I used as a model for the St. Michael. It is from a twelfth century Missal ... the Stammheim Missal. I had to take considerable liberties with the composition to make it work in a triangular space... so I have moved some of the Angels and Demons around... but I have tried to keep their original shapes and colors. I have a LONG way to go with the DETAILS on this one!

With the ceiling panel removed you can see the beginnings of the drawing below.

I did a freehand copy for this as I was moving so many of the parts around......

And the beginning of adding the colors.......

And more of the base layer of color.... not many DETAILS added yet........

Here you can see the beginning of the Last Judgment painting as well......

Yes I started the next before finishing the first....!

Here below is the Original manuscript version I used for the model....

again, rather loosely copied....

This is from the St. Omer Psalter, an early fourteenth century manuscript from England.

Sorry about the reflection... the page is glossy.... Below is a closer view of the Beginnings of my version. I have had to alter almost everything.... so it is really inspiration more than copy......

And a LONG way to go!

Here you can see how these ceiling panels relate to the wall paintings already in place.....

And closer....

So That's what I've been doing... my FAVORITE thing........

MORE Painting In The Chapel!

The Best of Friends

A Visit To Singapore Gardens!

Daphne is Pollyanna's BEST friend! They have known each other for a very long time. You have probably not met her before now, Dear Readers, because she has been studying abroad and only recently returned home. She is interested in Fashion so she is the first person Pollyanna thought of when she realized she might need help deciding on the style of her Wedding gown! Daphne was only too happy to help her! So they set out one fine Summer morning to search through all the stores they could find for ideas on Wedding Gowns. And while they window shopped, they talked and talked about .... well EVERYTHING.... because they had not been together for quite some time! And before they knew it, they had walked further than they ever had before.... into a part of Town that neither of them had seen before. They weren't precisely LOST, but they were hot and thirsty, so they were very happy to find themselves at the edge of what looked like a Park or a Lovely Public Garden. So they went in to see if there was a place to sit in the shade and rest for a while. There were some seats close by, but they decided to look a little further to see what else was there............

Daphne could see what looked like tables and chairs further into the Garden. Pollyanna could see a lovely water fountain throwing sprays of cool water into the small pool at its base......

And a Dreamy looking Waiter standing by ...........

"Welcome to SINGAPORE GARDENS" he says in his dreamy voice.

"Can I help you Ladies?" He asks.
But they are momentarily mesmerized by the Fountain........

And the little Turtles that played about the pool.........

Where Buddha sits in perpetual CALM meditation under the water's spray.......

But Daphne has spotted a lovely little Gazebo that she wants to explore.....
Standing next to what surely is a Bamboo thicket........

With a fascinating Tropical Bird (it MUST be a foreign species at least!) perched upon the open door. Do YOU think it resembles the Kingfisher?

Daphne knows a lot about birds and knows it is NOT one of the Local species!

It lets her come quite close for a look before flying into a nearby bush........

And then they notice the LOVELY little iron table with the ceramic planter just waiting for someone to pull up a chair and sit for a while......... It is so inviting........

They don't even have to ask each other.... they are THAT sort of friends..... they just know it is the PERFECT place to sit and have a cup of.... is that a Teapot already waiting for them....?

And Mr. Dreamy waiting to bring them whatever they desire to go with the tea......

I think Daphne has JUST noticed Mr. Dreamy..........

"No, they are fine..... tea is all they need..... and a place to sit in the shade... " says Pollyanna...

What more could they ask for on a PERFECT Summer's Day....?
To sit in a shade dappled garden with your best FRIEND and drink tea and talk......

To Dream of all the things you will do someday.......
And listen to the Birds singing overhead.......

Another little Tropical Bird in the SINGAPORE GARDENS........ visiting........

Visiting for a Moment this little corner of Paradise................

Where Time stands Still and Distance Disappears.........

On a BEAUTIFUL Summer Afternoon in the GARDEN.......!


Or WAS that a Dream.........?

Do you ever have those moments where you SHARE a Dream with a Friend.....?

From the OTHER side of this WORLD, I received a GIFT from a Friend........

And when I opened it I found this little Table..... just PERFECT for the Garden chairs I bought last Winter and showed on my blog! And there were tiny CERAMIC flower pots and a planter too.... all because I mentioned on this blog my DREAM of making a REAL miniature Garden.... Someday...!

GIFTS from my Friend Sans! in Singapore!

Isn't that what Friends are for.....to Feed each others Dreams?
So, Thank YOU Sans!, for once again bringing me a piece of my Dreams....
And for sending me out to the Garden to Play on such a Beautiful Summers Day!!!

The Best of Friends

For The Love Of Books

A Gift From Flora!

Dear Readers, Just LOOK at the GIFT I have received from Flora of "La Casa Delle Bambole di Flora" blog! She makes these mini versions of the books by Beatrix Potter and had recently posted about them on her Beautiful Blog! I asked her if she had "The Tale of Two Bad Mice", my favorite of the Beatrix Potter tales and Flora said she would send me one!!!!

It arrived in it's beautiful wrappings with a sweet note! Can you see how PERFECT it is?

I immediately had to run and find my 1:1 scale version....

which itself is only about four inches by six inches.... Not very big at all!

Can you see how tiny Flora's book is??

Thank you, Flora for your generosity! I am so amazed and touched by this gift!

And if you are not familiar with the tale....

it is my Favorite because it is about a Dollhouse!

I am thrilled to have this tiny version of my favorite story..... and so is Annabelle!

It is nap time in the Shabby Sister House, so there MUST be a story first.....

I am still like that, Dear Readers, I like to read myself to sleep!

Did it begin, this Love of Books, with the nightly ritual of bedtime stories?

Passed down from Mother to child, from generation to generation?

I know Joanna certainly loves books.......

she collects them from all parts of the World.....

Old books and New...

She has just found some books that her Great Uncle must have left in the Lovely Old Dollhouse... (made by me..... I am still a novice...)

This one is a reproduction of a Very Famous Medieval Book of Hours........ I used velvet for the cover..... I know it is not authentic or to scale..... but it is beautiful.....

Joanna is going to read while Victor takes his Siesta........ it is a hot Summer Afternoon.....

The shelves of the Folly will someday be filled with mini books....

I have bought some... but I really want to make my own.... and I know I will learn the techniques someday.... perhaps even Soon!

The Lord's Council Chamber in The Castle will have a few VERY Precious Books....

I have even started collecting......

There is a Beautiful Illuminated Bestiary by the very talented Ericka Van Horn........ I could not resist... and was fast enough when she posted it that I have it in my collection!

And as for Collecting..... that started AGES ago..... and I still have some of the tiny books.... actually, I can say I have ALL the tiny books that ever came my way...... and if it won't bore you... here is a little tour of my Collection!

Starting with a small Almanac..... yes it is from 1894!

And another tiny mini book I have had for many years is this Thumbnail Bible........ the top cover is missing but the rest is in quite good shape for a book printed in 1815! It is a little large for dollhouse scale.... measuring about one inch by two inches and very thick!

The inside is readable as it was intended as stories from the Bible to interest children.....

And it has numerous beautiful wood block print illustrations such as this Samson and the Lion...

You can see that I have loved books for most if not all of my life.... but I have also loved MAKING them..... as you can see from this carefully sewn and lettered dollhouse scale Atlas that I made when I was ten or eleven......

I even drew and colored a map of the world inside!

Another tiny book I made myself at about the same time is this cloth covered volume......

I wrote the title on the inside in pencil..... "The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain.

And on the back cover I wrote......

But the book that is the most elaborate that I have made.... although still incomplete... is another that I made in my teen years. The cover is not yet bound in leather......

But the front pages are Illuminated.and carefully hand lettered with ink......

And I even dared to try to write every word on every page......

by hand....... in ink.......

For quite a few pages......... but NOT to the end of the volume...................
Alas, my eyesight and hand are not as steady as they were so long ago..... will I ever finish it???
I think maybe I had better......!

Speaking of Mark Twain, that tiny book I made all those years ago has made me think about the way things in life are so connected... like threads in a Tapestry or pages in a book.... events unfold and reveal a bigger picture if we stand back to look.... Because just last week I was in the local airport with my daughter-in-law, waiting to greet my son, her husband, who was arriving home on Leave from the Army. His flight was delayed, so we had some time to use and decided to go up to the departures level of the airport to see if there was any comfortable waiting area. And when we got to the upper level, I was astonished to see a Miniature House! It was a model of the Mark Twain House.... now a museum in Hartford, Connecticut..... and it was ENTIRELY made of LEGOS!!!! If my son's flight were not delayed, we would NEVER have gone upstairs and would have missed it entirely!
Here is a picture of my Lovely Daughter-in-law in front of the probably dollhouse scale model!

And a closer view of the building.....

And a picture of the poster of the Original House.....

And some more detail of the LEGO building techniques.......

And some more.......!

They even made a LEGO horse and buggy!!!!
(This was the nineteenth century....!)

And to think that LEGOS were always the Favorite toys of my boys!
So we were quite well entertained until my son arrived!
(And I think he would admit to loving books too......)

And his Sweetheart, of course!
(Sorry for the blurry photo..... it's the best I got!)

So, Thank YOU, Flora, for the gift of a book.......
Because I can tell that you love books too!

For The Love of Books