Tuesday, September 8, 2015

More Treasures!




The Collection Grows.....

Yes, Dear Readers, if you have not already guessed, I am the lucky recipient of Tony's most recent creation, an Amazing Little casket of wood and carved antique ivory and an even more amazing Medieval Book that fits inside! Father Alban is the caretaker of this Gorgeous Treasure, and he is even more speechless than I am when faced with the Beauty and Perfection of this creation!
Here, let me show you a closer view.....

And here you can see inside.....

He even added an Elizabethan coin as part of the Treasure!

And all the pages of the Manuscript are printed and readable....
 if you know how to read Late Antiquity script!
It is illuminated in the Style of a Manuscript from the era of Charlemagne....
So even for my Castle folk, this is a venerable Text several hundreds of years old!

And the chest has a false bottom with a hidden compartment!
I will have to discover what Treasures belong in there!

The Lord of the Castle has left this Treasure with Father Alban 
because he hopes Father Alban can make a copy of this manuscript....!
(Or at least a copy of the text and an approximation of the illuminations.)

It would be a Monumental undertaking to copy the entire Book....
There are numerous intricate illuminations....
And Father Alban is afraid his eyesight is not as good as it used to be.
But he is prepared to begin making the parchments necessary for the pages...
Perhaps it is time he took on an assistant to train in the arts....
A Youngster who can help him to scrape the skins 
and grind the pigments and mix the inks.
The work would go faster that way....
and the sooner begun, the sooner done!
Ah, a Treasure this Beautiful must be carefully tended!
(Thank you Tony, it is Magnificent!)

As for Myself, Dear Readers, I have been 
wrestling with an entirely different kind of Painting!
To begin with, I added a whole lot more Egg Carton Rocks to the Guard Tower...

I really want to get the interior work finished on the upper part of the Tower!

And I constructed the ceiling beams for the top ceiling....

And then I added a whole lot of pink builder's foam 
to the outside of the Tower to make the "buttresses" 
which support that wonderful rooftop garden!

It took quite a bit of "engineering" to get the chunks of foam 
to fit on the corners correctly and taper the right way!
Eventually they will be covered with Egg Carton Rocks too!
And once I had added all the interior "rocks" it was time to start the painting....
And how many (?) coats of paint later.....

(I apologize for the horrid picture!)
The paint is just Not cooperating!
First the Primer, then the first layer of gray paint... 
then a darker layer to fill in all the "cracks" between the "rocks"
(This takes Forever!)
And then some pure black to fill all the tiny "holes" between the "rocks"
where the paint won't reach, but the eye can see the unpainted spot!
And then another layer of the lighter gray to highlight the rock textures....

Which made too much of the "rock" outlines disappear!
As you can see... it is not cooperating!

So it looks to me as though I will be painting
 Rocks and more Rocks for quite some time!

Maybe I will go join Father Alban, Dear Readers,
And Dream of painting magnificent Tiny Miniatures....

More Tiny Treasures.....
for my Growing Collection!


15 comments:

  1. I love your stone work. Egg cartons always look so good but literally make you want to bash your head against the wall to make them look authentic. It looks great!

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  2. Hi Betsy, the stone work looks wonderful and I love that you can see the beams supporting the floors - it reminds me of so many castles I have visited in the UK. Amazing work =0)

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  3. Congratulations with your beautiful treasurecasket Betsy, wow! It fits really well in your scene and era, I can only imagine how thrilled you must be with it, the book looks wonderful too! What an enormous task you have there with all the painting.. but from the other walls I've seen you've done, these will also look fabulous once your done. I love the ceiling btw and I was thinking how difficult it must have been to taper the foam, well done!

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  4. Congratulations! So beautiful and authentic andt fits perfectly!

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  5. Hello Betsy,
    Congratulations on your win. It is a beautiful prize! The tower is looking beautiful and I am sorry the rocks are giving you a hard time (no pun intended). Keep at it, I know you can make it look perfect!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  6. Ce coffre est une merveille. Les poutres au plafond sont très réussies (comme tout le reste d'ailleurs ;-)

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  7. Splendid trasure! Lucky you, Betsy!! Good to see the tower "growing up" and changing. ;)
    Hugs

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  8. Hi Betsy it looks wonderful in its new home and im sure farther Alban will take special care of it i can wait to see more progress on your castle.Best wishes Tony.

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  9. WOW Betsy! You are so lucky to have won that gorgeous box. It too is lucky to live in such a wonderful home!

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  10. Hello Betsy,
    The tiny treasure casket and illuminated manuscript are absolutely wonderful! What a special addition to your collection. I think you're doing such good work on the egg carton stone; it's looking just the way it should. And I do know how it feels to keep painting rock after rock after rock………..but keep up the effort - it'll be perfect!
    Marjorie

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  11. This is for sure a treasure chest - what a wonderful gift! And I think it couldn't have find a better owner than Father Alban. I'm still admiring the beautiful books... and even a secret hideaway - amazing! Speaking of amazing... wonderful progress with the Cloud Palace. Your stonework looks great... even if not cooperating so far - but you'll be the winner in the end, no doubt! ;O)

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  12. I am simply overwhelmed by the casket & illuminated book - how do we know what the artwork of Charlemagne's time looks like? We are only just beginning to realize that the "dark" ages weren't as dark as represented, particularly by the time we get to Charlemagne. Anyway - gorgeous. Congrats, Tony! As for the "rocks," I think they look great & authentic. Your patience is amazing.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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  13. Congratulations Betsy on winning the medieval chest with the ancient book inside!!!!
    It couldn't have gone to a Better Home than yours! I am so happy and excited for you and have to add that the Cloud Palace is certainly giving the Castle on Earth, a run for the money! I LOVE the way that you have treated the corners of the turret.... You are AMAZING! :D

    elizabeth

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  14. Wow gorgeous prize It is a perfect gift for Father Albon. The book is amazing. Your tower looks fantastic.
    Hugs Maria

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  15. Still Rockin'? The tower is looking really good and hurrah for you to get the casket, lucky thing. It's a beautiful piece and I'm sure you'll be able to create some wonderful stories around it.

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