Back-Tracking.....

Progress..... Step by Step.... Stone by Stone...

It usually doesn't feel like Progress, Dear Readers, to go back over your work and undo parts of it in the hopes that going a different way will get you the desired results. But we all have had to make those choices from time to time. In the case of my Medieval Wall Map it was easy for me to decide that the initial color layer was not right. It needed to be toned way down and made to seem less like "real earth" colors and more like a blank canvas outline. You must remember that I am making this up as I go along and I am trying NOT to copy real maps or real known Medieval maps with any accuracy. It didn't take long to paint over the land shapes with a beige wash. I wanted to get the oceans color in place before I went further with the land, so I painted them blue, ultramarine blue.

It is a lovely bright blue!

This is just the first coat. 

And I am sure that I have mentioned before

 that paint is often quite translucent (a great thing!)

 and needs careful layering to make it look right.

And of course, we have to stand back from time to time

 and look at the effect on the whole room.

 

And especially taking into account the floor tiles.

(Hard to do on a gloomy day!)

And while I was redoing parts of the map, Dear Readers,

 I was also re-doing the "stone" surrounds

 for the windows in the Council Chamber.

 This required undoing the shutters for starters.

You can see the light shining right through those

 screw holes for the shutter hinges!

 I made sure of this because I would need to drill through 

from the outside to correctly position the shutters

 on the new "stone-work" once it was glued in place.

Here the new stonework is being slowly added.

The top stones are the hardest to shape correctly..... 

they require a lot of cutting and sanding and testing the fit.

And while paint was drying on the "stones"

 (which needed to be painted with three colors before they could be attached)

 I was adding more color layers to the oceans on the map.

 Here I am adding thalo green (a very translucent foresty green).

Here you can see that it covers the blue but doesn't hide the blue.

And by the time I have completed the window stonework

 and re-attached the shutters, it is late and dark.

 (At this time of year that means quite late!)

But you can see what an awesome difference it makes!

I had to use my spotlight to show the details!

Here with the top shutter closed..... 

the shutters "fit" more snugly into the window frame this way

 because the window itself is set back from the surface.

Here with both the shutters closed.

It just looks So much better than before!

And the Map and the floor in "candle-light"....

Impossible to tell if the colors are right.... 

but I already know they are not.

On a gloomy morning it is hard to tell..... 

So I work on the other window "stones" 

while I debate the color strategy for the map.

I "Undid" this window as well.... 

even re-fitting the hinges on the lower opening frame

 to recess the extra 3degrees of slant for the hinge plates!

This was challenging.... but now was the opportunity to get it right!

The plywood is difficult to work on its end grain

 (which happens to be the direction it is aligned on this wall).

And here I am adding the stonework frame.... 

gluing with my trusty clamp!

Here the stonework is all attached.

You can see how it recesses the window.

And with the shutters reattached....

I just Love how it looks!

And see how snugly the shutter fits against the stonework?

I did not have to adjust this in the slightest!

And with the bottom closed too.

It looks snug and safe!

As for the paint colors on the Map.... 

I decided to add another layer of the blue over the green....

Just to tone down the green and unify the blue....

I know it is a subtle difference.... 

here partly done.

I was worried it would darken the blue too much... 

but decided I needed to give it a try. 

I could always paint it over and start again if I didn't like it.....

Here you can see it closer.... 

the lower left has not been over-painted yet, the upper left has.

Here it all has been over-painted with the blue.

(Once again it is late and dark!)

And here you can see the map with more light.

And that is as far as I got, Dear Readers,

Back-tracking stone by stone and step by step,

I think I made Great Progress!