Wednesday 21 October 2020

London Scenes. The 2nd Maquette Board.

 

My biblionautic chums and friends.
A commission for a UK based Worshipful Company founded in 1528. London Scenes.
The Company have asked me to document all the various stages of the making of this binding... 
 
There is still a lot of exploring to do. Though I am happy with the effect of the first maquette board, I am not so happy with the surface. After dying the leather and cloth I applied an oil based printers ink. However.... it just does not look right too glossy... too plastic like. In addition the thicker sculpting looks a little crude.
This is the 2nd full size maquette. The sculpting is lower, which is getting to where I want things to be. I have also experimented with paste wash and spirit dyes to get the sequence correct.. also different leathers and other material to achieve the look I want.
These early steps in the design process are important.. to find what works and what does not work. Each step gets nearer the finished work. I could just use an existing technique or style but would it reflect the contents of the book? reflect the time of the images... London during the second world war? etc etc etc.
Refine and rework... get it right.

I really like the texture and feel of this particular board. It is beginning to work!

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