A Lion of An Tir for a friend who loves The Lord of the Rings. The Lion is the most prestigious award given in our Kingdom – only one is given per reign. It goes to someone who truly embodies the ideals of our Society.
This was a collaborative project. The team consisted of:
Design and painting: Adrianna the Fierce
Gold and Palladium leaf: Master Renart, OP
Sketch of gilded letters, Calligraphy and penwork by me
I have never gotten a project back before this one. Usually calligraphy (my part) goes first and I hand it off to others to do gilding and artwork and painting and finish work. This time the finish work was up to me and it was so nerve wracking!!
This piece was done on 19 5/8″ x 27 3/4″ white pergamenata vegetable parchment using Calli black ink for the words and Windsor and Newton Deep Red Drawing ink. The penwork was done using a steel crow quill nib and freehanded (except for the lion).
concept/mockup 
calligraphy complete 
this is what it looked like when it came back to me 
starting the red penwork 
completed, signed, and sealed
