TabascoCat Art

I have always been interested in all things Medieval…illuminated and gilt manuscripts with incredible miniature paintings, stained glass, and fantastical images of beasts of all sorts.  I decided to see if I could pull those elements together into a unique 21st century mixed media mini creation and “Deer Oh Deer” is the product of that creative energy.

I started with my own pen and ink drawing of a deer in one of those somewhat odd poses that you see in old etchings. I talk about that deer in this post.

Here is the piece showing front, side, and top:

I printed the image on used tea bags to give an aged look and added the image to the piece with polymer medium.  I slowly built layer upon layer of text, texture and color using polymer medium, acrylic paint and gesso, stamped and textured tissue paper, and pen & ink to give the manuscript and stained glass effects.  I then added cloth ribbon leaves that I gilded in layers to one of the trees to give added dimension.  To balance the tree and add more interest I used a fleur-de-lis stencil with soft molding paste to create raised motifs on the front and side of the piece and painted them.  It is 4″ x 4″ and I created it on a panel with a 1/2″ cradle so that I could decorate the sides as well.

I had so much fun creating this “little jewel” inspired by the Medieval period!