Chocolate, Cream & Gold Heart Canvasses

Wedding Vows to Frame

Do you remember this that I showed you a while ago (here)? Now that it has been gifted, I can show you the full version.

To stop the masking tape damaging the surface of the paper when i remove it, i stick it onto my desk (or my jeans or the back of my hand) first to remove some of the tackiness, before putting on the paper

I build these mini-masterpieces up with several layers of watercolour, sometimes i vary the effect by using a flat brush or by adding gestural marks and gold powder. 

This was a large piece to write out, with two distinct parts. Although I had an idea of how I wanted it, I typed each part out in a font that echoed the style I thought I might use, then fiddled around with the proportions until they balanced…. then I just wrote the first column, letting it go how it would. Then I measured & ruled in the top lines for the 2nd part. It very nearly worked first time too!

I've blurred out the names, but once I knew I was going to do another version, I used this to play around with some possible effects. If this had worked, I'd have used a spare scrap to play on. In the first version, there was no variation in the bottom few lines, but it needed some weight at the bottom to anchor it & balance with the other side. That's when I added in the ruling pen over the top…. and here is the final version….

It's on a full sheet of Saunders Waterford Hot pressed paper, which is 76 x 56 cm / 22 x 30 inches… I added crop lines for the framer, to cut through some of the outer diamonds & left a few little notes to my client in the margins which she decided to keep!

2nd 'Cotton' Wedding Anniversary Canvas

As the second wedding anniversary is traditionally seen as 'cotton', a canvas is an appropriate present…. especially when it includes a reading from your wedding & takes inspiration from the bridal bouquet! It's not meant to be an exact representation… just something that captures the sense of it… the fresh greens, the feeling of spring in the air...

Before the 1930's, just the milestones were marked; only 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th & 70th had gift suggestions. But as in most areas of life, commercialisation led to a full list names for every year of marriage…. in 1939 the American National Jeweller Retail Association published a full list. The list has been revised over the years & different countries have slightly different versions, and of course some countries have long-standing traditions for certain anniversaries.

In the 'Holy Roman Empire' of the Middle Ages, husbands would crown their wives with a wreath of silver leaves on their 25th anniversary & with gold leaves on their 50th. The tradition of a silver & gold wreaths continued in many places, with the gradual addition of more land-mark anniversaries. Traditions have changed too… at one point the Diamond Wedding was the 75th, but since Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee after 60 years on the throne, diamonds became associated with the 60th wedding anniversary in the UK.

The list I have had for ages gives the 1st wedding anniversary as paper & the 2nd as cotton, which is great for me as a calligrapher… I can offer a gift made from both! But there are various versions…. the UK & US have many dates the same but a few differences, and a 'modern' version seems to have been developed alongside the 'traditional'. Take a look over here> Wedding Anniversary Gift Lists. (the 15th is crystal on all other versions i've found) I'm not sure about the modern one at all…. gold jewellery, cars, optical goods…. hmmm, the retailers are obviously still involved in compiling that…. a kiss on the cheek would be bonus from Mr Scribbles, lol.

The canvas was 'whiter' than the photo, more like the close-up above, but i can't seem to get rid of the yellowy tones. I didn't even attempt to portray different flowers, even if I had the skills I wouldn't want too many different details vying for attention… it's the words that matter here,

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,



Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;


Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;



Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Despite the formal style of wording, I wanted this to look fresh and modern, so quite informal, brush lettering spills down the canvas…. echoing the brighter green buds of the bouquet nestled amongst the mass of white flowers. It really makes a thoughtful & romantic anniversary gift doesn't it?

I'd love to hear about your most romantic gift… or the least, lol! I can't think that I've received anything outstanding either way... sigh...

Just off the Drawing Board...

A few trials.... which of course work out better than the 'real ones'

A bit blurry, but you get the idea...

I can't show any more until this new Bride surprises her husband with this 

Valentine's gift... her wedding vows to him....
but I can tell you, that we have gold powder dropped into watercolour.

Falling Stars...

Way back last August (crikey, 2013 seems so far away now), I had a Groom that was planning well ahead for a gift for his Bride on their wedding day.  He came with a romantic tale too...

Very early in my fiancee's and my relationship, we went stargazing at the top of the tallest hill where we live, which was really the night that we realised there was something special going on. She saw a falling star for the first time in her life, and it's one of our favourite memories. Subsequently while browsing a poetry website, I was floored to come across this poem, which seemed to sum up the feeling of that night.

Do you remember still the falling stars

that like swift horses through the heavens raced
and suddenly leaped across the hurdles
of our wishes--do you recall? And we
did make so many! For there were countless numbers
of stars: each time we looked above we were
astounded by the swiftness of their daring play,
while in our hearts we felt safe and secure
watching these brilliant bodies disintegrate,
knowing somehow we had survived their fall.

~Ranier Maria Rilke

He liked the style of the Yeats, Cloths of Heaven canvas and had the idea of hills in the foreground.... of course I was happy oblige! 

I hadn't come across Rilke before, but having looked him up, it seems I've been living in a cave! His quotes have been used in tv, films & self-help books.... In the US he is one of the best selling poets along with Kahlil Gibrahn & Rumi... not sure about in the UK tho'.

The Poetry Foundation begins a quite extensive biography with these words, 

Widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets, Rainer Maria Rilke was unique in his efforts to expand the realm of poetry through new uses of syntax and imagery and in the philosophy that his poems explored. With regard to the former, W. H. Audendeclared in New Republic,"Rilke's most immediate and obvious influence has been upon diction and imagery." Rilke expressed ideas with "physical rather than intellectual symbols. While Shakespeare, for example, thought of the non-human world in terms of the human, Rilke thinks of the human in terms of the non-human, of what he calls Things (Dinge)." Besides this technique, the other important aspect of Rilke's writings was the evolution of his philosophy, which reached a climax in Duineser Elegien ( Duino Elegies ) and Die Sonette an Orpheus (Sonnets to Orpheus). Rejecting the Catholic beliefs of his parents as well as Christianity in general, the poet strove throughout his life to reconcile beauty and suffering, life and death, into one philosophy. As C. M. Bowra observed in Rainer Maria Rilke: Aspects of His Mind and Poetry, "Where others have found a unifying principle for themselves in religion or morality or the search for truth, Rilke found his in the search for impressions and the hope these could be turned into poetry...For him Art was what mattered most in life." 

 Rainier Maria Rilke 1875-1926

Some Rainier Maria Rilke quotes:

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” ―  Letters to a Young Poet 


“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” 

“Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any misery, any depression, since after all you don't know what work these conditions are doing inside you? Why do you want to persecute yourself with the question of where all this is coming from and where it is going? Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and you wished for nothing so much as to change. If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from what is alien; so one must simply help it to be sick, to have its whole sickness and to break out with it, since that is the way it gets better.” 
―Letters to a Young Poet


“Extinguish my eyes, I'll go on seeing you.
Seal my ears, I'll go on hearing you.
And without feet I can make my way to you,
without a mouth I can swear your name.

Break off my arms, I'll take hold of you
with my heart as with a hand.
Stop my heart, and my brain will start to beat.
And if you consume my brain with fire,
I'll feel you burn in every drop of my blood.” 


“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. 

This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose...

 Many more quotes here

Apologies for the stripey backgrounds to some of the text. For some reason everything I copy & paste includes the background colour & I can't get an exact match to the background of my blog no matter how much I fiddle around!

Red & Black Canvasses... & photography dramas

It started out with a request to add a few words to a print... here. The words "If love is a labor, I'll slave 'til the end" are from a song called 'Swing Life Away' by Rise Against

I suggested a small canvas instead, that could be done in colours to suit the song & the couple. Where price is an issue, any extra cost is offset by having no need to purchase a frame. N very helpfully told me some details about the young couple soon to wed.... including that they both have a lot of body art in black & red plus their wedding list expressed a penchant for reds. She agreed that a canvas would more likely suit a young, modern couple. When she received the canvas, N couldn't wait for the wedding & sent it off straight away!

I did a few others in the same colours while I was working, but wasn't at all happy with any of the photographs... i tried inside, outside, natural light... they either appeared washed out or too orange-y & didn't show the dark, old-school tattoo style red to good effect at all.

vive l'amor

9.5" x 7" / 24 x 18 cm

I just had another go at photographing them. I know that digital cameras tend to 'average-out' the colours that they see, but adjusting the white balance didn't help. Neither did adjusting the colour sliders when editing (I only have quite basic photo processing tools & skills!)

long live love

8" x 8" / 20 x 20 cm

Thinking about colour 'averaging'... a light background was much better, then I thought about colour theory & went for the opposite colour on the colour wheel to red.... green, the complimentary colour... 

red & black heart

11.5" x 11.5" / 29 x 29 cm

Much better! Also, adjusting the proportions of white, black & grey in the setting made a big difference

Although I love outdoor photography, I've never particularly enjoyed photographing my work. Once I started thinking about mixing colours in the viewfinder, much like on a paint palette, I started having more fun & more success. Having temporary access to a big wall with plenty of light from both sides certainly helps too... I'm going to dig out some more canvasses to re-photograph now!

Minor Miracles can happen!

 DB had a plan to have his wedding vows written out for his 1st wedding anniversary gift to his wife... but with one thing and another.... you can guess the story.... I got an email on a thursday afternoon wondering whether I could get something to him by Saturday!

He'd already realised that he was probably asking too much, but whilst looking through my shop he had fallen in love with this piece and wondered whether I could arrange framing for 'as soon as possible'.

Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.

~Robert Browning~

Well, at the moment I don't have anyone I use as a regular framer, so rashly promised I'd see what I could buy 'off the shelf' locally, if he was prepared for me to change the design to suit. In the end, I pulled off a "minor miracle" as he called it, by getting this done & posted on Friday... then Royal Mail responded to our fervent positive thinking requests for it to arrive on the Saturday!

I can't always complete work at such short notice, but if I can, I will. A good sob story & lovely attitude helps too!

First Wedding Anniversary ~ Paper

The First Wedding Anniversary is widely associated with paper... making calligraphy on paper an ideal gift!! And even more special when the words are your wedding vows. Nowadays more & more  people write their own vows, which is so personal.... and having them written out, to frame, is something to cherish.

 just testing...

The Bride had worn turquoise, but there was no turquoise in their bedroom, where there were to hang... lots of silver & grey though! We went for pencil lettering...

the first subtle layer of watercolour...

Pencil & watercolour look great together, and the beauty of watercolour is, 

it can be really pale & subtle...

 adding colours...

 or, by building up layers, the colour can become quite strong...

several layers to create depth...

 differing amounts of words, planned to take up the 

same space, to suit matching frames...

this couple wrote quite different styles of  wedding vows, but both full of love...

and now they have a constant reminder of the pledge they made to each other.

As time goes on, I think it's quite a good idea to remember promises made

on such a special day!

Captain Corelli in Purple!

This was to be an anniversary scroll, using a reading from the wedding....

You can see from these two photographs how difficult it can be to match a colour from a picture. I had a photograph of a lovely bride wearing what she called 'mauve'.... which was a different tone from what I would call mauve. And so I used a variety of shades in the decoration of this piece... little pastel squares drifting over the page.... 

It is to be framed in a 12 x 12 inch frame, but we weren't sure whether the ribbon would be included inside the frame or not.... so, I left extra space at the top allowing the scroll to be trimmed from either top or bottom (or both) to fit.

If you would like to commission an original version for yourself just get in touch> suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk, or take a look in my etsy shop where I also have some prints available> here

What a difference a frame makes...

I went to collect a framed piece of work for a customer recently, only to discover it wasn't what I had asked for. It looked ok, but was not something I would choose.... it might fit a certain style of decor, but it was just too heavy for the piece.  Besides which, I wanted to cover the mount & the proportions were just wrong for me.

I know the paper looks a different shade, but this is the same piece in the frame I wanted.... much more suitable for a modern home with a natural look. Picture framers tend to leave a similar amount of space all around, but when the text forms a long, narrow block, I want to preserve that shape. To do so, there needs to be more space left at the sides, with the top & bottom much closer to the mount than expected.... in this way the mounted piece is still long & narrow. The top pic is veering much more towards square.

The colour of the mount (or matt in the US) makes such a difference too & can limit the frame choice. I often use walnut ink and for many people the natural choice is to go for a sepia or dark brown mount... but that doesn't necessarily suit many frames. I much prefer to cover it with the same paper that I have written on.

People often don't know what I mean when I say that a covered mount would be an idea & find it hard to visualise. As well as complimenting the calligraphy, it suits a wider range of frames.

Your Song ~

How many of us have a special song? One that means something to us or reminds of a particular time...

I've just had a request to write out the words to "their song", for a lady to give to her husband on their wedding anniversary. The full lyrics are here, but we decided to use certain more relevant verses and omit some bits that were repeated....

Listening to the song sent all sorts of different ideas through my mind & I was singing the chorus to myself for ages.... it must be one of those songs that speaks to so many people!

 As we discussed colours, S emailed me a photo of the dress she was wearing on the night she met her husband 13 years ago, wondering if I could use the turquoise. It's funny.... once I had that last piece of the jigsaw, i knew what i wanted to do... although at that point I was going to paint the little diamonds to decorate it or use pastels. As I wrote, the chorus was still going around in my head, & though we'd cut chunks of it out I added bits of chorus back in... layering the text to give some background texture and brings some visual interest in between the blocks of words...

When it came to add the decoration I actually printed the photo of the dress fabric & cut that up to create the blue & turquoise 'diamonds'. S said that the photo was a bit too blue & not 'turquoisey' enough, so i adjusted the colour a bit first before I printed, and then added some even more turquoise diamonds for good measure... i was only guessing at the actual colour, but hopefully by using several shades I got near enough! 

The scroll idea is proving a popular way to present calligraphy as a gift. It helps an unframed piece of work look something a bit more.... and the ribbon can easily be trimmed off to frame it later. Luckily, I had some turquoise tissue, & tied it with 2 shades of ribbon.... even if I didn't hit the right shade, at least it looked good to give!! The overall size was a touch under 12 x 17 inches.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my last post for chance to enter the give-away & have chance to win a print!!

Grow Old ~ Mounted & Framed

By now, the "Grow Old" embossing will have been received by the happy couple! It's really hard to photograph behind glass.... when the lettering showed up well, the glass was full of reflections on the photo. 

Anyway, this is what it looked like; you can see the overall effect of the banana backing paper & mount with the wood frame... it's very natural. Even in 'real life' the effect of embossing relies on the light... the 'barely there' look draws you in to look closer.... subtle... 

 The paper used for backing & to cover the mount is cotton rag with banana, made by Khadi. I often cover the mount with the same paper that I have used.... I feel that a regular mount is often too 'hard', especially against a handmade paper and I never find just the right white or black to suit various white or black papers.

I have done another with the mount covered in the same white paper, in this case Arches watercolour... it give a streamlined look, nice & clean... minimalist...

An alternate mount with sanwaa tissue over the white: This keeps the subtlety, but introduces another texture... it is so sheer & light, with flecks of real gold & silver leaf. It just adds another dimension to any paper... i use it so much!

Captain Corelli Quote ~ Those that truly love...

So... two people have tracked me own in a fortnight... both previous customers, both wanting a piece of  work done as a wedding gift. I suppose I am not hard to find, but isn't it funny that this should happen now, so close together, when it is over 6 years since I closed up shop and when i am in the area!

On the other hand, earlier in the month, at the new moon, I set the affirmation that I am once more, serious about making more income from what i do.... so maybe not so funny after all, just proof that affirmations & intent have an effect!!

I was asked to write out a passage from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres... this extract about what love is, has become quite a classic for wedding readings. Even though it is years since I have written it out, i found that I pretty much knew the words off by heart... quite dangerous for a calligrapher, as it is easy to write what you think you know, instead of what is actually there!

The plan was to present the gift as a scroll, which the recipient could then frame at a later date. I used a handmade cotton rag & banana paper from Khadi. This is a decent weight & looks interesting when rolled up, as well as being great to write on. I went for good old walnut ink which works so well with this paper... and being a combination of natural colours, they suit most homes. This is often a consideration when people buy for someone else... luckily i love natural!! The ribbon is threaded through slits cut at the bottom, then turned up & glued... it doesn't show at the back.

various prints & original scrolls are available

in my etsy shop here

or just get in touch> suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk

This last part would make a piece of work on it's own!  As this is the bit that carries the main message of the passage, I used different letterforms to add contrast & emphasis.... the petals across the bottom help to balance and anchor the whole thing, as well as being relevant to the words about blossom falling. The credit across the bottom, matches the couples' names & wedding date across the top.

All wrapped up with matching tissue & ribbons, it makes a pretty present! It's easy to post something like this in a postal tube.... so if you'd like a custom order for something along these lines just email me>  suziscribbles at yahoo.co.uk

overall, the approx size is 12 x 17 inches, 

this can be trimmed to fit a frame at a suitable size 

~ it will require a custom made frame ~

This is the adaptation i was given for this one... but if you look around the internet it is easy to find the original:

“Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

 Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. 

Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” 

Captain Corelli's Mandolin ~Louis de Bernieres