Rare Book Art: Collector's Remarques Part Two
- Kindrie Grove
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Hand-embellished Books
Welcome into my process of hand-embellishing custom copies of The Messenger From Myris Dar.
These Elite Remarques take me a long time to create, but I do love them.
Creating original works of art in printed books can be a challenge, because the end papers are not meant for the fine art materials I like to work with. Drawing and painting is difficult because the pages can't fully support the various layers of pencil, pencil crayon, or water-based pigments.
In the end I chose to work with acrylic paints for these works. Consistency of the paint was key to ensure it was not too thick or too thin, especially for the painted edges.
The only problem is that the pages curl when they dry, which means that the back of the paper has to be gently moistened and then the book blocked for a time to re-flatten the page.
Once the end papers are completed with their original paintings, I add an iridescent gold border with blue scrolling to match the painted edges of the book.
Painted Edges
Dialing in the painting of the edges was a challenge but soooo worth it. The edge painting requires the perfect blend of paint consistency to ensure that there is no bleeding onto the front of the pages, and they don't stick together too much.
Once the paint dries, it takes some time and patience to gently tease each page apart, but the result is lovely.
End Paper Paintings
These front and back paintings are the crown jewels of these embellished books. The gold borders and blue scroll work is like a meditation practice. Each unique painting features a place, an item, or a character from the book and collectors can choose which subject they would like, or be surprised.
Interestingly, almost everyone wanted to be surprised!
Interior Surprise Sketches
There are a lot of pages within the book, mostly at the end of chapters which provide space for more artwork. These interior sketches will be discovered by readers for added delight.
Custom Inscriptions
I have been practicing calligraphy for the last year, and was excited about the opportunity to share it with my book collectors. I found some brushes with very thin, long bristles that work beautifully for lettering. My two favorite styles (and the only ones I am currently practiced in) are Gothic Badard and classical Copperplate script.
These hand-embellished and Remarques books are only available through my Kickstarter campaigns for the release of each book.
If you are interested in learning more you can follow the Kickstarter news for updates on the next launch here:
Enter the pages of Book One with my Free Opening Chapters.
This download is a PDF of the actual book layout for the first 30 pages.
Complete with the Maps, Legend of Places and Characters, Prologues, and the first two chapters of the book, and the illustrations from those pages, this is a perfect way to enter the story and see what it is about.
Rare Book Art: Collector's Remarques Part Two
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Rare Book Art: Collector's Remarques Part Two All art work and illustrations by Kindrie Grove. All written content and characters related to The Stone Guardians Books by Kindrie Grove are protected under copyright law.
All rights reserved.
Copyrights: ©Kindrie Grove Studios Inc.
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