FIREBRAND and GORGON: more progress views

As regular visitors to Moth Woman Press blog will be aware, lately I've been working concurrently on two one-of-a-kind artist books, Firebrand and Gorgon (see centre photo below).

Hand-lettering the title page of the former is now complete and it's ready for the next step, namely the cover art. As with my previous book, Cat's Cradle, the front and back covers will be hand painted and lettered on prepared MDF boards. (The boards can be seen on the top left in the first two photos directly below).

Back in 1993 I was awarded a three-month Australia Council for the Arts Visual Arts Board Residency in Paris. One of the high points was a glorious exhibition of illuminated manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, the most extensive I've ever seen. I've long been drawn to hand written and painted manuscripts, but as is sometimes the case in my work, the period of gestation has been a slow one. It's only comparatively recently that I've begun to make some versions of my own. 

Click on individual images for a clearer view.

Hand-lettering in progress on Firebrand

Further progress views of Gorgon and Firebrand

First stage of Firebrand completed

Artist books in progress

Two more Moth Woman Press books are currently on the drawing board. Pictured directly below in early developmental stages are Gorgon (top) and Firebrand (bottom). 

I'm still battling with the unruly snakes on the head of the Gorgon, but have plowed ahead with Firebrand. Below are three detailed views, followed by the first stage of the inking up process.

In 2012, I made a smaller version of this work for an artist's book exhibition at Hand Held Gallery in Melbourne. (The original book can be seen to the right of the tubes of paint below). I was never entirely happy with the end result, which I felt didn't quite reach its full potential; however, I've used it as working model for the current artist book. It's one of a new, ongoing series of concertina books collectively titled Tail End.