Last night Lincolnshire’s Great Exhibition was formally opened by His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester. As a token of the city’s appreciation Lord Cormack, chairman of the Historic Lincoln Trust, presented him with one of my paintings based on the Luttrell Psalter. I am thrilled and honoured to have had my work chosen.
Lord Cormack and HRH The Duke of Gloucester with my painting of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell. Photo taken by Anna Draper of the Lincolnshire Echo.
It was a wonderful evening. I was presented to the Duke, met some lovely people and drank a glass or two of something fizzy!
However, the occasion did make me think back at my first attempt at gilding. I set off with high hopes to do a course in Italy, only to find when I got there that the tutor didn’t know any more about gold leaf than I did. Not a great start! Since then it has taken me five years of studying with some highly skilled illuminators, together with lots of practice and determination, to perfect the various techniques.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my family who have been endlessly supportive, putting up with all my sighing and growling over gold that wouldn’t stick and encouraging me to go on. I did get better at it in the end!