While my original plan involved making an elaborate mockup of a book, I set that idea aside when I saw two other -books-as-scrolls, both of which were far nicer and more well-thought-out than what I had in mind. Annys came to the rescue by finding a reference online to the Angers Hours, which was made near where Bruni’s persona lived and at around the same time. We pored over the examples and eventually found a perfect plate – an abbot receiving a heavenly vision of the Trinity. Except… since it was a scroll for Bruni, I realized it needed a slight change – nudity! What we ended up with was a portrait of Bruni, receiving Divine Inspiration for one of her scrolls, which all include a little nudity. Somewhere.

I sketched the piece out in my now-favorite red pencil, and then left it for a while, too afraid of messing up the lovely sketch. Eventually, I did follow through and painted it in gouache, then handed it over to Annys to letter. We presented it at Baronial Yule on December 3rd, to great reaction and a tear on Bruni’s part. Mission: ACCOMPLISHED.

Red pencil, gouache, and Higgins Eternal ink on pergamenata, roughly 8″ x 9.5″