• Solo • [Caervalle Town] The Garden Window

[Eliza Soule]

Ymiden 13, Arc 719

It was a beautiful morning outdoors, and before she began work on her most recent commission, Eliza had thrown open the door that led to the small balcony outside of her small gallery upstairs. The view was spectacular. While the back of the house was closely ringed by the edges of the Ywyngyll Forest, the front where the balcony was, faced the south. From that raised perspective, she could look out over the quaint village of Caervalle Town with it's beautiful temple in the town center. And beyond it was a wide open view of the Stormlands.

Once she'd sat down at her easel, however, the rest of the world faded away in favor of her work. But instead of a large sheet of parchment or a stretched piece of cloth, her 'canvas' for this commission was to be a large pane of glass. The older couple who'd hired her services, had a large, single pane window that looked out over their garden. They were very proud of that garden, and it was overflowing with a variety of flowers, shrubss, fruit trees; and all the varieties of life that would naturally attracted to such a pleasing place.

What they'd wanted, they told her. was for that window to be painted in a way that the natural light of the sun would shine through. But also, the window should be painted more round the edges and corners, rather than completely covering the window surface. After all, they still wanted to watch the outdoors when they shared their morning tea. This, Eliza believed, was something that she could do.

The first thing that she'd needed to do, was to clean and prepare the surface for painting. It wasn't like painting on canvas or wood or plaster; it was in some ways more challenging. The glass needed to perfectly clean, free of dust or lint, smooth and dry. And there could be no streaks, smudges or traces of cleaning agents in sight. She'd used a lint free cloth dipped in warm soapy water to clean it, and another cloth of the same to rinse the soap residue away. Later, she'd follow with another clean cloth, a dry one this time, to make sure that the surface was as clean and flawless as it could possibly be.

There were other preparations that she'd made in advance. Many times when she painted, Eliza simply sat down and let her imagination flow through her hand and then spill out onto the canvas. Painting on glass however, was a very different sort of challenge. Firstly, when she was unhappy with the results on canvas, it was fairly easy and inexpensive to simply put it aside, cut a new piece of canvas, stretch it and begin again. A mistake on glass however would at the least result in an extra expense, and another trip to the glass cutter.

So in order to minimize the risk of less than desirable results, not only had Eliza sketched out a full scale design on parchment to refer to while she worked, she'd also practiced the technique on a small remnant of glass. And all of it, before a single drop of paint touched the pane of glass on her easel.

[Eliza Soule]

Painting on glass would require a much softer brush that she ordinarily chose; and the intricate details of the design would require a very fine one. She'd only just picked up the brush and dipped it in paint, when Wren wandered out of his bedroom rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His sudden appearance startled her a little and she jumped.

Sometimes, in the early morning or late at night while he slept, she temporarily forgot that the young boy was there. It had been just over a ten trial since she'd woken after the fall of Emea to find him there, slumbering in the gallery on her reclining couch. After all, Eliza didn't have any children, had never seriously considered having any; and hadn't planned to in the future. But here he was, Hart's boy, and out of the blue.

It was a blessing, she thought, that he didn't seem to remember much, if anything, of what had happened when the world feel apart. Or much of anything that immediately preceded it. What was important, Eliza thought, was that Wren remembered Hart. And the boy missed him. "Good morning," she said, putting down her brush and smiling at him. "Morning...What are you doing?" he asked, coming over to look at the pane of glass. She didn't ordinarily paint on glass after all, and he'd seen her work on a number of occasions.

"Working," she said. "A couple down the lane has hired me to paint a window for them. It's a challenge. I have to do a painting in reverse for this project." The question of course, Wren wondered, was why? Because, she explained, once she was done, she'd be framing the pane of glass, paired with another plain pane of glass, with a small space between them. "The painted surface will be between those two panes," she explained. Protected from the elements, from dust, from residue and cleaning compounds. "But because it's glass, you'll be able to clearly see the images the correct way, and even better when the sun shines through."

Wren nodded, but mostly he was interested in something to eat. "I'm hungry." Eliza smiled and got up from her easel. "Of course you are." In just handful of bits, they were seated on a table, dining on poached eggs, toast and cups of tea. As usual, Wren picked at his food, and Eliza frowned sympathetically. "I know you miss him," she said. In response, Wren reached up to take hold of the small locket she'd given him to wear. She'd painted a small portrait of Hart from memory, and placed it inside. Painting in miniature was as challenging, or more so, than painting on glass.

"We'll find him," she said. "You promise?" And Eliza looked across the table at him with a solemn expression. She knew, having been a child herself once, even if it was over a century ago now, that broken promises were terrible things. And this was an unpredictable world. "I promise that we will try our very hardest," she vowed.

[Eliza Soule]

Just a half break later, Eliza was up in her gallery again, seated in front of her easel and the pane of glass that had taken the place of her usual canvas. It was an unusual medium for her, in more ways than one. Firstly, she'd only painted on glass a small handful of times in the past. And even then, she'd only painted flowers or other decorations on jars filled with sugar or spice in her kitchen. The style and design that she'd chosen, also, was one that she'd never used until now. Instead of filling the canvas completely, she'd create the image so that it hugged the edges of the pane, and sweep or curl round its corners. In this way, it would leave the center of the windowpane clear, allowing the couple who'd hired her to look out over their garden while sipping their tea in the mornings. In essence, it was a work of art created by hand, that would frame the natural beauty that nature had created outdoors.

The medium and style that she'd chosen, was a new and welcomed challenge for Eliza. And because she wanted it to go well, she'd taken extra measures to ensure that it would. So she'd set up a second easel next to the first, and had placed on it the drawing that she'd created the trial before. And even before she sketched out her vision, she'd taken a soft piece of chalk and laid out a faint grid on the parchment. It meant that her perspective was far less likely to suffer, and she could refer to it off and on while she worked.

It wasn't unusual for Eliza to complete a painting over the course of a trial, with very few breaks in between. Over the centuries, she'd developed a knack for shutting away the outside world and it's many distractions. It was good for daydreaming, something she'd always excelled at. But it also helped in maintaining her focus. With the world kept at a distance, her imagination freely flowed through her hand and her brush, and spilled out onto her canvas. It certainly helped that she didn't need to worry about Wren while she worked, or wonder what he was up to. He'd gone next door to help old Sir Wolfert and his wife in their vegetable garden. Wren seemed to have taken to the old couple quickly. And in turn, Eliza had witnessed how deeply they seemed to care for the young boy. They'd miss him terribly, she knew, once she was able to locate Hart, and reunite him with Wren.

The painting was a brightly colored one, like springtime in full force, and the subject matter was in keeping with that theme. A partial view of a towering tree; the variety of which ringed Eliza's own back garden; completely occupied one side of the painting. It's leaves were pale green, but in order to take full advantage of the natural sunlight that would shine through the painting each morning, Eliza had mixed into the paint, a dusting of fine gold leaf that she'd ground up a few trials before. There was a small nest among the leaves of one of the more narrow branches, with a handful of hungry fledglings, beaks wide open waiting for a worm. Their loving parents, one on the wing and one perched on the edge of the nest, were a pair of buntings. The more humble of the pair, the female, had butter colored plumage, while the more flamboyant male had feathers of bright blue, red, green and gold.

Opposite the tree, on the other side of the pane, were thick vines that hugged, climbed and curled round a white painted trellis. Bunches of dark purple grapes dangled off the vines, and it was one of these grapes that the male bunting had plucked off and carried away to his family. The vines, as well as the leaves or roots of the tree opposite them, curled round the corners of the canvas and framed the top edge. and scattered here and there between the leaves and bunches of grapes, were all sorts of creatures, feathered...or furred in the case of a pair of young squirrels. Even a fenrix, native to the surrounding woods, nested and preened in on top hand corner. But even when she was satisfied with her efforts, the work wasn't finished.

In order for the paint to dry completely and set, Eliza would need to leave for three trials undisturbed. But once that was done, she returned and applied a finishing protective coat, but only to the painted surface so no to cloud the clear surface of the window pane. Because she'd created the painting in reverse, it would be naturally protected in the way that she framed it. In effect, a double pane window with the painting sheltered between them. That would protect it from many of the elements that ordinarily could fade, crack or damage the work. But the painted on coating added another layer of protection, to preserve her work from the heat, the cold, and the natural passage of time.

Once the last layer had dried, Eliza carefully wrapped the finished pane so that she could deliver it, and install it herself with the help of the old man, who was more experienced at hanging windows than she was. But until now, Eliza had resisted their efforts to pay for her work in advance. Only after it was done, she'd told them, and only after she knew they were pleased. Judging by the looks on their faces when they gazed at the window for the first time, Eliza thought that she needn't have worried.

[Nursia]

I don't think I've reviewed such an indepth thread about painting glass before.

And honestly? That's a good thing. There's no worries about if you're playing to the skills of your character or not. The way you write is very vivid, yet not too tangential, that turns the act of fulfilling a commission something satisfying to read. It's a breath of fresh air, in a subject that very few have the know how on how to do properly.

Enjoy your rewards!

Eliza

Rewards

Knowledges:
Drawing: Using a grid for perspective
Drawing: Using a sketch as a pattern
Painting: Painting in reverse
Painting: Preparing a glass surface for painting
Painting: Use of soft fine brushes on glass or other smooth surfaces
Painting: Art and painted images as framing
Wealth:
Renown:
EXP:
+10

Feedback

Understand that all criticisms are done in good faith. It would be a greater disrespect to not say anything in the face of problems. Please contact me through this account's inbox if you wish to further communicate on the matter of improvement, or if you feel as though anything is unduly harsh.

Player #2

Rewards

Knowledges:
Wealth:
Renown:
EXP:

Feedback

Understand that all criticisms are done in good faith. It would be a greater disrespect to not say anything in the face of problems. Please contact me through this account's inbox if you wish to further communicate on the matter of improvement, or if you feel as though anything is unduly harsh.

wc: 2092