Gospels of Gladzor: Brenna's Pelican

I believe this was my first attempt at a page from the Gopsels of Gladzor (Armenian, pre 1307). Although it is incredibly intricate, I fell in love with the geometrics and the patience required to render this page in my own hand.

The pelican in the top center replaced some style element I cannot recall. The rest of the page is quite true to the form of the original, colors and whitework included.

In this piece I especially liked the sweeping curves found at the top of the page. Circles appeal to me, I guess. If I remember correctly, this page was reproduces at about an 8x10 size.

I have produced three pages from this book and have found that I need some time between each one to forget the amount of work required by the previous piece. Although beautiful, these pieces are heavily time intensive and often leave me questioning my sanity.

However, when I look back at them, they are some of my favorites... as long as I don't think too much about my cramped and clawed hand.