Illuminated letter

How to paint the Celtic Initial letter U using traditional techniques, by Margaret Morgan

Paint the letter U in traditional Celtic style, with Margaret Morgan

The earliest flowering of illuminated manuscripts in the West began in Ireland in the seventh century, when the monks of St. Columba wrote out and decorated service books for their own use. As missionaries, they also used these books on their travels to spread the word of God to the pagan areas of Britain and Europe, where they founded monastic settlements. The decorative style they developed incorporated elements of Celtic, Germanic, Antique and early Christian art. It is known as Insular, which reflects the close cultural relationship of Ireland and Britain at that time.

The Book of Kells and The Lindisfarne Gospels are the most outstanding examples of this period, although the styles of illumination in the two books have distinct differences. The decoration has many similarities with stone carving, jewellery and other metalwork of the period, using richly stylised patterns that incorporate animals and birds.

The Lindisfarne Gospels (which have been used as the basis of the letter U that follows) are thought to have been made around 715-720 by one artistscribe working in the island monastery of Lindisfarne in the northeast of England. The opening pages of each gospel are a well-ordered mixture of colour and complex pattern, both within and around the letters. The letterforms fall into two categories: one is a form of the Insular half uncial hand used to write the text, the second is composed of angular capitals. Both types have been compressed into tall, narrow shapes to suit the design of the page. The changes of size and the degree of decoration of letters down the page are reminiscent of banner headlines and subheadings in a newspaper.

Celtic letter U

The bright yellow pigment, orpiment (yellow arsenic sulfide), was most often used in Insular-style manuscripts of the period. It gave off a gold-like glow due to the proximity of other rich colours used around it. Here, an imitation gold gouache is used, which can be polished to a soft sheen. Note that the colours are thin washes, rather than thick and flat.

Step 1

Trace the outline of the letter onto the tracing paper using an HB pencil.

Step 2

Transfer the design to the watercolour paper, using either a 4B pencil over the back of the drawing or light box.

Step 3

Use a fine nib and dilute waterproof ink to outline the knotwork areas in the central space and in the letter itself.

Step 4

Carefully remove any visible pencil marks in the knotwork areas with a piece of kneaded eraser.

Step 5

Mix Vandyke brown and lamp black gouache (approximately 1:3) and fill in the spaces of the interlaced pattern in the body of the letter using a No. 00 sable brush.

Step 6

Use the same size brush to paint in the letter shape and the centre of the knot with a reasonably thick mixture of gold gouache to give an even coverage. Start with small blobs of paint and tease out to the edges and corners.

Step 7

When the paint is quite dry, burnish it gently through glassine to smooth any unevenness.

Step 8

Mix lemon yellow + permanent green deep + a little zinc white to give a soft green wash. Use this to fill in the birds’ heads.

Step 9

Next, add the remaining details of the knotwork in a dark red wash (alizarin crimson + a little scarlet lake).

Step 10

With the brown/black paint mixture used in Step 5, use a No. 00 or 000 sable brush to paint the outline of the letter, the interlacing and the birds’ heads in the central space.

Step 11

Finally, add red (scarlet lake) dots with the fine synthetic brush, keeping the pressure even. Fill in the dots in the centre first then add two rows all around the outside of the letter. Try to keep the dots small. You can tidy up mistakes with permanent white gouache.

Step 12 The finished letter

Outlining the interlacing with dilute waterproof ink at Step 3 should have enabled you to lay the coloured washes and still see the pattern clearly enough to paint the knotwork in brown/black gouache at Step 10.

This tutorial was adapted from The Bible of Illuminated Letters: A Treasury of Decorative Calligraphy by Margaret Morgan (Search Press 2021). With over 250 pages, Margaret Morgan’s new book offers a visually rich, fascinating and practical exploration of the art of illuminated letters, using inspiration from Celtic, Ottonian, Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance traditions. Save money when you buy from our online bookshop at PaintersOnline. See page 68 for details.