Illumination

Gilding & decorative painting

Sample of my work for the IAMPETH Illumination and Border proficiency test 2025
A two-day in-person workshop
Saturday & Sunday, April 25 − 26, 2026
Time: 10 AM to 4:00 PM PDT
San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco

Cost: $300 includes supplies
Sign up now!

We will be learning the art of gilding (applying gold) and decorative painting by copying medieval samples. These finely-detailed medieval illuminations allow us to practice multiple skills: raised gilding, flat gilding, color washes, highlighting, outlining, and more.

We will be using modern gilding size (glue), paints, and paper. Modern materials are not just time saving and easier to source but also less dangerous, which enables you to easily transfer these medieval skills to your modern artwork. Medieval materials and differences will be discussed for those who want to delve deeper into history.

Projects that will be completed in class. Two medieval D copies and a sample card of types of gilding done with instacoll