As I wanted to create something that felt traditional and suited the aesthetic of the Whitelocks brand, I decided to use some circular glass and have a go at gilding. I watched a variety of gilding tutorials online and then created a test piece at home over Christmas to see if I was cut out for it..
Applying the gold size to the areas...
Attaching the gold leaf...
Burnishing the leaf to clean up the mess and blend the layers...
Adding a second layer of size and leaf to cover up any imperfections or holes..
Then burnishing and neatening up the edges..
I then used black enamel to pain the shadows..
Et voila!!
The Final Result:
After producing this test piece, I realised it was going to be quite a time consuming practical, due to all the drying time. But the process itself wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be, and I'm really impressed with my first ever gild, even though a few things went wrong - for example the gold size puddled in some areas as I brushed it on a bit too thick, and you can see this in the gold.
I then looked back at all the photos that I took whilst at Whitelocks and had a little scan around their website to inspire myself for the sign I was going to design. I took the quote "the very heart of Leeds" from the website, as it was written on a plaque about the pub, and I thought it would suit the commemorative sign.
The Whitelocks typography was inspired by the golden typography that they have hanging across the alleyway by the pub:
This was also inspiration for designing the type on an angle, however when I finished the product, I seemed to prefer how it looked from straight on, rather than at a jaunty angle.
I started by hand painting all the letters onto the sign using one shot black enamel paint..
As I had a few puddling issues with my ampersand gild, I tried covering more of the area with gold size this time, as it's quite easy to clean off due to being water based. This caused quite a sticky mess (which I later found out via a conversation with a gilder on Instagram, that I should of used gelatine capsules dissolved in boiling water - a method known as water gilding, as they leave no mess and is just about sticky enough for the gold leaf to attach to - this method also creates a shiny finish!!! DAMN! Oh well, it's a learning curve).
I then painted the gold size by hand onto the glass for the flourishes, as I wanted this to be more precise and I didn't want another sticky mess!
The silver leaf was then applied to the size..
And then to create the flourishes at the bottom..
When I was finished with creating my sign, I took it down to Whitelocks, as I had emailed Dave (the manager) and he was happy for me to bring it down and photograph it inside the pub before opening hours. I was really pleased with the final outcome, although it's not perfect, but I feel as though the imperfections only add to the personality and hand-rendered feel. I also wanted to challenge myself by using a serif typeface, as I have found that this is my weakness, and if I want to pursue sign writing later in life, then I need to get better at this!
Whilst at Whitelocks, Dave was really impressed with what I created and has even offered to use the sign that I created during their 300th anniversary events!!
Here are the pics of the sign in Whitelocks...
I felt as though my sign suited the pub perfectly - the entire entire is lined with reflective materials, such as mirrors, glass and bronze metalwork. It was quite hard to take perfect photos of the work in there, as I was constantly capturing myself or others in the reflections, and it was sometimes difficult to photograph the entire design against all the busy backdrops, but I really loved the interior and how it complemented my signage.
Luckily, Dave has allowed me to go back whenever I want for further photos, as I didn't have enough time to hire out a camera from uni, so I'm planning on going back for better portfolio photos.
