Archive
Hanna Woodring
Roger Phillips
Photographing Miniature Paintings
Roger and Carmela Arturi Phillips
Edward Dyas
Enamel Portrait Miniatures: The Techniques
Gillie Hoyte Byrom
Marion Winter
Materials for Painting Miniatures
Marion Winter
The Secret About Miniature Art
Carol Rosinki
Marion Winter
Painting a Portrait Miniature: Punting on the Cam
Rosemary Bentley
Enamel Portrait Miniatures
“The Techniques”
By Gillie Hoyte Byrom
Enamelling is the art of fusing glass to metal. Gillie finds this medium both challenging and fascinating involving an exacting combination of art, chemistry and risk.
Each portrait has been fired in a kiln at 750°C about a dozen times and undergoes a dramatic colour change which reverts as the enamel cools.
Shape marked out for cutting.
Shaping the metal to counteract stresses of heating.
Applying ground enamel to the clean copper to make the base.
A line drawing is transferred by tracing over white carbon paper and replacing with enamel.
Second of seven firings in the hand painting process.
Applying gold.
The Finished Piece
Detail of the ruff.
The Presidential Medal for The Hilliard Society of Miniaturists.
© Gillie Hoyte Byrom
Just coming off the press:
The Practice of Painting in Enamel
By Gillie Hoyte Byrom
It is the first time in the 400 year history of vitreous enamel painting that a book has been written which fully describes the techniques and it has received some excellent reviews already.