Fine Art Regalia Work in Progress

Talon Crescent Wars Signs – WIP1

I by no means did all of these in one day.  They were all painted over the course of a week (February 4 through February 10, 2015), which I shared on my FaceBook page as I was painting them.  I’m just now getting around to posting them here.  Some finished photos are included here, but they are not my final photos since they were taken with a cell phone before the paint had dried to its final colors.  Most of the concept sketches were created in the week before I painted them.

These are for Talon Crescent War in the Barony of Starkhafn (Las Vegas), Kingdom of Caid, SCA.  They were hung over official event tents (mostly in the Arts and Sciences area) to help identify them when giving people directions.  Instead of directing someone to a class by telling them that they want that dragon wing tent over there, by the other dragon wing tent, we can direct them to the “Crown and Cat” tent, over there in that cluster of dragon wing tents.  The design ideas are inspired by medieval pub and inn signs, and some specific designs are closely inspired by illuminated images from medieval manuscripts.

There are a few sketches at the end that I haven’t had time to paint yet, but I will be doing those, and probably a bunch more, before next year’s war.  They are shown in the order in which I painted them.

Raven and Ring Sign Banner Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Raven and Ring Sign Banner Sketch
Raven and Ring Sign Banner Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Raven and Ring WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  After this stage it needed a lot more highlights and detail on the ring.
Summer volume of the Breviary of Renaud/Marguerite de Bar, Metz ca. 1302-1305 (Verdun, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 107, fol. 26r)
Summer volume of the Breviary of Renaud/Marguerite de Bar, Metz ca. 1302-1305 (Verdun, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 107, fol. 26r). This was the direct inspiration for one of my sign banner designs for Talon Crescent Wars.
Lion and Fiddle Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Lion and Fiddle Concept Sketch.  I altered the instrument into a fiddle because I wanted something that would be better known to modern reenactors.  I felt the original instrument would have been too obtuse to be good for easy identification, which is an important functional purpose of these banners.
Lion and Fiddle Sign Banner - WIP, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Lion and Fiddle WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I had finished all the line work and shading in black paint.
Swan and Sword - Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, sign banner design for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Concept sketch for the Swan and Sword sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars.
, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Swan and Sword sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Sleeping Dragon Sign Banner Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Sleeping Dragon Sign Banner Concept Sketch
Sleeping Dragon Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Sleeping Dragon WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  This particular banner took a great deal more time than I was expecting, so for the sake of speed I simplified the design greatly along the tail.
Fox and Barrel Sign Banner Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Fox and Barrel Sign Banner Concept Sketch
Fox and Barrel Sign Banner WIP, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Fox and Barrel WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas. At this stage I had finished the line work and shading in black.
Needle and Spindle Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Needle and Spindle Concept Sketch
Needle and Spindle Sign Banner WIP, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Needle and Spindle sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I was finished with the line work and shading in black paint.
Needle and Spindle Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Needle and Spindle sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Three Keys Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Three Keys Concept Sketch
Three Keys Sign Banner WIP, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Three Keys WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I was finished with the line work in black paint.
Three Keys Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Three Keys sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Rose and Thistle Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Rose and Thistle Concept Sketch
Rose and Thistle Sign Banner WIP1, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Rose and Thistle WIP1 sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I had only completed the calligraphy.
Rose and Thistle Sign Banner WIP2, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Rose and Thistle WIP2 sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I was finished with the black line work.  I had a lot of fun playing with line weight on this design.
Rose and Thistle Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Rose and Thistle sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Axe and Ale - Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Axe and Ale sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars.
, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Axe and Ale WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.  At this stage I had completed all the line work and shading in black.
Axe and Ale Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Axe and Ale sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Jousting Rabbit Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Jousting Rabbit Concept Sketch.  This design was heavily inspired by the illuminated militant rabbits found on the pages of various medieval manuscripts, wielding all kinds of weapons like spears, swords, and bow and arrow; fighting assorted beasties, knights, and dragons; and riding all manner  of mounts like cats, dogs, and snails.
Jousting Rabbit Sign Banner WIP1, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Jousting Rabbit WIP1 sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas. At this stage I had finished the calligraphy.
Jousting Rabbit Sign Banner WIP2, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Jousting Rabbit WIP2 sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Jousting Rabbit Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Jousting Rabbit sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Goat on a Rope Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Goat on a Rope Concept Sketch
Goat on a Rope Sign Banner WIP, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Goat on a Rope WIP sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas. At this stage I had finished with the line work and shading in black paint.
Goat on a Rope Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Goat on a Rope sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Crown and Cat - Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, sign banner design for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Crown and Cat concept sketch for sign banners for Talon Crescent Wars.
Crown and Cat Sign Banner, by Sidney Eileen, acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Crown and Cat sign banner for Talon Crescent Wars. Acrylic paint on raw cotton canvas.
Horn and Monkey Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Horn and Monkey Concept Sketch
Flaming Dragon Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Flaming Dragon Concept Sketch
Hound and Scythe Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Hound and Scythe Concept Sketch
Mouse and Cheese Concept Sketch, by Sidney Eileen, for Talon Crescent Wars, SCA.
Mouse and Cheese Concept Sketch

Project: Talon Crescent Sign Banners