Paint

Painting shields is like ketchup and fries. You can have them plain, but together they are more satisfying. The shield seen in the earlier article complete, I played with different paints on the face. I started with tempera, which is made with pigment and the liquid from the yolk of an egg.

When making the paint I open the egg, separate the white and yolk. Then I lay the yolk on a paper towel or rag. I pierce the sac and drain the yellow liquid from it into the bowl. I add enough pigment, then thoroughly mix the paint. I do it one egg at a time.

All the white I collect from the eggs I save in a separate container. I whip these into a stiff foam. I let the liquid drip down to the bottom of the bowl. Overnight is good. I save this liquid in a small jar. It is called glair, and makes a good adhesive or paint.

I painted the shield with red tempera and it was beautiful. I coated the paint with glair to waterproof it, and found that sometimes, glair can be too strong an adhesive. It caused the tempera beneath to crack and peel.

The glair I mixed with white pigment to make stripes did not crack or peel. I scraped the tempera off with a putty knife. I went back over it with distemper, which is hide glue with pigment added.

I found the distemper peeled too, and so I have been slowly peeling it for the past few weeks. Humidity has something to do with it I believe. I would probably use glair alone if I had it to do all over. Which I will, as I got the board for another man sized shield and three small shields for the children.

So the story is there for awhile. I am going to mix some paint of boiled linseed oil, and go back over the red field. I have been doing a lot of work for other people lately. Soon I will make time to put paint on it and help my daughter assemble a new shield for herself. Playing with different formula of paint is a lot of fun. It can be frustrating when things do not go your way. Learning and overcoming problems adds to the satisfaction of the work. When I get stuck with obstacles I stop, and think. Genghis Khan said, “Any action commited in anger is doomed to failure.”

It can be tempting to become angry, and to storm and rage. Mastering this impulse, and choosing the next course of action is of benefit in more than one way. It is like exercising the will, as a muscle, it gets stronger.

My wife made curried lamb for me. It helped cheer me up. I hope you do not mind me sharing it with you. I will ask her to share the recipe with y’all, after she has the new baby. Also off the topic of shields, Alexandrea is about to birth a new life into the world.

I refined an old quickly made boss a bit, made a more conical shape and planished it. I got as far as sanding and will polish it next. You will get another article from me about that. I have material to make more bosses and a helm for myself.

That will have to wait. I am writing to you from the cellphone again. It has been awhile since I have written. I keep up writing to y’all as best I can. Thank you for being patient. I love writing to you my dear reader. I have noticed some new additions to the audience. Welcome! Velkommen! I am honored that you have given your time in order to read my words. For now though, I must say,

Fare well, wherever you fare.

Regards,

Wulf