Still more gilding today, finally completing this part of the project and giving us valuable experience. Having gilded so many panels we have learned what not to do next time. Sadly, because we have to be consistent we have had to continue with the methods we began with. In future I will be more cautious with the leaf, waiting for a little longer before applying it to the size. We found that if we applied it too soon it wouldn’t adhere properly, so painting the size onto fewer panels was better, enabling us to gild the entire area of panels before the glue went off. We found that using plenty of water was best when mopping the gold down onto the size, as it helped lubricate the brush and prevent it catching and dragging the leaf from the panel surface.
Next, paint the rest of the birds.
