While working on the Trinity collage, I regretted not having used this style of lettering in such a long time. So I made a small drawing of St. Patrick in the style of the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells, with two zoomorphic knots and a gold leaf background. 3 1/2" x 4 1/2". Original for sale: $175

I was recently interviewed by Rev. Mr. Lawrence Klimecki for his Gryphon Rampant website. The complete interview can be read here. An excerpt:

LK: Tell us some more about your work.

DM: The majority of my work is done in black ink on Bristol board. Mostly I draw with artists' pens, the ones with the finest tips available (size 005). My other basic tools are a pencil and a pencil sharpener, a ruler, and a kneaded rubber eraser. I sometimes use brushes and india ink for coloring in black spaces, and metal-tipped calligraphers' pens for lettering.

I start by outlining frames and borders with a ruler and compass. In this I attempt to imitate the method mediaeval craftsmen used to create harmonic proportions, deriving the lengths and widths from a sequence of squares whose areas diminish in geometrical progression.

I draw the difficult parts (such as human figures) with pencil, then correct and ink them. Most of the ornamental patterns I can draw freehand in ink, without pencilling them beforehand. One of my peculiarities is that I seldom, almost never, make draft sketches on separate pieces of paper. I prefer to work on the final piece of paper from the start. When I make mistakes in ink, I use hard erasers to rub them out or knives to scrape them away.

When I work in color, I use various combinations and dilutions of calligraphers' inks, applied with fine watercolor brushes. I use gold leaf for certain details. Sometimes I work on animal-skin parchment instead of paper; this yields a more precise drawing because there is so little bleed. I have been using goatskin, although I will probably switch to calfskin soon because the surface is smoother and doesn't ruin my pens as easily.

LK: We have a rich tradition of Catholic art to draw upon, how much of this plays a role in your work?

DM: Foremost, I want to uphold the principle of iconography, which was stated by the fathers of the Second Nicene Council: The composition of religious imagery is not left to the initative of artists, but is formed upon principles laid down by the Catholic Church and by religious tradition... The execution alone belongs to the painter, the selection and arrangement of subject belongs to the Fathers.

I am most strongly influenced by the art of the high to late middle ages, usually called Gothic; it is there that I see the principle of iconography expressed most perfectly in the western Church, ordered to her liturgy and theology. I refer most often to illuminated books from this era, as well as incunabula, stained glass windows, tapestries, panel paintings and works in metal for guidance in composing my drawings. I usually eschew linear perspective and Renaissance-style figurativism.

Gothic art contains within it all the best ideas of the traditions that preceded and influenced it, without suffering the influences that diminish the art of later eras. I believe that Gothic art ought to hold the same place in Roman Catholic art that Gregorian Chant holds in Roman Catholic music and the Thomism holds in Roman Catholic thought: a standard of excellence against which all other sacred art should be measured.

That does not mean that I see no value in religious art from other eras; in practice, I receive plenty of commissions for drawings of subjects or ideas that were never depicted in Gothic art. When that happens, I am happy to refer to Byzantine or Baroque or Japanese or any of a thousand other styles of art. But my guiding aesthetic is still high to late mediaeval.

In matter of ornament, which I think the fathers of Nicaea II would have considered part of the execution belonging to the painter, I am much more willing to depart from mediaeval precedents; any kind of intricate pattern interests me, and I am especially fond of Celtic knotwork and microbiological forms. I have joked at times that, were my real name lost to history, I would want to be known as the Master of the Mitochondria. These have become such a signature decorative motif for me that I sometimes draw a mitochondrion in place of a written signature.

Limited-edition giclée art prints on heavy rag paper are available of the following works. Click on the thumbnails below for more information about each drawing, or here for more information about limited-edition prints in general.


Annunciation
Image size: 6" x 8"
Paper size: 8" x 10"
Limited edition (1-100) signed giclee art print
$96 + shipping


Crucifixion
Image size: 8" x 11"
Paper size: 9" x 12"
Limited edition (1-100) signed giclee art print
$120 + shipping


St. Michael
Image size: 5.5" x 8.5"
Paper size: 8" x 10"
Limited edition (1-30) signed giclee art print
$96 + shipping


St. Columba of Iona
Image size: 8 1/2" x 11 1/9"
Paper size: 9" x 12"
Limited edition (1-6) signed giclee art print
$120 + shipping


Tree of Life and Death
Image size: 5 1/4" x 7"
Paper size: 8" x 10"
Limited edition (1-50) signed giclee art print
$96 + shipping

Tree of Jesse
Card size: 5" x 7"
Blank inside
$1 per card + shipping
Envelopes included
Minimum order of 10


Annunciation to the Shepherds
Card size: 4" x 5"
Blank inside
$1 per card + shipping
Envelopes included

See this page for more information.

Olives


Critters


Maze

Size of printed bookplates: 3" x 4"
Digital prints on white acid-free paper
50 cents each + shipping

See this page for more information.