De Zeven Provinciën 1665 by Dražen - Scale 1:45

[7 Provinces]

Very nice work indeed. And I agree on the spelling. 

The other spelling versions could easily have been interpreted (by non-dutch native speakers) from etches where in fact the writing was not so clear...

 

Keep up the good work!

[Drazen]

Yes, it is really difficult to 100% say what had been written on it out of paintings/sketches. I can read different wordings, so one shall stick to the old Dutch.

 

But... let's see what do you think on this topic: the colour of the letters.

Dik says in his book: "ongetvijfeld goud". (Dik, page 100, end of the text).

If I look at the painting by abraham Storck ("Flotte Hollandaise") or Jacobus Knijff ("De Zeven Provincien en andere Schepen")  - it is not clear who did this painting but it shall be relevant…

 

WHICH COLOUR DO YOU SEE ON THE LETTERS “DE - 7 – PROVINCIEN”?

I see blue, but am happy to hear other opinions and/or get some other source of information.

Long time I thought to go for “gold” letters. But, … they would not have been seen well on the nearly white banner. And… they have been clearly painted and very well to read on the old paintings.

 

Dražen

 

[AON]

Blue letters on white ribbon.

Ribbon has gold trim.

This combination looks very very good!

The carver's wife must have picked them out.

[Drazen]

Hi Alan,

 

Definitely a beautiful combination! It would look excellent.

Just, my main drive is to make it as historically right as possible. Is there any evidence on this combination? This would be of great importance to me.

 

Dražen

[druxey]

I see dark blue lettering on a paler blue ground with lighter blue highlights on the ribbon to give a 3D effect. It is not white, which is seen on the underwater coating across the flat stern.

[AON]

I am looking at the image posted above and I see blue letters on a white background with gold trim... but my left eye is not all it should be and my right eye compensates so possibly the white is a pale blue?  In my opinion the pale blue seems an odd background if the lettering was meant to be clear from a distance, but I am no expert.

I should ask my wife.   😉

[Hubac's Historian]

44 minutes ago, druxey said:

I see dark blue lettering on a paler blue ground with lighter blue highlights on the ribbon to give a 3D effect. It is not white, which is seen on the underwater coating across the flat stern.

This is also what I see.

[Drazen]

Thank you. I mostly agree with your observations.

 

Just to mention one issue which may be of relevance and I was thinking about it: The banner/ribbon is installed under a degree of approx. 45° towards the water, and it may reflect a certain blue shade from the water (if it is a sunny day - and it is on the painting; The ship stands directly under the sun although the ribbon itself is in the shadow). On the other hand, this is the Dutch see, which is mostly greenish, so I do not believe there is much influence by water towards "blue".

 

The other very valuable observation (thank you druxey!!) is the comparison to the underwater colour. We know 100% for sure the underwater shade ("white" with just slight yellowish/ochre shade). This "right-white" of the underwater can be seen very well and in its' real shade - without any significant influence by the surrounding.

I think, if nothing else comes up, the colours are clear to me. The "gold" trim/edge, I cannot recognize, at least not out of this painting. But, I have still some days till I start with painting this part.

 

Dražen

[druxey]

Drazen: Your observation that perhaps the color of reflected light off the water might influence the apparent color of the ribbon is good. However, I don't think that the color cast would be that significant in this case, especially, as you note, the water isn't blue!

[AON]

So I had the boss look at it with me.

 

She says it is blue lettering on a light blue background but noticed one upper part of the bend on the right is pure white background.

 

I asked if the light blue could be the ribbon in the shadow of the transom.

She didn't think so but then how do you explain the splash of white?

She does not see the gold trim whereas I still do.

[Drazen]

Alan, you brought a new perspective!

There is quite some truth in your thoughts. I'll try to "investigate" further: On the right, where the first/lower wale ends and right above it, there is a small sculpture which shall be white (on the painting, it is of the same colour as the ribbon - light blue).

I attached here the photo of the model made by Artitec. This model shall be quite relevant. There is this same white sculpture on this model, which is of the same colour as the parts of the sculpture above - near the lion (beard, hair, lower part...). On the painting, this upper sculpture has clearly white parts and the lower sculpture is of the same colour as the ribbon.

This brings me to the conclusion that the lower white sculpture on the painting is light blue due to the shadow - same as the ribbon.

Again, the part of the ribbon, which is not in the shadow, is more white. Very interesting!

 

The ribbon is on this Artitec model pale white too, but I was challenging this choice due to the light blue on the painting and the light blue on the model 1:10 in the shipyard Lelystad (I have attached also a photo of this model).

 

I think something like white with some shades of light blue would make sense.

 

Dražen

[druxey]

The 'splash of white', as I interpret it, is either a painted highlight or, as in the model, a reflection form a glossy surface. In the first instance, I'd still make it pale blue, as pure white will optically 'jump' too much with high contrast at scale size. Whether I'm right or wrong doesn't matter; it has to please you, Drazen!

[Piet]

The banner and letter carving is exceptional Drazen. Yes, high quality oil paints are expensive.  For all my oil paint canvasses I have used Grumbacher.  For painting on parts at this scale with oil based paints you may want to use the glazing method. Don't thin the paint with oil though, maybe a very small amount but use a natural thinner like turpentine or, to speed the drying time, use a modern fast drying thinner.  This way you can layer the paint faster without it looking "globby."

Experimentation is your best guide in how to approach it to give the best results.

 

Cheers,

[zappto]

Your very creative, i like all carvings, it will give alive look!

[Drazen]

Next, two small windows below the banner...

The door grip is a mistake in the plan/drawing and can be seen only from the inside.

 

Drazen

[Drazen]

I prepared the wood for the frame of the window...

I first thinned the wood as much as I could (0.7mm) and cut it on the small circular saw in very thin stripes (0,5mm).

Than, I bent it on the steam and turned around a 3mm drill. With this, I got the upper round part of the frame.

 

Drazen

[Drazen]

Than, I made the window itself.

The window is made of two parts. In order to keep the rounding nice, a good symmetry of two wood-parts and same dimensions for both windows, I used a trick and inserted a rod between the two wood parts on both windows. This rod I also used for positioning when grinding - in order to get a nice round upper part of the door.

 

Drazen

[Drazen]

... here the frame and window are ready.

 

Drazen

[AON]

Nicely done!  

[Drazen]

Making the fittings...

They are made of 0.1mm brass sheet and are 0,6mm wide. The nails are made out of 0.3mm brass wire. The procedure of making the nails, I will explain later, when I show the whole procedure of making the rudder.

 

Drazen

[Drazen]

Done. Under high magnification, it looks a little coarse, but it is a very tiny part.

 

Drazen

[Hubac's Historian]

Hello Drazen,

 

Fantastic small work on the doors.  By the “door grip,” do you mean the strop hinges?  Are the doors intended to open inward or outward?

Edited May 5, 2018 by Hubac'sHistorian

[Drazen]

No, the hinges I have made. I mean the locking system for the window - like the door handle/knob. On the plan, it has been shown, but is only from the inside.

The small window is opening to the outside. This can be seen often on Van de Velde drawings as well as that there is no door grip from outside.

 

Drazen

[Hubac's Historian]

Makes perfect sense - thanks, Drazen 

[Piet]

Very nice work Drazen and even under magnification they look great.

 

Cheers,

[Drazen]

Several things have been done in the last weeks and months:

• ·         The “wulf” (sorry, I do not know the English word for this part) is ready;

• ·         The ribbon painted and fixed on the “wulf”;

• ·         The rudder fittings and the whole rudder made, painted and fixed on the ship.

Dražen

[Drazen]

Let us start with the wulf…

 

Since the paint was most probably black and it shall be a pale black, I use the Royal Talens Rembrandt Van Dijckbruin (Vandyke Brown) oil paint. One could go for a deep purple-Black version as the model 1:10 in Lelystad does, but I liked this tone much more – it is just my personal preference. Pure black would be too “new” for some tastes.

The wulf planks have been nailed, but due to the very dark paint, it would not bee seen if I went for tiny nails below the paint. Well, I wanted to show the nailing below the paint and did very shallow holes. Covered with the paint, they look nice and simulate the nailing of the planks.

 

Dražen

[Drazen]

The ribbon (banner)…

 

 

In my previous postings, you can see the carving procedure of the ribbon. Now, it is “only” needed to be painted.

 

There were several tricks how to get nice/clean painting:

• Separated painting of the ribbon and the letters
• Ribbon in pale white (a sort of very light grey – something like Humbrol 28; it still looks very white on the ship) with shades of light blue to simulate depths/shadows. We are not sure if the shades have been done on the real ship although the model in Lelystad shows it too. I went for white ribbon and not light blue as the model in Lelystad has. My discussions with experts and references show me this could be most probable the right solution.
• Letters glued on double sticky tape and painted separately. I went for a mid-to-darker blue paint (Schmincke Mussini Kobaltblauton / cobalt blue hue oil paint), which showed beatutifully on the white gesso beneath.
• After painting the ribbon, I needed to “free” the gluing place for the letters in order to get a solid bond (glued with epoxy resin).

 

 

Dražen

Edited September 16, 2018 by Drazen

[Drazen]

Before carving the ribbon has been bent on the steam in order to follow form of the wulf. Still, I needed to check the fit and also towards the small windows.

 

Dražen

[Drazen]

Also, after the painting, again: the fit-check.

 

Dražen