Some of the art I do is what I call amulet art. It’s art with runes included, visible or hidden, for the purpose of an amulet. Today I wanted to share with you how I create a piece of amulet art.
After deciding what purpose I want to create an amulet for, or when the contract for a commission is signed, I decide whether to use a rune symbol (bind rune or cypher rune) or a word written in runes. In cases where it’s a word or a couple of words, I also choose which futhark to use and find the right Norse words for the amulet.
I do a quick sketch on regular paper of what I have in mind, and if it’s a commissioned piece, I send this to the client for confirmation or changes.
I then sketch them up on the surface I’m using. Most of the time as a part of the imagery. For example, in the branches of a tree or the feathers of a bird. I then sketch an image that goes with that purpose. If the purpose is freedom, I might draw an eagle. If the purpose is a good harvest, I might do a field of grain.
![](https://lindaursin.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/26/files/2015/08/DSC06089-225x300.jpg)
Then I start the underpainting, getting the values down on the surface. After that, I create an initial layer of colour, to get the hues right. This layer is often rough, not detailed.
![](https://lindaursin.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/26/files/2015/08/DSC06296-225x300.jpg)
Subsequent layers get more and more detailed, both in matching colours and fine details.
![](https://lindaursin.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/26/files/2015/08/DSC06543-225x300.jpg)
The top layer is finishing it off. Making sure I have everything the way I want it.
![](https://lindaursin.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/26/files/2015/08/DSC06554.jpg)
When I have a landscape in the background, it’s often based on a local scene, from Norway, or one from where I grew up in Northern Sweden.
Here are some other examples of amulet art paintings I’ve created (I also do drawings):
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Oooh, parrots! 🙂 This is beautiful work. I’m so glad you shared it with us.
Thanks Mary 🙂 It was a commissioned piece, so it’s hanging on a wall in the US
That blue looks like a piece of the sky before it turns into a parrot.
Thanks Caroline 🙂