Three Zoomorphic Drawings
Incredible Birds and Dogs The Medieval monastery artists were ahead of their time. In this Post I have added three Zoomorph images that show the interlace style and imaginative design…
Tree of Life
Sacred Tree Icon I have been thinking about the Tree of Life motif and how it has travelled through the centuries in cultures and artforms. The motif appears in folklore,…
Celtic Warrior
This strange and incredible drawing is from the Book of Kells. The warrior has huge hair and a dark beard and holds a spear and shield. I am not sure…
What is Celtic Art?
A background to the rise of Celtic art and history in Europe. My journey of discovery as an artist to an ancient world.
Pagan and Christian Collaboration
In Medieval times the Christian church adopted the pagan people into their practice to teach them about the life of Christ. The Irish traditional arts found a new outlet in…
Viking Beasts
In this post I have added two Viking beast design details. From these simple drawings the different Viking styles reveal that the secular style in the Book of Kells was…
Ancient Artists with Modern Vision
Squatting Man from the Book of Kells Pagan laws forbade the copying of the work of the Creator and new abstracted figures were invented. The legs, arms, body, hair and…
Symbols of Christ from the Book of Kells
This little motif shows three picture symbols and one abbreviation used to represent Christ in the Book of Kells
The Eagle and St John
Tricks and Devices in the Eagle Drawing The Book of Kells lets us in on many artist tricks and devices. The monks have flattened this image of the eagle as…
Animal Letters
In this Post I have added some decorated animal letters from the Book of Kells that were created by the monks. These designs are loved and kept alive because they…
How the Monks Wrote with the Animals
Animal Letters from the Book of Kells The monks wrote with the animals by entangling and interlacing animals and body parts around letters in the Book of Kells. Sometimes as…
Finfolk Man
Wisdom of the Celts This is a drawing taken from the Book of Kells of the Finfolk Man from Celtic mythology. I found the Finfolk Man in George Bain's book…
The Old Gardener
A Tetramorph From the Trier Gospels This old gardener from an illuminated manuscript holds a flower and a knife. The image from c720 AD is signed by the artist scribe…