St. Gobnait was an Irish abbess of the sixth century. She founded her abbey on a spot revealed to her by the miraculous presence of nine white deer. She is the patron saint of beekeeping; the bees kept by her nuns once saved the abbey by attacking a band of marauders. I included nine white deer, four honeybees and a hive in this drawing.
I drew mostly in the style of early medieval Gospel manuscripts from Ireland. I also borrowed some details from Harry Clarke’s depictons of this saint. The idea of placing the cats within the capital letter I got from Utagawa Kuniyoshi, a Japanese artist who used cats to spell out words in a series of ukiyo-e.
Medium: Drawing, color ink on calfskin vellum with gold and palladium leaf
Dimensions: 4" × 5 1/3"
Year: 2015
The original drawing was made on private commission.
Open-edition giclée prints of this drawing are available. You may use the buttons below to pay via PayPal, debit card, or credit card. Be sure to confirm the shipping address.
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Actual size art print: $20
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8" × 11" large print: $40
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200dpi digital download: $4
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See this page for additional ordering instructions and general information. If you want to pay via a check or money order, please e-mail me at danielmitsui@danielmitsui.com.
