Hidden Fore-Edge Book Painting, Tolkien's Beowulf



I am excited to share that I have completed my first hidden fore-edge book painting. The chosen book, Tolkien's Beowulf, needed a bit of work since it originally came with a damaged dust jacket. After sewing a new fabric cover for it some time ago, I couldn't resist the urge to paint and gild it.


Fore-edge painting requires careful planning, as there's little room for error. While I may create a step-by-step guide with pictures in the future, for now, I’ll just share some helpful tips.

Painting Tips: First, ensure the edges of your book are sanded smooth and free of any dust. Using a book press or clamps, you can gently fan out the pages and secure them firmly in place. Then you can lightly pencil out your design. Keep in mind that erasing pencil marks on a book's fore-edge can be difficult, so it's crucial to have your design already planned out and measured. When it comes to painting the fore-edge, pens and markers that won't bleed into the paper are great choices. However, book pages tend to be thin and absorb quickly so I would be wary of any felt tipped art markers. Historically, watercolors are the method of choice. You just have to make the paint a little more concentrated, keep your brush a little drier, and spread the paint quickly with perpendicular strokes to prevent over-saturation. Personally, I use highly pigmented watercolor pencils. By applying the dry pencils into dry paper and then blending with a wet watercolor brush, I find I have greater control, and the pages don't become overly wet or stick together. Lastly, it's best to avoid watercolor paint with sparkle, glitter, or mica, as they will just flake off over time.

Gilding Tips: Again, this isn’t a step by step guide, just some things I’ve learned. First, manage your expectations. If you’re like me you don’t have a $2,000 gilding machine or even the $300 heated edge gilding roller, so getting a mirror edge finish is not guaranteed. And like me you are probably not using gold leaf and all the specialized tools that tradesmen have in their workshops. Nevertheless, you can still achieve a beautiful gilded edge that stands the test of time, provided you properly sand the book edges. If you look at my video you’ll see my gilding job wasn’t perfect because I didn’t sand enough before painting. Once it was painted, I couldn’t exactly go back and sand more so I shrugged and soldiered on. If you want a gilded edge that lasts for more than a few days or weeks, using an adhesive on the book edges is a must. Any DIY video or blog that doesn't include some form of adhesive should be disregarded entirely. I watched an online video where they achieved an impressive mirror edge finish but claimed that adhesive was unnecessary. What they failed to disclose was that the gold would eventually flake away over time (just check the disappointed comments). My gilded edge might look positively medieval but I can guarantee it’s not coming off.

Overall, I am really happy with the results of my hidden fore-edge book painting. I look forward to creating more paintings and exploring various gilding methods in the future.

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