As early as the 24 th century BC, dried animal skin known as parchment has been used to create ancient
Egyptian scrolls, Biblical books, and famous documents. Parchment is also the revered material that makes up the
bulk of the beautiful and highly protected historic Illuminated Medieval Manuscripts. Parchment is a papyrus or
paper substitute using animal skin as the medium instead of plant fibers. Parchment also differs from leather and
tanned hide by the way in which it is chemically altered, treated and then dried under tension. Once modern paper
came around, the use for parchment began to dwindle.
Parchment is extremely rare to find today, due to the extensive nature of how it is made and its declining
use in modern-day. It is even more extraordinary to find someone who is willing to keep this lost art alive and
transform it into breathtaking works of art.
Brittany Sibley is a Texas based, western and southwestern emerging artist specializing in transforming
deer skin into parchment. After harvesting a fresh deer skin, she then soaks the skin in a solution that cures the
skin. The skin is then cleared of its fur, fleshed, then dried under tension. Once the skin has completely dried out, it
is now parchment and ready to be painted on. Sibley paints colorful images of buffalo, bear, longhorns and other
southwestern animals as well as mountains and landscapes of the southwest regions.
“For people to truly value and see the importance of my artwork, they have to understand the history and
preservation of a lost art.” -Sibley
After creating these wonderful paintings on her handmade parchments, she then had to think about how
she was going to present them in a classy and eloquent way. She finally came to the idea of tacking them with
shiny brass upholstery nails to a padded faux leather backing after envisioning her art in suave cigar lounges and
swanky western hotels. Once the parchment is secured to the backing, the final step is to put a lovely frame
around it and it’s ready for a new home.
How did she even come about this endeavor you ask? It was a bet! While in college at Texas Tech
University, she took a Medieval Manuscripts class as a part of her Bachelor in Fine Arts. One day in class, the
professor mentioned how she wished she could obtain some real parchment for the class to be able to see and
feel. After class, she went up to the professor and said, “I’ll bet you that if I can make parchment out of deer skin,
then I don’t have to take the final exam!” The professor said, “Okay bet!” and it was on. Sibley went home to her
tiny studio apartment and did hours and hours of research late into the night. There was really no clear
instructions or specific way of making parchment since it wasn’t a practiced method, but she made due with what
little research she could find. The annual hunting season had just opened up, so Sibley made arrangements with
her dad to pick up a skin. She began the process of curing and cleaning, while recording videos and doing live
demonstrations for the class and professor to see her progress. She built a wooden frame and used wires to flesh
and dry the skin under tension. Unfortunately, the week before she was ready to present the skin, it was stolen.
She went to the professor the next day in tears that all her hard work had been taken from her and in fear that the
professor would fail her. Thankfully the professor was forgiving, as she smiled at her and reassured her everything
would be okay.
For years after that, Sibley would often think about that parchment skin and wonder what she could do if
she had another. By some coaxing and encouragement from her dad, she decided to try again, and in January
2021, she completed and painted on her first deerskin parchment. She enjoyed the process and results so much,
that she decided to do several more, and bring together an artform that is new. She is now putting together her
business of creating southwestern parchment paintings for those who seek new forms of art.
“Another great aspect of my art is that you can customize your own parchment!” -Sibley
All of the ranchers and hunting enthusiasts that already have the head mount or shoulder mount or
tanned hide, now have a new option. Every hunter always has that one monster deer that you never want to
forget, and now you can have that animal of your dreams immortalized as a painting. Sibley can even transform
the very skin of that animal to parchment and then paint said animal on the parchment if you so wish it. Each
parchment painting is guaranteed to be 100% original and will never be duplicated or printed.