There comes a time in every calligrapher’s life when he or she must write using gold calligraphy ink. This time can be a stressful one if you don’t have the right ink. Luckily, I’ve been there {done that!}, and I can lend you some guidance on the topic.
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Selling artwork and calligraphy is simultaneously one of the most satisfying and frightening things you will ever do, which is why I think it’s a subject that is worthy of examination. I realized this should be a topic of discussion when I received an email from a designer who had just added calligraphy to her line of services. In her email, she expressed trepidation at this step. She essentially asked: “How do I know if it’s good enough to sell? I am scared people will look down at me because I don’t have a long history as a professional calligrapher.”
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I love to enhance my surroundings with flowers, but bouquets come with a lot of responsibility. I never remember to replace the water in a vase! Furthermore, I’m notorious for letting my flowers get dry and wilted. For those reasons, I prefer floral illustrations, which require a little more work upfront but last indefinitely. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a detailed vintage rose illustration with the aid of several short tutorial videos.
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When it comes to art and calligraphy supplies, it’s difficult not to hoard. You never know when something will help you to add the perfect finishing touch to a future project! Still, there are some supplies that tend to just sit and collect dust while others get used all the time. In today’s post, I’d like to enumerate eight art and calligraphy supplies that I — surprisingly — use all the time. These supplies aren’t the obvious hard-hitters like pens and inks, and you may be a little taken aback by some of them!
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I have one philosophy when it comes to art and calligraphy: it should be fun. Life is too short to do things that you don’t love, so if you’re dedicating time to learning how to use a dip pen, you should enjoy it! With that in mind, I decided to develop these calligraphy drills, which are unlike any drills I’ve ever seen. I like to think of them as Sudoku for calligraphy lovers (and learners)! They offer a bit of a challenge and a big feeling of accomplishment once you’re finished. Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills: Under the Sea Edition boasts 16 pages of artistic, fun calligraphy drills with a unique marine theme!
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I want to preface this post by saying that the Brause Rose nib is probably not the most beginner-friendly calligraphy tool in the world. It’s certainly the “fairest of them all” with its embossed rose and beautiful contours, but its flex can prove difficult if you’re new to calligraphy! If you’ve been practicing for a few months and you feel up for a challenge, however, I encourage you to give the Brause Rose a go. This post includes a few tips for using it, as well as a realistic idea of what to expect!
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If you’ve been following TPK on Facebook or Instagram, you know that I’ve been drawing on black paper for the past two weeks working on my chalk-style illustration booklet/kit for Quarto Publishing. The kit will be available on Amazon and in various brick-and-mortar stores late summer of this year, but I couldn’t wait that long to write a blog post over this — actually, very fun — activity.
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This is my second calligraphy tips post {you can read the first post here}, and I’m writing it because, well, I’m always learning new tips myself. I get new ideas from readers’ questions and comments, my own trial-and-error, and aha! moments that strike me at random. Since these tips make my life easier, it’s only fair that I pass them on to you. Whether you’re a beginner or someone who has been creating calligraphy for a long time, the recommendations in this blog post should come in handy!
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For me, lists are a way of life. I rejoice at starting off my day with a neat little checklist. As the hours go by, I gleefully check off the boxes with a flourish of productive pride! And yet — there is something missing from my daily lists. For years, I haven’t sat down to make a bucket list or brainstorm anything beyond my daily tasks. That’s where Creative & Collected: An Assortment of Lifestyle Worksheets comes in. Today, we’ll talk about these new worksheets and why I appreciate having them around.
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When I first developed an interest in calligraphy, I perused a lot of calligraphy photos online. Those photos featured a recurring theme: a strange-looking pen with a “thing” sticking out of its side. After some intensive Googling, I found out that the “thing” is called a “flange”, and the pen is called an “oblique calligraphy pen”.
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