A couple of years ago, a calligraphy enthusiast named Rodger Mayeda sent me an oblique calligraphy pen prototype he’d made just for fun in his New Mexico workshop. When I received it, I immediately fell in love with its smart simplicity! It had this wonderful, sleek design, and felt “just right” in my hand. I’d never used anything like it, and I saw my calligraphy improve almost immediately! I believe I owe the improvement to the practical design of the pen and the fact that I was more motivated to practice with the artisan pen than I had been with my plastic Speedball oblique. I begged Rodger to make his pens available for purchase, which culminated in the development of Rodger’s Pen Box (RPB) on Etsy. RPB is now so popular that Rodger generally sells out of pens the first day of every month!
I’ve written about Rodger’s oblique pens before, so I won’t ask you to sit here and read my ramblings on the topic again! Suffice it to say that Rodger’s pens are my favorite, and, in particular, I love my Bolivian Rosewood pen that is custom-fitted for a Brause EF66 nib. You can see in the Kaitlin Style envelope calligraphy below that the EF66 facilitates thick, luscious downstrokes and delightfully thin upstrokes!
Today, I am very pleased to announce that — though Rodger’s Pen Box is closed for the holiday season — I have managed to get my hands on a Bolivian Rosewood Pen to give away here on the TPK blog! (Really, I just asked Rodger nicely, and the pen appeared at my doorstep … he’s wonderful!) The giveaway pen is fitted for a Brause EF66 nib, so of course I will be providing two nibs as well as the pen for the winner.
Rodger’s design has evolved over the past couple of years, as you can see in the photo below. The pen on the right is my EF66 oblique calligraphy pen, and the pen on the left is the one that could end up on your desk! You may notice that the new pen has a slightly longer, slender design with a pronounced hourglass grip and a smaller, neater flange. Overall, the design helps to guide your grip, and ensures your calligraphy experience is comfortable and enjoyable.
You can use your EF66 oblique calligraphy pen for pretty much everything, even illustration! In the painting below, I used the watercolor calligraphy technique to draw stems on the poppies. I love using oblique calligraphy pens when I am creating illustrations because I feel that the holder helps to keep my hand out of the way. Because the nib of an oblique holder is displaced, I can hold my hand further away from the painting than I can when I’m using a straight calligraphy pen. That really helps when there’s wet paint that I need to avoid smudging with my hand!
While you can use your new holder when creating illustrations, you’ll more than likely primarily use it for calligraphy! With that in mind, I thought I’d make a video showing one of the envelope art motifs you can make using this pen and Janet Style calligraphy. Sometimes it’s helpful and inspirational to see tools in action!
You may enter the giveaway for this calligraphy pen using the Rafflecopter widget below this paragraph. Note that, unfortunately, this pen will only work properly for right-handed people (I know, I know … I’m so sorry, lefties, and I promise to conduct a giveaway soon that you can participate in as well!). The giveaway is open to everyone; I’m happy to ship internationally!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, December 29th, and a winner will be announced both on the Rafflecopter widget and via Facebook the following day. One entry choice that I am very excited about is the More Love Letters option, which is worth five credits/entries! I know it’s the holiday season and you may not have time to send a letter, but if you do, I’d love to see what it looks like. 🙂 You can share a photo via Facebook, Instagram (@thepostmansknock), or Twitter (@PKPostmansKnock); or you can email [email protected] if you don’t have a social media account or you are not comfortable sharing.
If you don’t win the giveaway, don’t worry! You can always purchase a Rodger’s Pen Box pen February 1st of next year, when Rodger re-opens his shop. If you’re in the UK/EU, you can purchase anytime from Penman Direct. And, of course, I’ll be asking Rodger to work with me on giveaways a few times next year as well! This won’t be your only chance, I promise. In the meantime, if you’re in the market for a more economical calligraphy pen, you can browse options at the bottom of the Lowdown on Calligraphy Nibs post.
I hope you liked today’s short and sweet article, and that you’re enjoying the days leading up to the holiday! Thanks very much for reading TPK, and we’ll reconvene this weekend for a tutorial over calligraphy swirls. 🙂
Warmly,