Hand lettering (or its fancy name: Calligraphy)

Imagination. That’s what maybe 95% of inspiration to make art is about, I would venture to say…which I did. The above abstract “word-dance” combining my own imagination with the 11 letters that spell out the word came about in response to a challenge I was given at a seminar for artists of all kinds. 

This photo/art was sent off to a print-on-demand company to be made into a nice comfy, plush blanket.

I took the photo in Florida…um…in the evening…facing west…but it’s a “sunrise,” you see…so…um…don’t tell anyone.

Speaking of blankets. I came up with these four versions for a newlywed couple. Which do you like best? The third from the left is what was printed. I like them all, though. (btw, the guy’s name is Abe, not ABC; I know it looks like the first 3 letters of the alphabet, but since Abe and Amy and their friends and relations knew the groom’s name, there was really no confusion). 

This handsome family portrait is a photograph of mine taken near the northern rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. The title further pinpoints the location. These graceful animals—cautious of me but not too frightenedh—are called Mule Deer because—can you guess? Yup. Mule-like ears. 

A get-well “card” sent to a friend. The Bible verse is typeset, not hand lettered, which I probably didn’t need to point out but I’m covering all my “bases” here.

Another Bible verse—words of the Apostle Paul. With this work, I was trying to hearken back to the old days of dutiful monks copying the scriptures in their scriptoriums, and doing it beautifully I hasten to add. Rather than copy their style I only suggest it here and add more color than is usually found with this style of lettering.

I really like doing passages from the Bible and inspirational quotes. I’ll put several together here.

A more lighthearted approach here. Did you notice the sheep facing the other way as if to disdainfully say, hmmpf! who cares? or maybe it’s just a really shy sheep? 

These two verses form a set. The one on the left comes from the Old Testament—the Book of Isaiah—and the other from the New Testament Book of John. The first one speaks of the Shepherd to come. The other features two quotes of Jesus, who, Christians believe, I included, was/is the very fulfillment of the prophecy on the left.

Moving on, I’ll show you a lot of names I’ve done for various purposes: anniversaries, birthdays, nameplates…whatever.

A few odds n ends. Notice the one at the top left—the one that looks like it was cross stitched. No, it was Xed. That is, I drew Xs on a graph paper-like background until I thought I’d be haunted by Xs in my dreams! No, not exes—thank God; Xs, as in X sign here. Or X you got a strike if you’re a bowling enthusiast. Or X dig here, for here be treasure if you’re a pirate…or…well, you get the idea. The bottom ones are posters—more Bible verses and themes. Let me call your attention to the bright blue one. I wrote what you see there; I mean I wrote wrote it, not just wrote it from another source and I’m pretty proud of it. It’s based on the verse in James there at the top. “Let us dance in the deluge of God’s good and perfect gifts.” That’s what I wrote wrote. The verse in James is pretty cool too, unexpected lovely and edifying poetry. You can read it right there…well, unless you’re seeing this on a tiny phone screen. That might be a problem. 

This is a fun and on-going giving project I like to do for friends I know online. I insert their name where you see Abigail on this one. They can then print the whole thing out as a 5 x 7 inch photo and frame it, tape it to their mirror or put it on their ‘fridge.

This is one way that the iPad really shines. With the layers in place, I simply erase one name and add a new one! 

This was rather fun. Oh, it’s all fun really. I love writing the alphabet and playing with letterz. um…yeah… Okay, well, above, I was for a time offering to do pet owners’ pet’s  names in various styles of lettering. I thought why not make up my own styles from which they can choose? So that’s what I did. As you may notice, I tried to make the style match the name whenever possible.

I’ll leave you (for now) with this one—my fat cat and this wise piece of advice. This is…was…Milo. (*sniff*) In his healthier and fatter! days this was a typical pose of his.

Calligraphically (is that a word? is now.) it’s a fun, easy-going style that fits the mood here quite nicely. 

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Thanks so much for looking! When I have more examples to show you, rather than add to this project, I’ll publish a new one. God bless all of you abundantly and even more.