Wrong Letters:

Graphic Drama with an Automatic Pen

Why would you want to make wrong letters? Because it’s a blast, that’s why. And because you can create black/white statements that are powerful, intriguing, and inventive. All it takes is the will to break a few rules, and a push from me. We will use an automatic pen to push and pull our 26 Latin friends into new shapes. This will be slow, deliberate work, going for maximum tension between letters and the spaces inside and between them. I have had immense fun developing this calligraphic concept, which blends influences from all the scripts I have encountered in a long career.
Please join me for the fun!

This online course consists of three recorded lessons:

  • One lesson with demonstrations and an assignment for you to do in your own time.

  • One illustrated lecture on contemporary text art.

  • One crit session in which I review a selection of the assignments posted by students.

Material list

  • Automatic pen number 5

  • Black gouache

  • 3 sheets good quality paper with a bit of texture, weight160gm – 220gm  (Rives BFK, Fabriano 5 and Saunders Waterford are good)

Reading tip:

“Conceptual Art” by Tony Godfrey.