Artwork above was made for use as various titles in Denis Brown's short film"The Calligrapher's Kitchen".
Roman and/or Italic Capitals
Two to five day calligraphy workshop with Denis Brown
Two day versions must focus on either Romans or Italic caps, longer durations can incorporate both.
Novice to Advanced level*
*Suitable for beginners, but even advanced students may appreciate attention to detail in master critiques. Organizer should specify expected levels of student upon booking this theme.
Capital forms deserve in-depth study of their basic proportion and technique. There is only time for a quick discussion and demo of capitals for the italic and foundational hand workshops I offer, so unfortunately many students with advanced skills in lower case lack confidence with capitals. A dedicated class may include (time allowing based on selected duration) geometric construction of skeleton forms and freehand skeleton practice with pencil before dealing with complexities of pen and ink. I also demonstrate advanced pen strokes to facilitate fluency although less than advanced students will be encouraged to focus on the basics.
Student supplies: Square edged dip-pens, (Brause size 3mm & 4mm particularly recommended in addition to students own preferred brand); ink; ruler; two pencil and some masking tape to make a set of double pencils, also another pencil for ruling guidelines; pad of practice paper A3 size (11"x l7") or larger; gouache; palettes, mixing and loading brushes. A few sheets of a quality paper such as Arches Text Wove or BFK Rives. Optional: These days many students find a smart phone with camera is a convenient way to photograph demonstrations to inform practice at their table.
2 to 5 days. Level: Novice to Advanced. Max. 20 students
Longer durations naturally facilitate more progress and a deeper study.
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In expressive work, too often capitals stand out as a weakness betraying a lack of basic study.
Click above for a detail of the caps in this work by Denis Brown, 2013.
Detail of freely written, wide spaced capitals froma calligraphy catalogue cover design.
