DOMESTIKA COURSE - ENGLISH CALLIGRAPHY - THE LOWERCASE LETTERS We're really getting down to the nitty-gritty now, and beginning to learn how to shape the letters. Lowercase letters These fall into several different groups, according to how they are constructed. The teacher therefore didn't teach them to us in alphabetical order, but in…
DOMESTIKA COURSE - ENGLISH CALLIGRAPHY I have decided to stay with the calligraphy theme after recently completing the Hebrew calligraphy course. The new course is on English calligraphy, often called Copperplate. With its flowing lines and flourishes, it is very elegant and beautiful. I have done a little in the past, but am…
FUUMUUI NEEDLE POINT WATERCOLOUR BRUSHES Today I got a new set of watercolour brushes. They are rather special. The beautiful box Such pretty packaging! The brushes There are four brushes in the set. These brushes are made in China, and have smooth wooden handles with minimal varnish. So often, the varnish or paint…
DOMESTIKA COURSE - HEBREW CALLIGRAPHY For this course, we need a flat-ended calligraphy pen. I used to have a calligraphy fountain pen, and also a fibre-tipped Italic marker but they seem to have vanished without trace, so I bought some new ones. New pens Italic markers This set of four range from 1.4…
ISLAMIC ART - FIRST ATTEMPT, AND A NEW COMPASS In advance of the new Domestika course on drawing Islamic art, I decided to have one or two "dry runs" to get my hand in. I have been fascinated by the complex geometric patterns in Islamic art for decades, and have several books on…
STUDIO TIDYING, 2025 - A NEW SHELF UNIT My studio has been driving me nuts for months. All through last year I was busy with the online art course and was able to do most of the work on my lap in the sitting room in comfort. When I am not using my…
DOMESTIKA COURSE - THE ART OF MANDALA DRAWING - MATERIALS AND SHADING EXERCISES At last we are starting to put pen to paper in this course! The first two units have been really interesting, though, with the introductions and learning about mandalas. I have really enjoyed the new experience of seeing them everywhere.…
2024 Review - Art As usual, here is my end-of-year review. As before, I've separated out the art from the rest, as there is so much, and even so, this post is going to be very long! Online art course The most important art activity this year has been my participation in the…
ONLINE ART COURSE - THE FINAL PROJECT - CHERRIES... AND MORE! I'm feeling quite sad. This is the final directed challenge of the whole year-long course, and it's hard to believe that it's finished, apart from the self-directed challenge which will be anything you like - totally open ended! I think Phil, our…
A BEAUTIFUL NEW DRAWING TOOL My latest drawing tool - a real treasure Some time ago I bought a cheap proportional divider to help with my continual problem of getting size and proportion correct in my drawings. I am improving in this direction, but sometimes it is extremely helpful to use this tool,…
