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…
HEBREW CALLIGRAPHY PICTURES FRAMED Today the parcel arrived from the online framing shop, with the mounts and frames for my two Hebrew calligraphy pictures which I did during the latest Domestika course. My name in Calligraphy This was the first exercise we had to do on the course. The calligraphy didn't have to…
MASK AND SPRAY This is a technique which I think I am right in saying that I invented myself. I've never seen anyone else do this. It is a method of spray-painting a background and using cut out shapes as masks. The shapes prevent the sprayed ink touching the paper underneath. Turning the…
KITCHEN PAPER MOP-UP SHEETS Following on from my recent post about scratch papers, it seemed a logical progression to do one about my gorgeous kitchen paper mop-up sheets. I make scratch papers by applying excess paint or ink onto paper with a brush or stamp, or perhaps a stencil, to clean them off…
HOW TO MAKE FAUX LEATHER This is an update of a post I made on my old blog ten years ago. For this project, I made two sheets, intending to use one as a masterboard to cut up and use in different projects, and the other as a photographic background. Introduction Faux leather…
SCRATCH PAPER Having recently started a new scratch paper with gold on tea-dyed paper, I thought I'd do a post about scratch papers in general. What are scratch papers, and why make them? Paint is expensive. I hate waste. I love recycling and upcycling! Watercolour on the palette will dry out, but you…
DOMESTIKA COURSE - HEBREW CALLIGRAPHY - THE BORDER Having completed the design, I wanted to add a little extra. I am not a fan of the proportions of the European paper sizes, and this piece was done on a sheet of A3 hot pressed watercolour paper (300 gsm). The piece has a vintage…
DOMESTIKA COURSE - HEBREW CALLIGRAPHY - A SETBACK, THEN STEAMING AHEAD A major error After I had done my original draft, I discovered that I'd made a major error with the Hebrew, leaving out about a line and a half of text. I had got so caught up with layouts and grids that…
