30 Paintings in 30 Days

30 Paintings in 30 Days

In September I joined Leslie Saeta’s challenge to do 30 paintings in 30 days.  The motivation was to create a discipline of creating something everyday and to practice the techniques I learned over the summer with collage and Asemic writing.  Today is day 24 and I am thrilled with the success of the exercise, both personally and professionally.  Two paintings have sold and I have seen my own skillset improve just by painting every day.  The keys to success have been simple:

• Make time every morning to create something
• Create several ahead of time in case life overcomes creativity.
• Choose a definite theme and a couple goals.  Mine were to incorporate Calligraphy, Asemic Writing and Collage while the theme was Christmas.  Giving me plenty of paintings ready to show at a craft fair in November.
• Post results every day.  People love to follow a challenge and have been super encouraging.
• Give yourself room to be flexible both with time and with quantity.  The idea is to become better, not necessarily meet a number.
• See the results on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/salt.lightcalligraphy?ref=bookmarks

Starter Calligraphy Tools

A pen friend from India asked me the other day to send him a photo of the tools I use for Calligraphy.  I made this photo list for him of the tools I pick up the most frequently.  I, like others have a huge stash of writing tools that I cherish…but when it comes right down to daily work and practice, these are my “go to” tools:

1-3. The Parallel Pen- every size.  These terrific pens can be filled with whatever you want right into the barrel and they have a crisp edge that makes beautiful flat edged letters.

4-Pentel Fude Brush Pen (medium)  -My ‘fav’ of the brush pens.

5. The Pentel Color Brush Pen.  Both of these are my favorite brush pens.  I often dip them since I am not fond of the ink in the color brush pen.

6. Nikko pointed nib- I am not the greatest calligrapher for pointed pen styles…yet.  But this is my favorite nib for a modern pointed alphabet.  It is gracious to my “heavy hand”.

7-8. Anyone who does monoline alphabets must have all the micron pens in black.  They are permanent, and a delight to use for mixed media projects.

9.The Ruling Pen: There is something incredibly bold and rustic about the letters that come from this pen.  I use it often for backgrounds in mixed media.

All of these pens are automatic except for the pointed nib and the Ruling Pen, but all you need is ink and these tools to be well on your way to making great letters.  The only other addition you will need is time to practice.

What are your favorite tools?

Welcome Artists and Pen Friends!

Welcome to the Salt & Light Calligraphy blog.  Enjoy your visit and be sure to share, comment or ask questions as you journey through.  You can also connect with me on most social platforms and I love to stay in touch.   I have done calligraphy for over 35  years and am learning something new everyday.  I hope you will join me as we discover new ways to spark your creativity and enrich your artistic endeavors every day

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