Last week was kind of a stressful one. I found myself reactive and flitting from thing to thing without intention. My biggest weakness when I do this is social media. I know that spending a lot of time on Facebook does not make me happy, yet instead of turning to my happiness list, I mindlessly…
Lettering
Chasing away the If Onlys
I’ve found myself fighting a big case of the “if onlys” lately. If only I’d stayed on top of that small task instead of letting it grow into a massive project; if only I’d set the birthday reminder on my phone for a week in advance instead of 5:00 p.m. the day before; if only…
August Break – Day 30: Letters
I had originally intended to lettering something myself for today but things have been crazy around here and that did not happen. So instead, I went looking around the house for some lettering inspiration. I found it in a piece of sheet music and several matchbooks. I love vintage lettering!
September 2015 Challenge
If you’ve been around here long, you know I’m a fan of the challenge where I try new things, or concentrate on a particular skill for 30 days. This month, I’ve decided to devote the month to practicing my lettering skills including calligraphy, other hand lettering, and digital lettering. Much of this work will probably include studies of…
August Break – Day 30: Lettering
I have always loved the lettering on Taft Stadium. I was so happy when they redid the stadium that they kept this wall intact. It has so much more character than anything new they could have done.
August Break – Day 28: Sign
I have been planning to take some photos of some of the cool retro signs around the city. It’s funny how you don’t really pay attention to signs until you’re scoping them out for a photo opp. I’d never really noticed this old sign at my post office until then. I believe a similar sign hung at…
Practice Practice Practice
Yesterday was a snow day, so I stayed in and practiced lettering in Illustrator. I’ve been using the software for almost ten years and for most of that time I’ve done what I can to avoid using the pen tool (it’s a lot more complicated than its name implies). I am determined to master it, so I…
Lettering – Week 5
Draw a word over and over, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to misspell it! This weekend I pulled out my calligraphy tools and began to practice. It sucked, as practice often does. As I was struggling, I was thinking about Ira Glass and his quote on the gap: What nobody tells people who are…
Lettering – Week 1
Writing Valley In my New Year’s Day post, I shared that I intend to spend a good part of this year focusing on Lettering. There are so many things I want to learn and improve upon, including: Improving my calligraphy skills Develop my own calligraphy style Develop great compositions (whether it be hand lettered by…