Category Archives: Artwork

Resolution of Appreciation

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FoxResolutionUVA

Resolutions are a very personal way to honor someone who is important to an organization. Various schools and businesses will contact me (or other calligraphers) when someone is leaving their board or staff.  In May, I finished this Resolution of Appreciation for the University Of Virginia Law School. (The color in the artwork above is probably truer to the original than those below.)

 Thank you to Karen Ackhoff and her watercolor on vellum class, as well as Marie Angel’s book “Painting for Calligrapher’s”. Both helped with the technique for painting animal hair. I could have painted forever, refining and refining but chose to stop here for budget purposes. The fox head was only about 4″x6″ in size. I think it looks better and more delicate in it’s actual miniature size, rather than the blow up below.
FoxFinal

Below is the entire resolution…….(colors appear a bit strong in this picture).

FoxResolutionFullBAnd before I leave you, this is the rough that I shared with client before going to final….colors are looking a bit garish here. Much more subtle in real life!

FoxResolutionRough1

Calligraphy on Church Walls

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In the Spring, Associate Pastor Nancy Ross-Zimmerman approached me with the idea of lettering and illuminating phrases from Romans 12, in Northminster Presbyterian Church’s Commons room. After meeting with the art committee-Rich Schafermeyer, Gary Lord and Helen Haberstroh, I was off and lettering! First I sketched 3 styles on graph paper.
Uncial was their choice, so on a long roll of brown paper I lettered the words, in a first attempt to see how the words might look.
Next, I traced over the letters on a 12″x 50′ white tracing paper, refining them as I went.
While standing on a rolling scaffold, compliments of Gary Lord of Prismatic Painting Studios, I taped the 50′ long sketch along each of the two soffits in the Commons Room.
Fifteen to eighteen feet off of the ground.
After tracing it onto the walls, the painting began. I used eight colors of Sherwin-Williams paint. Each letter was painted twice and a highlight was added.
Ten illuminated letters were also a part of the project, one at the start of each phrase. 23k loose leaf gold was applied as well.
After about 123 hours of work, the last flourish appropriately was put on the word ‘Love’. Then, it occurred to me how much this project was food for the soul. Matthew 4:4 says “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. How fitting that my palette was a church dinner plate!  
My hope is that those who read these Romans 12 words will find encouragement and strength. A big thank you to the dear people of Northminster Presbyterian – it was a delight and a gift to work with you on this project!

The Season of Love

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Happy Valentine’s Day to you! This is a wonderful time of year for a calligrapher. Gentlemen and ladies alike come with their proposals and poems of love, so I know first hand of some of the current Cincinnati romances! Letters, flourishes, colors and gold or silver… you can help me design something unique for your special someone!

Above is my Grow Old Along With Me print, by Robert Browning.  My Falling In Love GREETING CARD was reprinted in November (it’s a best selling print, too) and I restocked some favorite Valentine Cards for Son, Wife, Mom and special Love’s.  Papers that my PRINTS are reproduced on have been upgraded to Fine Art paper from the Archival smooth paper!  Inks colors are vivid and the detail precise. Your loved ones can keep these fine art calligraphy prints as long as they like.

As always, call me to set up a shopping day and let me help you pick out something unique for the people you love!

Book of Hours

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This is page 30 from a project that I’ve been working on for 3 years or so. A Book of Hours….It is a book about the passing of time, seasons, seasons of life on into thoughts about eternity—on genuine vellum (calfskin with 23k gold leaf).

Initially, I sketched out the 144 pages in pencil, scanned them and my wonderful client and I discussed revisions until the pencil was where he was pleased.

Now, I am finished with the butterfly page, so on to the next…. do come visit again as I will post others.