Older Work Revisited and a Monkey Painting

Because the holiday season is here and so busy, I'm sharing mostly older work today.
This one is from a cityscape in orange and blue. The only calligraphy on this one is the scratched into the paint scrawling shown in this detail.

And here is the piece in toto. I may gild the small yellow rectangle near the center to make it pop. (Do not adjust your monitor. The yellow wall behind the art is making everything look very yellow.)

Here is lettering detail from "Dreaming".

And here is the entire piece. There's a companion piece, much larger, that begs for bigger, bolder lettering. I may get back to it one day, but for now it's on my studio/den wall.

I love this piece I did in a Jacqueline Sullivan workshop years ago. I've always loved collage, and this Jacob's Ladder booklet was a nice twist. I hadn't done many tiny collages except as greeting cards, so it was fun to make nice work from scraps.

One side of the book.

I was criticized at an art show one year by a woman who couldn't understand why I'd used these colors for a piece about mercy. I hadn't thought of it, but I had mercy on her for being so critical. It won first place that year in the KY State Fair for calligraphy.

This is a little practice piece that I'm including because it happens to be on my desk right now. I love doing this pressurized Roman lettering.

The only current painting project at present: a monkey painting I'm working on for my grandson's bedroom. I hope I get it finished before Christmas. The foot needs some re-working and because it was done on a previously started canvas with lots of paint strokes on it, there will be some hiding and some highlighting of the colors underneath.

Revisiting Old Work - Tapestry

I am finally getting around to redecorating my bedroom - as part of the major re-do of the main living areas of my house. As I took this piece off the wall, I wondered how much it might have faded, though it hasn't been exposed to direct sunlight. I did this piece in 2001/2002. I looked up the photo I took of it then and miraculously I found it (new computer, new camera and many files gone missing.) I was shocked when I saw it to see the huge difference in colors, and I wonder if I Photoshopped it to make the letters show up. (See next image.) I don't remember it as having been this bright, but it may have been. (I should keep better notes! I should also remember to take photos before the pieces are framed behind glass.)

The Rabindranath Tagore quote was lettered in gouache in the same colors as the water-colored stripes of the 'tapestry' so they appear to fade in and out. I think the piece may have faded a little, but the second picture and the detail picture are pretty true to the actual colors. And it is hard to read. I keep thinking I want to do it again with some modifications; perhaps with an eye to the may-have-been-doctored-image.

My friend Diana Hutchison used to call me "Pastel Woman" back in those days because I rarely used deep colors, so I do think Photoshop is responsible for the heightened colors in the 'before' photo.

Menu Boards in France

Everywhere we went we saw menu boards. I took photos of many of them and share them here.

It's Not Too Early to Think About Hand-Lettered Calligraphy Christmas Gifts

Here's a link to a press release on the topic listed above:

It’s Not Too Early to Think About Hand-Lettered Calligraphy Christmas Gifts

Here's a small montage of gift ideas. Some are calligraphic, some are not, but all are handmade. Please click on the photo to see it larger.

Text of the press release:
If ‘handmade’ enters into your thinking of gift-giving this holiday season, NOW is the optimum time to get your gifts ordered. Jan Hurst, of Jan Hurst Calligraphy & Design Studio says that if you order custom-made gifts now you may avoid extra charges for rush orders that may be applied the closer you get to the holidays. If you are the type of person who plans in advance, now is the time to plan that special handmade gift for the upcoming holidays.

Perhaps you want a quote lettered in calligraphy, or you want some item personalized for a special person. If so, you should contact a calligrapher now, rather than later, to get the best pricing and the best service. As Christmas gets closer, calligraphers and other artisans of handmade products get busier, and you may not be able to get the item you want in time to mail or even to hand deliver.

Some of the most frequently requested calligraphic gifts are song lyrics or poems, meaningful quotes and personalizations. These are gifts with very personal meanings that can become treasured mementoes and even family heirlooms. Also consider the family tree – hand-lettered and illustrated, a family tree is a one of a kind gift that will be passed down and perhaps added to for generations to come. You can work with a calligrapher to design a family tree or a myriad of other fantastic calligraphic gifts that will be unduplicated and remembered forever. Perhaps you know a couple getting married who would love to have their wedding vows lettered in graceful calligraphy and framed. If so, now is the best time to contact the best calligrapher you know of.

Hurst says there are many calligraphers who would love to help you create a unique gift for someone special. She can be reached at Jan Hurst Calligraphy & Design Studio via her website www.picturetrail.com/letterlady, and she provides nationwide calligraphic services. If she is unable to do the work you request, she can recommend a number of other scribes who may. The holidays will be here before we know it!