Chapels

 I have been neglecting you lately, I apologise.

I'm posting on social networks because it's quicker than describing my whole journey and taking the time to really address you here.

So a new message so that those who are not on those evil networks can see that I am still thinking of them.

These days I'm working on a commission from the town hall of Plouider, a small seaside town in Finistère.

I like this township, they plant a tree for each birth in the township and asked me to calligraph the children's names so that we can know which tree corresponds to whom. I did it last year and will do it again this year.

But today, it is another project: to calligraph 3 fragments of poems about the chapels and to put them around the Saint Fiacre chapel. The order is to do it on slate, it's up to me to choose how.

So I decided to use Art Nouveau lettering and acrylic paint on large 40x40cm slates. The advantage is that I will be able to use the same layout for the 3 poems and thus have a unity of treatment that I would have had more difficulty in obtaining with another writing.

Here is the first text, a french translation of Shakespeare.

And whilst I've got your attention, I'd like to talk about something completely different. I have been selected to participate in the Write on the Edge International Calligraphy Conference in Sonoma, USA, next summer, and as part of that I have just answered a number of questions about my practice. You can find the transcript of this conversation here. And if you want to register for the courses, you can find the description of my two contributions here and there.

need glasses ?

To answer this question, you can test yourself with this Monoyer chart (it's the french version of the Snellen chart) in Art Nouveau style.

As usual, I couldn't help but put filigrees on it

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

 In honor of World Calligraphy Day, a new version of the famous Mary Poppins word.

I should have chozen a shorter one, this one is difficult to show in one picture, here is a version cut in 2, a bit bigger. The actual size is 1.5cm for the letters.

Evening gold

 Personal interpretation of the first lines of the novel Vol de Nuit by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, in Art Nouveau lettering, watercolour and gilding on paper.

Gravity, give it back to the weight of the earth...

Fourth and last version of my fragment of Rainer Maria Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus that I was telling you about here.
The first inked version does not satisfy me so I changed for an intaglio lettering for the original version and a very small and elongated version for the French translation.

All this is done on watercolor paper, iron gall ink and Prussian blue.

Workshop

 it's becoming a habit, I create course certificates for the people who attend my courses.
Here is a view of the attestations for the trainees of this weekend on Art Nouveau.

Composition

There are still a few places left for this weekend's class in the workshop.
It will be dedicated to Art Nouveau and composition.
As an example of what will be covered during this course, some pictures of a work in progress on a fragment of Rilke's Sonnets at Orpheus.

first pencil version

second version reworked for justification

third version in ink, first draft of the final version without the decoration

If you are interested, you can still contact me :-)

A prayer

In these difficult times, regardless of our faith (I include atheists and agnostics), we all pray for things to get better.
Here is the result of a small commission that a friend made to me some time ago.

Gold leaf on gesso, watercolor, pigments and arabic gum on paper.

Work in progress

An excerpt from a poem by Théophile Gautier, using Art Nouveau letter forms.

This is where a light table is useful...

The kiss

Poem by Paul Althof, found in Ver Sacrum magazine.
It was therefore obvious to calligraphy it with the Art Nouveau lettering that I recovered from the same magazine.
The calligraphy was done with a palette nib, except for the separations between verses which were done with a drawing pen, all in acrylic ink.

And for those who would like to learn how to make this alphabet, I remind you that I am organizing a course in my workshop on April 4 & 5, 2020.
To register or for more information, contact me :-)

Workshops

I have finished composing my Art Nouveau lettering model from Ver Sacrum, I still have to work on a few decorative elements but, in the meantime, I am practicing a bit by preparing the workshop certificates for Montreuil Bellay.

I will propose a workshop on this Art Nouveau lettering in my workshop in April, the weekend of the 4th & 5th. If you are interested, you can already contact me to register.

Art Nouveau

I am currently working on a new template for an Art Nouveau alphabet from the magazine Ver Sacrum, published between 1898 and 1903. It is an extraordinary publication, both in terms of the lettering and the illustrations and texts. The Heidelberg Library offers a complete digital version of all the magazine's occurrences. I'm enjoying it!
As an example, here are a few monograms and ligatures picked out here and there.

Today's engraving

You didn't see my first attemps to engrave flower pots, so here it is.

And, as I found it quite easy to engrave, I started a more amibtious project.

Not finished yet but here is today's achievment.

both texts are poems by Guillevic, a french poet from the XXth century.