Quote By Seneca In Gothic Batarde

[smk]

I was asked to do a composition of the Seneca quote I submitted to the Inspiration contest thread (here).

 

Here is what I have come up with.

 

 

The request was for a larger composition and I'm not yet sure if this is large enough but I had the idea for the background rattling around in my head and wanted to try it out. The paper was stained with tea and the background writing was done with a very dilute mix of walnut ink. The writing was washed over with the same dilute mix once dry.

 

The main text is written with Black Sumi ink and 'Seneca' is written with Pelikan Brown ink. The piece is 12"x9.5".

 

Salman

 

ETA: Things are not as crooked as the camera makes them here :-) The paper is not completely flat in this picture.

Edited November 9, 2012 by smk

[Odinraider]

I can only hope to one day be able to write like that. Fantastic. Thank you for sharing.

 

Matt

[tdzb36]

NIce I very like Gothic，Please tell me if writing Gothic need grid paper？just like writing copperplate grid paper？

[smk]

I can only hope to one day be able to write like that. Fantastic. Thank you for sharing.

 

Matt

 

Thank you Matt.

 

If you started today, you'll be one day closer to that day tomorrow (Just a thought :-). I really enjoyed learning this hand. Its not hard once you get a grip on the basics.

 

NIce I very like Gothic，Please tell me if writing Gothic need grid paper？just like writing copperplate grid paper？

 

You do need guidelines for base line (the line you write on) and the waist line (the top of the small letters like a, c, e etc.) but since there is no slant, vertical lines are not needed. The x-height (i.e. the distance between the base line and waist line) is 4.5 nib widths.

 

Salman

[mirosc]

I love the effect and the procedure for the background.

Big compliments!

(to the writing as well, don't get me wrong: very well made! - but I'm admiring the background...)

[Ghost Plane]

:clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

 

Intriguing opposition of asymmetric background and relative symmetry of the writing. :hmm1:

[Mauricio]

Salman,

 

Absolutely gorgeous work. Love the light cream color in the background, the larger but lighter letters in the background, the handwriting in the quote and the ink colors. The overall arrangement has a very pleasant feel. Nicely done.

[smk]

Michael, thank you for the comment. The background is indeed what makes this composition work - it took more time to do too :-)

 

GP, you got it - that was the idea. In fact I think I went a little overboard with the background. The quote is actually written out multiple times with emphasis on different words in the background. Most of it is hidden by the writing in black so overall I'm pleased with the effect.

 

Mauricio, many thanks for your kind comments. It took a couple of trials to settle on the color for the background. I initially tried putting in a letter here and there written with pale red-brown before being covered by chalk pastels in tan. To my surprise the tan covering hid the walnut ink writing as expected but actually highlighted the red-brown parts - strange.

 

Salman

[sniper910]

beautiful salman! batarde is one of my favorite scripts

[sniper910]

i just noticed the background like everyone is mentioning. how is that done if i may ask?

[smk]

Thank you Sniper.

 

The background was done on tea stained paper with a very dilute walnut ink. Here are the steps:

 

1. Stained paper with tea. I make a strong brew of tea (1 teabag in 1/4 cup or less) and let it cool down. This is applied to the paper with a foam brush in one orientation only (e.g. vertical strokes) followed by the other orientation (i.e. horizontal strokes) after the first pass has dried a bit (do not allow to dry completely in between coats). Additional coats can be applied for a darker tint but I'm usually happy with 2. Leave to dry one full day.

 

2. Wrote the quote in mixed sizes using a very dilute mix of Walnut ink. I did not measure the ratio but it was about 5 drops of ink in a thimbleful of water. Let the ink dry for half an hour or so.

 

3. Applied a wash of the remaining ink with a broad brush over the writing. The wash dissolves some of the ink away and produces a pleasant effect. I let the paper dry overnight (but actually couldn't get back to it for a couple of days!).

 

I believe the tea stained base plays a big role. I don't know if you can see it but the wash is not applied thoroughly. Had the paper not been stained, white would have shown through and a stronger application of wash would have made the writing too faint I think.

 

ETA: The Black Sumi ink worked beautifully over the walnut ink wash but the Pelikan Brown feather like crazy. The edges of all the letters in 'Seneca' were cleaned up with a razor - a process that took longer than all of the writing! It'll be a good idea to check which inks work over the wash first.

 

Salman

Edited November 14, 2012 by smk

[sniper910]

thanks salman! sounds like a time consuming process, hopefully i'll find time to experiment with this. so the ink doesn't bleed after letting the tea stain dry completely or do i need a certain type of paper?

[smk]

You are welcome Sniper.

 

The tea stain does not cause feathering (if the paper doesn't feather to begin with). You need to be gentle so as to avoid disturbing the surface of the paper - hence the use of foam brush and making strokes in one direction.

 

The Walnut ink wash is what caused the feathering with the Pelikan Brown ink. I suspect it will feather to varying degrees with other FP inks as well. Sumi ink is very well behaved over Walnut ink wash.

 

I used a lightweight watercolor paper for this piece - I believe it was Canson. I have stained 120 gsm Mondi IQ Selection paper with tea and coffee and have had no problems.

 

Salman

[sniper910]

coffee too? is it the same dilution and same procedure? that must look nice

[smk]

Coffee is a richer color but I like the almost glowing result I get with tea. The background for The Whirling Dervish was done with coffee spattered from a brush and allowed to collect in little puddles. I believe I did two, maybe three, layers of splatters - the background for the header image on my blog is the same coffee splatter background.

 

S.