Beauty in Irregular and Rushed Penmanship

[aNONIEmous]

My total for 1 minute is 97 letters - but my effort, whilst legible, is not as neat as yours.

 

I've never been much good at "speed writing"

 

caliken

 

Likewise on the bold.

 

On your previous statement about neatness, I must confess that I started learning how to make Italic my normal handwriting when I was a teen so I have had years of practice. Taking dictated notes in school did force me to take the focus off writing nicely and did lead to chicken scratch writing most times. But being in boarding school meant I wrote letters to family and friends often, and that afforded me the chance to write at my leisure and to practice and get better both speed-wise and in creating legible letters. Still even today, legibility is inversely proportional to speed.

 

So while I am glad it is legible and fairly neat, I do envy people whose pens fly across paper with such ease. I would be so interested to know at what speed the samples in this thread were written. It might serve as a good goal for me to aim for. (Heaven knows I hate having to fill out a form in an office and then being asked if I am done when I still have two more pages to go. Am I the only one that prints so slowly?)

[caliken]

About a year ago, I did try to speed up my handwriting, but it deteriorated rapidly in the process, and I decided that it wasn't for me.

I derive a lot of pleasure from writing carefully - if I'm in a hurry, I use the computer.

 

Having said that, I appreciate that there can be beauty in spontaneous fast handwriting - but not in every case!

 

caliken

Edited October 4, 2008 by caliken

[Titivillus]

(bleep), flying white refers to writing with a slightly dry brush, so that it produces a line with paper showing through instead of a solid black line.

 

That's what I was meaning. You are writing so fast that the ink doesn't get onto the paper fast enough.

 

K

 

[Renzhe]

Maybe fast writing would be a good exercise to help focus my feeble brain on the actual words I'm trying to write. I can also see an argument for trying to write slower. Any thoughts?

 

http://i36.tinypic.com/263hoxd.png

 

...and caliken has got me wondering, what it is like to be used to forming letters slower than most people care to attempt, and trying something as blasphemous as throwing all that out the window and letting one's pen go crazy. Thanks for taking a look!

[eilu]

fast and slow writing are like improv and scripted theatre- each artistic in its own way. Or perhaps a spontaneous dance floor jig and a regimented paso doble.

Edited October 4, 2008 by eilu

[henrico]

I tried to write really fast and my nib went up in smoke, burned my fingers.

 

Forgot to mention that the sheet of paper exploded in a ball of flame.!!!!!!!!

Edited October 11, 2008 by henrico

[HDoug]

We wanna see the video!

 

Doug

[aNONIEmous]

@ HDoug. So you are suggesting he put himself through that torture once more only have a camera running this time? Too funny! Well, Henrico, will you be a good sport and humor us at your expense? At least this way we may get a glimpse of what your speed writing looks like before it goes up in ashes.

[Renzhe]

I wonder what it would be like to write with a combustible liquid, and leave a flaming message.

[Discordianist]

I wonder if my penmanship is even legible at speed of my "normal" writing

[aNONIEmous]

Yes indeed, you are legible. "The art of fast writing. I wonder if I'm even legible. Am I?

[succubus]

Here's a shoddy cell phone photo of two examples - neither very neat nor very fast. (It's harder than I thought: one has to read & transcribe the quote, while keeping an eye on the countdown, and answering questions of whomever wanders into my office.)

 

The first one is with a Parker 51 (Lamy Blue-Black)

The second is a Swan, with a flexible nib (Caran d'Ache Saffron)

 

The full quote I was using is:

 

I still long for a kiss sometimes, even today. Not one stolen between two doorways, hurried and clumsy, but slowly and peacefully given and received. A kiss on the mouth. A kiss on the hand. A bit of ankle, a detail of the temple, a perfume, an eyelid, a languid happiness, an eternity. --- The Almond, "Nedjma"

 

I gave myself 60 seconds using the Online-countdown.

 

I automatically want to slow down with the Swan, but I see I actually went faster, with less accuracy. My hand gets uncomfortably stiff though.

[slqqqq]

this is my handwriting.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2941843966_5d1ae582b2_o.jpg

[Renzhe]

What is that, Sütterlin?

[slqqqq]

Oh, I mean the small letter below~

[Renzhe]

"The art of fast writing. I wonder if I'm even legible. Am I?"

 

...is totally legible.

Edited October 18, 2008 by Renzhe

[henrico]

Well........aNONIEmous.............here is my "speed writing". Time to write was 3 minutes or 3.33 words per second. That's as fast as I can legibly write, any faster, serious damage would occur.

 

The Nigerian quotes were found at the rear of the yellow passenger buses that ply the streets of Lagos. They are also known as yellow fevers because of the dilapidated condition these buses are in and the risk of travelling in one.

 

Now I have to rest my hand.................

 

Henrico

[aNONIEmous]

Wow Henrico! I may have lost my count as I sort of got into a sing-song rhythm as I was counting what was beginning to feel as if it'd never end. I think I counted about 265 letters in 3 mins! That is so good. I imagine I get slower as time goes by as my arm gets tired but that you can maintain speed for longer than a minute and still be legible is really admirable.

 

Renzhe is so write about the beauty in speed writing...

 

Thank you for sharing.

[henrico]

But I don't write that fast as a rule aNONIEmus. Normally, it would take me about twice the time to do a better "job" on this in cursive. When I really apply myself to write better in cursive, the outcome is often worse than my normal hand, so I need a lot of practice. :blink: I am super slow with uncials but have better control but also find it tedious. If I repeated the quotes in uncial, it would likely take me 30 to 45 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

Henrico

 

Incidentally........the pen used was a Sheaffer with a medium italic nib and Sheaffer ink. Quite an ordinary pen but great nib.

Edited October 19, 2008 by henrico

[henrico]

Here is the last group of brush paintings. The first two are winter scenes in the Yukon.

 

Chinese brush painting has a lot of other possibilities. In these, there isn't much that is chinese except for the brush, ink and paper. I plan to do more of these this winter and will simplify the subject matter as someone suggested here.

 

Well, someone else can take over this topic..............

 

Henrico

 

OOps..... I placed this under the wrong topic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited October 19, 2008 by henrico