The Art of Whimsical Lettering (10 page)

Make Your Mark

When was the last time you engaged in serious thought about making artful punctuation marks? Stretch your creativity with new design ideas to make marks that stand out while complementing your whimsical lettering.

In this chapter, you’ll see lots of samples of my artwork that incorporate whimsical lettering. They illustrate how I implement the techniques discussed in the book into my own personal artwork, whether in my journals or on other surfaces, such as canvas and fabric. I hope you’re inspired to try the same techniques in your own creative endeavors!

I devoted an entire earlier chapter to journals (see
The Letter Love Inspiration Journal
), so you know by now that working in journals is my preference when making art daily.

If you were to view my entire artwork portfolio, you’d see that most of my current art and lettering work is done in assorted art journals and bound books. I love the freedom of making page after page of artwork on the crisp, clean, untouched pages of a new journal, with no other intention than to make art. Practicing and experimenting with no particular reason inspires me to play, leading me to significant discoveries and directions for my art. I develop new letters, plan new compositions, and make mistakes. I can always tear out the page if I really don’t like something that’s not adding to my creative joy. It’s my safe place to learn and use different materials. Using a journal as an art tool also serves as a personal style reference and can be a catalyst for incorporating specific lettering techniques into journals, wall art, gifts, mixed-media pieces, and more.

My personal journals are full of colorful experiments with layouts, background treatments, art elements, words, and letterforms.

Practice freeform, organic lettermaking with loose doodle drawing to create an abstracted image. Use fine-tip pens and colored markers to letter, exaggerating shapes and adding decorative lines and patterns.

On a colorful mixed-media background, I “stacked” the lettered words to create a strong vertical composition. I also varied the width and height of the words and added patterns over the letters for extra interest.

Colorful watercolor and inked backgrounds create a surface for showcasing poetic words.

Make your own lettering “masks” with frisket. Frisket is a latex masking fluid used mainly by watercolor artists to block out certain areas in their artwork. For lettering art, use an inexpensive brush with frisket to paint large words and let it dry completely. Add a watercolor wash over the entire surface and let that dry completely. With a soft cloth, gently peel away the frisket to reveal the dramatic lettering under the watercolor. Add journaling with a white pen over the watercolored areas.

Apply molding paste or gesso with a palette knife to heavy paper or canvas. Write words with the pointed end of a paintbrush and then accentuate the letters with black. Add color to the background with watercolor or acrylic paint.

Use a Tombow water-soluble marker to doodle an illustration on watercolor paper. Letter a quote with a black pen so the words stand out in the colorful composition.