Contemporary Brush Lettering
Flat & Pointed Brush
New Online Workshop
Contemporary Brush: | 2023
When one hears “Brush” in calligraphic groups, most assume it means Roman Capitals or loose script. However, there is more. Working with the Brush gives you both a practical tool in your repertoire, and a different way to view lettering: the forms and movements. You become less restricted once you have gained some skills. In each of the five classes, we will explore or examine an alphabet, style, or technique that features the Brush’s dimensions. On the practical side, a brush lets us work on any surface in almost any medium. The Brush can provide a different point of view of letters. Most agree that the Roman alphabet has evolved from skillful brushwork. Then again, the expressive side of brushwork may also have Eastern thought and influence as a stimulus. We will work with a range of rapid, direct writing and slow, carefully constructed letterforms. I began my lettering career with Brush as a sign painter. Coincidently, so did Father Catich. I will present some Sign techniques, layering, brush manipulations, alphabets, hybrid approaches, and what I have acquired as a calligrapher since. As with all other classes of mine, we will touch upon design elements. The sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on your schedule for two months. I will provide examples and exemplars for each session. Enrollment begins: September 13th, Class dates are: September 30, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28
September 30, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28 (5 Saturdays Starts from 2:00 EDT.) Each session will be approximately 90 minutes, and the recordings are posted the same day. Recordings will be available to review until November 28, 2023, which is 2 months after the last session). There will also be a place to post your assignments.
This class is recommended for intermediate and advanced* students. *Advanced is subjective; but I mean that some of the techniques and concepts will be more advanced than what is presented in a beginning Italic class. There will be no refunds (unless the class for some reason doesn't happen).
Who is this class for?
• You have to make a sign
• Insight into letters like Roman Capitals and other styles
• You want to incorporate working larger into your work
• You would like an overview of brush styles and techniques • You want to explore a new tool
• You want to write on other surfaces like fabric, wood, etc.
• You want to work in other mediums
I am often asked, what brushes and where do I get them? I show brushes below that will work in this course. John Neal Books and Handover are two very good sources. Brands: Handover, Rekab Raphael, Loew-Cornell and Windsor&Newton. (see below)
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Well first, thank you for a wonderful class. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have so much to practice.I had multiple chats with other students that were also very happy with your presentation. I felt strongly that your talents needed to go out to a wider calligraphy world and this was the perfect time. It was something the calligraphy world needed.
I am very grateful for these 5 weeks of study. It was a great course, every lesson was super informative and inspiring, I loved the way you summarized important feedback on our practice, the handouts became a wonderful book with nice examples and notes. Thank you very much, John!
Thanks for an amazing class, John. So good to finally see how these gorgeous letters I've been admiring for decades materialize and what thoughts govern the design process. I already had an inkling that I hadn't chosen the easiest of hobbies - glad to have that confirmed.
John Stevens
John Stevens is a well-known and accomplished letter artist known for a wide range of exemplary work. Beginning as a sign painter in New York, his insatiable inquiry into letters and their design led him into type, calligraphy, and lettering, learning to use various pens, brushes, and later computers. His clients are in publishing, packaging, advertising, television, and film. (Lucasfilm, Life, Time, Newsweek, Tiffany’s, New York Public Library are a few of them.) He also gets called on to create hand-written documents on paper and vellum, the calligraphers’ traditional work.
He has been invited to teach at many national and international letter arts conferences throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and South America as an instructor of this art. His original works are included in the San Francisco Public Library, Berlin’s Akademie der Künste, La Casa del Libro (San Juan, Puerto Rico), and many private collections. John's calligraphy and lettering have been published and reproduced in dozens of books and publications about Lettering and calligraphy; in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States. His book Scribe: Artist of the Written Word was published in 2013 to critical acclaim. The new book, Mastering Broad Brush Roman Capitals, is now available @ John Neal Bookseller.
John was on faculty of Roman Holiday| 2024 International Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Conference
You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. Website: www.johnstevensdesign.com
Most Recent lecture: The Letterform Archive (2019)
