Capital Immersion | Brush & Pen Roman 2025
Learning about classic Roman and variations | Coming Soon
Brush Roman & Beyond is the workshop John has been teaching the longest throughout his career and a close examination of creating Roman Capitals with a flat brush and pen. Many well-known calligraphers have taken this class with John. About 2000 years ago, the Romans had evolved these lovely forms, which they borrowed from the Greeks and perhaps, the Etruscans. The beauty of these forms is that they remain the traditional standard. Most experts agree that the beautiful nuances and serifs result from writing with the chisel-edged brush*. The study of Roman capitals offers many neverending “lessons” on the subtleties of Letterform design. They are challenging to do and require much practice. It is the study of form and ultimately will inform all of your lettering work. You will improve your abilities while challenging yourself to see as well. The knowledge gained in this class will also yield possibilities for creative variations that will have sound design principles behind them. We begin with simple forms to get comfortable with the brush. We will build up our skills to an expert level, writing fully formed Trajan Roman letters with a flat brush. Furthermore, we learn the moves and techniques that will let you “see” the cause of these shapes that have stood for twenty-one centuries. John is an acknowledged master of these forms: both teaching and doing.
*Fr. Catich, Origin of the Serif
Class Dates: Saturdays, 2pm EDT | 2025
Course Summary
In this class several valuable aspects of lettering are addressed:
1.) The design of the Formal Roman letter, and
2.) the techniques of handling the broad-Edge brush
3.) Design on the page
4.) Variations of Capital forms
John Stevens
John Stevens is a lettering artist and calligrapher with over 40 years of professional experience. He began his career as a sign painter in New York, and his lifelong interest in letters led him to explore calligraphy, type, and lettering with pens and brushes.
His work spans publishing, packaging, advertising, television, and film, with clients that include Lucasfilm, Life, Time, Newsweek, Tiffany & Co., and the New York Public Library. He is also commissioned for traditional calligraphic works on paper and vellum, continuing a centuries-old craft.
John has been invited to teach throughout the United States and abroad, including Europe, Japan, and South America. His original works are held in public and private collections, such as the San Francisco Public Library, Berlin’s Akademie der Künste, and La Casa del Libro in Puerto Rico.
His calligraphy and lettering have appeared in numerous books and publications worldwide. His first book, Scribe: Artist of the Written Word (2013), was met with critical acclaim, and his most recent, Mastering Broad Brush Roman Capitals, is currently available from John Neal Bookseller.
You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. Website: www.johnstevensdesign.com
Most Recent lecture: The Letterform Archive (2019)
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!
