The Secret to Flourishing - Houston Calligraphy

My style with calligraphy is pretty traditional and clean, however I am a sucker for a little flourish here and there.  Nothing too flashy, but just a little for fun.  I was recently asked what the secret is to flourishing.  The answer is that it is so simple that you will be annoyed.  Wanna hear it?  Here it goes....  

1. Keep the lines that cross perpendicular.  I have found that this is one thing that I do pretty well.  You can look at my work and find that pretty much each crossing is at 90 degrees or pretty close.

2. Keep the lines that don't cross parallel.

3. Two dark lines cannot cross each other.

That's pretty much it!  These pictures provide close-ups of my work to see how the lines cross.  Cheers!