Calligraphy in the key of B Flat Major - Calligraphy Course

As I have been writing extensively and providing videos about Spencerian script and penmanship for the online calligraphy course that I offer, it occurred to me that some may be unaware of the Platt Rogers Spencer and his script. From a high level, Spencerian Script is a script style that was used in the United States from approximately 1850 to 1925[1] and was considered the American de facto standard writing style for business correspondence prior to the widespread adoption of the typewriter.

Platt Rogers Spencer, whose name the style bears, used various existing scripts as inspiration to develop a unique oval-based penmanship style that could be written very quickly and legibly to aid in matters of business correspondence as well as elegant personal letter-writing.

Spencerian Script was developed in 1840, and began soon after to be taught in the school Spencer established specifically for that purpose. He quickly turned out graduates who left his school to start replicas of it abroad, and Spencerian Script thus began to reach the common schools. Spencer never saw the great success that his penmanship style enjoyed because he died in 1864, but his sons took it upon themselves the mission of bringing their late father's dream to fruition.[2] (Wikipedia)

Upon seeing Spencerian Script in a book years ago, I fell in love and never looked back.

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Calligraphy in the key of C Major - Houston Calligraphy Course

Have you had a desire to write calligraphy or even just improve your handwriting? Most of us don’t write very much any more with the dawn of typing & texting. Some say that it is a “lost art”. It’s not that lost though. There is a subculture of penman, calligraphers, hand engravers and hand lettering artists that are able to take advantage, in a sense, that there are times when computer type does not quite suit your needs. It certainly has its place, but it is not “one size fits all”. We make a living on that niche. Thankfully :)

With that in mind, I have developed online calligraphy courses that can be taken at whatever individual pace that works for each artist whether they prefer something for intermediate students or a calligraphy course for beginners. It is almost entirely via video such that an artist can playback, skip forward and zoom in to their hearts’ desire. Although I am based in Houston, this calligraphy course can be taken be anyone, anywhere & you have unlimited access to the calligraphy class of your choice.

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Online Spencerian Calligraphy Course

Wine Bottle Engraving & Etching - Houston Calligraphy

I have been engraving wine bottles for nearly a decade and have enjoyed every moment of it. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to create an online calligraphy course for beginners which covers the basis for everything that I do with engraving.

The wine bottle that I engrave in this video is by JNSQ. This bottle is honestly one of the most beautiful bottles that I have seen along with being an engraver’s dream. The shape of the bottle makes it easy to maneuver for engraving. The near flat & wide surface is incredibly close to the same feel that you would experience with engraving on flat glass. There is not much to it. Cheers!

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Creativity during a Pandemic - Houston Calligraphy Course

As we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home quarantine orders, let’s just say I’ve had a little bit of time on my hands. After I worked tirelessly to create and launch the online calligraphy course for beginners, I began just writing. Nothing in particular, but just writing. Then I had the idea of writing script for “if I were to write for an advertising campaign…..”. As I was tossing this idea around in my head, I looked over to my fragrance tray and noticed my “signature fragrance” if you will. The fragrance that I wear during the day is Chanel Beige. It just suits me ever so much. This fragrance is soft and elegantly understated.

So I decided to write it out and add a little festive flair for a “winter campaign”. That is one positive thing about the pandemic. Every artist that I know has had the opportunity to explore avenues creatively that they normally would not. Cheers!

Interested in learning calligraphy? Learn more about the online calligraphy course for beginners & intermediate artists below.

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V: Online Calligraphy Course - Filmed in Houston

I was approached with the idea of offering calligraphy classes years ago and at that point in time, it just wasn’t an area of interest for me for a few reasons. First, i didn’t feel as if I was ready to teach. I did not want to be that calligrapher that began teaching sooner than I should. The second reason was the idea of creating the curriculum for a penmanship or calligraphy course was daunting. I knew that I just “needed to start it” and the rest would flow, but starting was not exactly desirable especially as most of my time was taken up with engraving events in Houston for various companies.

Over time, I became friends with a number of respected penmen that repeatedly told me that I should teach along with requests from potential students. With that in mind, i decided to focus on creating courses that were a reflection of my calligraphy style, but also made sense for the normal beginning calligrapher that may not have hours on end to travel to a class and carve out time on a specific date for a course. Offering an online calligraphy course for beginners seemed like the perfect option. What is interesting about creating these calligraphy classes is that once I started filming videos for them, I became obsessed with the process and I loved it so much that I immediately initiated plans for film the 2nd course for ornate calligraphy capital letters.

Recently, I released the more decorative, fancy capital letters calligraphy class in a similar manner. Not only is it completely online, but it is also mostly covered through video with freeze frames to allow for a detailed explanation of each letter. I hope that you enjoy the result as much as I enjoyed creating it.

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