Art Elements’ challenge of February revolves around the romantic notion of letters. Adamant to show something other than jewellery I embarked on a Travel journal and lettering experiment this month. At the outset I must confess, that I have a bad hand writing. I attribute it to years of writing exams in school where speed was given more importance over the writing itself. My handwriting is not illegible – fashion school and years of teaching (+ writing on the board) saw to that, but it is nowhere close to where I want it to be. Also, I have no calligraphy tools – pens, brushes, nibs. Nada! Still, I chose to embark on a lettering experiment.
Why? Three reasons!
- I was so impressed by Hope (Of crafty Hope) and her journal and trading cards and was itching to try some of the techniques.
- I just finished teaching a “Colour psychology” workshop at school and had given a colour journal as the final assignment. As I always create/attempt atleast a portion of the assignment I give my students, I wanted to try my hand at it.
- There are books, texts, magazines that I collected for the purpose of making collages but never seem to have time to use them.
The sketch was done while I was on the Seine river cruise. I wrote the letters and did a colour wash on it this week.
Travel journal & Sketching
To the uninitiated, a travel journal is a notebook/set of papers/fabric that you use to write or sketch while travelling. It is filled during the journey or immediately after. You record your impressions of the places you have seen, people you have met and the experiences that you have had. A Travel journal (AKA old notebook) was a given while growing up. My parents encouraged me to sketch during train journeys and while visiting my grandmother. This was to make sure that I shut up and dint bother them during the travel/vacation as I hated long journeys and got bored quickly.
I would gaze at clouds passing by, villages and towns, and as the sun set during journeys. They would promptly turn into drawings. Maps and plans would be occasionally added. I kept at it until high school. In college, drawing became a chore and texting the beacon of new found freedom. Fast forward to 2018, I sketched at Angkor Wat at Sunrise. It taught me more than all art classes and museum visits combined about impressionism. I continued sketching during my Belur and Halebedu trip on a Handkerchief I bought at the railway station. I am not sure If I had show it on the blog before – so here is a partial version of it.
Travel Journal with lettering
For this reveal, I decided to use the travel journal that I took on my Europe trip as a base. I had made a few sketches live on location and a few others while travelling between countries on train. However, Since I only had a cotton rag book and a set of cheap tiny sketch pens + water colour mini pencils with me, my sketches did not look great. The paper was not conducive for double side work. Plus, I get performance anxiety if people look at what I am drawing. That left a few pages half done. I filled them up last week but the moment I wrote on them, it got spoiled. As, a consequence I added images/sheets on top of them which eventually made it worse. Here is whatever that could be salvaged from the lettering experiment.
Lettering lettering experiment
Not wanting to give up, I tried to teach myself lettering using a few brush pens and colored pens that I have. While experts will disagree, I think that it is decent.
The next spread is based on a catalogue of an exhibition called “Time is out of joint” that happened at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. I colour washed and sealed with Mod podge sparkle and scribbled Rome Museo on the edge. At this point I was simply experimenting without an outcome in mind.
At this point, the journal had become more of a practice notebook than a travel journal. I dug around to find paper with interesting lettering. I found an old English to Tamil dictionary that was a prize I got in 10th standard for a fancy dress competition. This looked so good textured and distressed, until I went too far and added colour. I guess I don’t know when to stop.
One was a sheet of crossword in a weekly Tamil magazine filled up by my Dad. His writing is worse than mine. I stuck the sheet, gessoed edges and colour washed the spread. Then I wrote a couplet from Thirrukural on the other side. This is a favourite of my Dad and important for managers and administrators. Translated it means that one incharge must identify the right person for the job and handover that task to them if they want it to be carried out successfully.
As I tried to seal the writing, the ink sort of evaporated leaving thin lines. So I traced the lettering on photoshop using a simple brush tool.
In the last one, I decided not to write after too many failed attempts. This is a collage of magazine sheets in Italian and an image from a exhibition at the Palace of Versailles – with French words. I gesso-ed the images and water washed them for a nostalgic effect.
What did I learn from my lettering Experiment
This experiment only reinforced what I already knew – that I can draw better than I can write. This presupposition acts as a mental block whenever I try. I have to work this out before I attempt writing on other prepared pages. I also do not know how to keep the gesso-ed/textured/sealed pages from sticking to each other. any advice would be appreciated as I have lost a few pages due to this.
24 responses to “Travel journal and lettering experiment”
I think you conducted wonderful experiments.
Haaa…thanks
I’m so glad you were inspired to try something new and that I had a part to play in it! Wow!! Your sketches are indeed wonderful. And, hand-lettering takes time and practice and lots of learning of what materials work best on what surfaces and with what other products. I consider all of that playing! I really like the two hand-lettered pieces you shared. And, I’m so excited to see what else you do with this new medium. Have fun with it.
Ofcourse, you are inspirational. I don’t think I did you any justice at all. But atleast now I have scratched that lettering and journaling itch
( Hey Divya – you missed my link on the Hop list.)
Ok – I am so in love with your drawing from Angkor Wat. The filled in space, the decorative elements, the consistent line work, the density of the marks! I think Tamil looks so lovely – I live a fluid script…. I always keel a travel journal – and usually collage bits and bobs in. I love what you are doing!
I am so sorry thank for telling me. I have corrected it now. Thank you for the compliments. I know that I should draw more but it somehow gets the least preference in the everyday hustle.
Wow – all of the drawings and letters are amazing!
I really loved the lettering experiment – I think they look great!
I have thought about making a journal, but I can’t seem to get past the first page. I think your journal is fantastic! I love the colors of the Eiffel Tower – even if it was supposed to be midnight!
Yes, A journal seems friendly and scary at the same time. I think the trick to get your materials together and play with them one page after the other.
It’s your journal, I wouldn’t worry about what the lettering looks like. Some people purposely write super messy. I love your pages and most importantly you have fun and enjoy the process. As for pages sticking, they need to dry quite a while. I put wax paper in between pages to prevent sticking. But they could stick for a long time. I love you working outside your normal and your drawing is amazing.
Do people write in a messy manner purposefully? Makes sense, When we can do a messy wire wrap, why not messy writing? The fact is they did not stick immediately but after a couple of days, that why I am not sure what to do. Butter paper seems like a solution but I might have to find a way to glue it in between the pages. Thanks.
Divya your Tamil Lettering is really beautiful, but for me I just love your Eiffel tower sketch, seeing it and the glitter on it instantly reminded me of the utter delight I felt when I first saw the tower twinkling at night, thank you for reminding me of such a magical time!
Thank you Niky. I thought that the Eiffel tower danced (due to the blinking lights) at every hour after sunset. Wouldn’t it be fancy imaging a 1920’s setting with the tower shaking a leg to some jazz music?
You took us on a great trip into your travelling, lettering and experimenting! Your sketches are fabulous and I love the Angkor Wat, so dense! I think your lettering experiments look great !
Thanks Karin, Comments on this post tells me that I must get some of my sketches together and post them sometime.
You are a woman of many talents. I don’t remember if I’ve seen any of your sketches before and the ones you shared here are wonderful. I can empathize with your feelings of having gone a step too far on a piece. I tend to think that happens more when we are becoming familiar with a new medium or technique than once we’ve mastered it. It is a fear that often prevents me from even getting started. You’ve done a fabulous job with your experiments.
Thank you so much for your endearing words. I am fearless until I start…I amok even while doing something. It is only when I finish or I am about to that fear sets it. I never measure upto my own standards.
Beautiful work – you did a great job with this theme.
Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I love, love your travel journals – you are an excellent artist. I’m always amazed by people that can sketch and think of things to write while on the go – I draw a complete blank. 🙂
As an alternative sealant for the Chennai heat / humidity, maybe you could try a matte gel medium?
Great job with your experiments as well. I would urge you to continue trying out stuff and just enjoy the process. If you don’t like the results (which happens to everyone) you could try adding more layers – paint, collage, drawings, whatever works for you. The subtle (or not so subtle) effects might change your mind.
A “matte gel medium” sounds interesting. I’ll check it out.
I love all your journal experiments but the drawing of Angkor Wat is just wonderful! What a treasure to have. I also have anxiety when drawing or sketching in front of people. I always take a sketchbook with me when I travel but rarely use it in public. Lettering is one of those things that takes practice, practice, practice. I love that you used different languages.
thanks for your appreciation and motivation Cathy. I am okay with students looking at my work (as I am working) as they should but strangers on the roadside is a whole different story.
I bet you had a good time experimenting, even though you’re not happy with the result. But it must have been a good learning experience. I remember a sketch of yours from your travel posts that left me gasping – I could never do such a thing even in my dreams! You have to sketch more, I think 🙂 As for journaling, I love watching Hope’s videos but I know nothing about the more specific products, this is a whole new world to me. Good you decided to experience it.
I feel that journalling has become more product oriented than creativity oriented today. When specific products give specific results, I have always believed that art can be created with the most simple, basic products.