Thursday, March 26, 2020

Chalk Talk #1: State Mottos and Bubble Lettering



I try out a new format for sharing lettering and drawing that I call a "Chalk Talk."

I'm drawing on glass with chalk markers, spelling the New York State motto "EXCELSIOR" and the Oklahoma State motto "LABOR OMNIA VINCIT" and the obsolete word "Chirk," which means cheerful—something we all need while we're isolating during the coronavirus pandemic.

Let me know whether you like this format and what topics you might like me to cover in future.
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Free PDF with complete alphabets via Dropbox 
Thanks to Chalkola Markers (I'm using the sample 8 earth-color set they sent me to try out):

10 comments:

brine blank said...

I would love to see you do a semi-large dinosaur head in profile using only watercolor on watercolor board! I'd love to see how you handle the detail work.

Steve Gilzow said...

Loved this, it did Chirk me up.

I had four years of high school Latin — it was not a Catholic high school, we simply had a dynamo of a Latin teacher, Jessie Chambers. Miss Chambers was about 4’ 10” , wore rimless glasses, had wavy white hair in a short bob, and was passionate about the gifts of Roman culture. She led summer trips to Italy, something I regret not doing. Did two more years of Latin at University of Michigan. No regrets about that.

I learned a Roman style of lettering by copying letters off $1 and $5 bills.

My life, too, is deeply home-centric so the new reality hasn’t rocked my world as it has some. Despite the familiarity of the way I’m using my time, there’s a new, unfamiliar uncertainty that hangs in the air.

Was the Chalk Talk video flipped so the lettering would track, left to right? It turned you into a southpaw.

Bevan said...

Fun!

arturoquimico said...

Was wondering if you were writing on glass left handed and forwards, or right handed and backwards through an iPhone lens... or am I confused?

Christen said...

You taught me my state motto. Thank you for your hard work conquering all.

James Gurney said...

Arturo, yes, the video image was flipped to be right reading. Don't know how I could have done it otherwise.

Steve, Miss Chambers sounds like one of those teachers who lit the fire of enthusiasm in a lot of students.
I only had a year of Latin, in 7th grade, so thanks for overlooking my errors. It was just enough to realize how much Latin is woven through our language and thought. Reading up a bit on state mottos, I was surprised that there's one in Hawaiian, one it Italian, and one in Spanish (Colorado's "Oro y Plata"—gold and silver.)

Sketching Artist said...

This was great fun to watch. Thank you for sharing your hand lettering mad skills. Knowing you have quite a bit of experience of sign lettering, this was quite a treat to see you in action.

scottT said...

Please keep these up. They are relatively low tech and you can stay inside to do them. I've always admired your lettering so thank you for the examples. One suggestion is to diagram well known works or do some perspective demonstrations.

nmsgwatercolors said...

Are you sure chirk is obsolete? My family used the word chirky. Or maybe you don't consider that the same word as chirk?

Thank you for all your chirky but not-ignoring-our-troubles posts. I appreciate them very much now.

Virginia Fhinn said...

I enjoyed this very much! Would this format be good for showing drawings where you only use black/white? It would be fun to see you do a drawing where you push all those shadows into one value and lights into another. Always tough making those choices...