Towards the end of 2022, I was contacted by the renowned lettering guru Gunnlaugur SE Briem. Gunnlaugur has dedicated his life to the study of all things lettering. In fact I first came across him at a lecture he gave on Icelandic runes while in my first year at art college. Over the years he has been involved at the top end of type design and calligraphy and knows just about everyone who’s good at it – internationally!
So when he asked if I would like to feature some of my lettering work – which has evolved through my Fountain Pen Ink Art project – in his next Briem Report, the answer was YES! And I am both humbled and honoured to be included alongside some the world’s most revered living lettering artists.
I’m assuming that all of you who follow this project, have an interest in lettering on some level. Whether that’s type, calligraphy, drawn lettering, brush lettering, handwriting or a combo of all. If you’re into pens, ink and journals of course you are!
Although I earn my crust as a creative artworker, I still create the odd piece of finished lettering for a variety of clients, some of which you can view here. But what I wanted to showcase alongside some of the astounding talent also featured in this report, was work that has been inspired through what I’ve learned through this very project. And I think that the essence of this project is about serendipity. After years of creating really tight lettering, I have really enjoyed loosening up and just creating what comes out of the brush or nib. See what you think?
With Gunnlaugur’s permission, I have uploaded a pdf of the Briem Report 2022, which features a diverse range of lettering work from some of the world’s most gifted living lettering specialists and if you click the link you can peruse this at your leisure and seriously expand your lettering knowledge base if you want to. The file is over 300mb in size so you may need good broadband and please, do be patient. Click here to view. And to find out more about Gunnlaugur SE Briem please click here.
And HEY! If you’re interested to know more about how to use fountain pen inks in more creative ways – whether it’s simply to observe their chromatic behaviours, or, to recreate one of my swatch cards, or, to learn how to use them in watercolour painting, illustration and calligraphy, why not check out my online course?
FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART 