Hand-writing sample

[katim]

I seem to have reached a plateau from which I'm making no progress. My italic hand-writing is adequate for the purpose in that it's functional and legible, but how I wish it could progress towards elegance! I append an example of it, written this evening and using the two pens I use most. I have tried to avoid flourishing the script - I know that I have a tendency towards doing that and it's fun, but I'm not sure it adds elegance!

 

Bear in mind that I really am talking about hand-writing and not the more formal calligraphy version, for which I'd take a lot more time and use a dipped nib designed for the purpose. The two pens I've used here have both had their nibs ground for italic use, but aren't quite as sharply cut as a 'special'.

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/kent993/img067.jpg

 

[vidalia11]

:clap1: Bravo! Beautiful italic handwriting. You're lucky to (1) have a consistent slope; (2) letters of the same size. Since it's handwriting, you can hook and not-hook in the same sentence. Right?

 

Karen

[Randal6393]

Your handwriting is great! What do you want it to progress towards? I note a tendency to "spikiness". Do you want to retain that look? Or go to a more rounded letter? Are you concerned with developing a classical look? Or don't care -- just want to maintain legibility at high writing speed?

 

To get some answers to these questions, would start with James Pickering's website and Ann Finley's pinned note here in FPN. Then would write a page of script and compare letters to the goal desired. Then pick the five worst offenders and work on them for a week. Repeat page of script and rinse and redo. After a few weeks of work, would see if I was achieving what I wanted to. Then would burn all papers to maintain level of security ... Naaah!

 

Enjoy,

[caliken]

Do you have a copy of "Dance of the Pen - Celebrating Fifty Years of The Society for Italic Handwriting 1952 - 2002"?

 

IMO your handwriting (bearing in mind your distinction between it and your calligraphy) is first class, and compares favourably with the best of the many examples shown.

In fact, it is better than most.

 

Ken

Edited July 30, 2009 by caliken

[WendyNC]

That is great, ultra-legible handwriting. I've recently been trying to learn to do something similar, but find it goes soooooo slowly. Good for you for getting to the point that you can, in fact, use it for your regular handwriting.

[Ondina]

Just adding to the choir...it is an absolutely fantastic hand, if you have achieved this for a daily use, I can't see how much it can be improved, unless as Randall says you have an specific goal that the rest of us can't see. Wonderful, I'm impressed!

[rogerb]

Just adding to the choir...it is an absolutely fantastic hand, if you have achieved this for a daily use, I can't see how much it can be improved, unless as Randall says you have an specific goal that the rest of us can't see. Wonderful, I'm impressed!

Me, too

 

[katim]

:clap1: Bravo! Beautiful italic handwriting. You're lucky to (1) have a consistent slope; (2) letters of the same size. Since it's handwriting, you can hook and not-hook in the same sentence. Right?

 

Karen

 

Thank you, Karen. I suppose one can mix the ascenders since it's entirely up to the scribe what style to use, but I normally stick to one style for a given task. The odd thing I've noticed about hooked ascenders (I note that Ann Finley calls these tops 'flags') is that they seem to work like Velcro, holding lines together! They're nonetheless difficult to make consistent, though, and I sometimes find them becoming like a long curve instead of a 'flag' and a straight stem. However, the question of which style to adopt usually depends on the task - if a formal letter (say a letter of condolence), I use the plain ascenders. If it's not formal, then I allow the more elaborate style ( 'chancery' ?).

 

Ken

[Italicist]

This looks really excellent. I wish that my letter shapes and slope were as consistent as yours!

[katim]

Your handwriting is great! What do you want it to progress towards? I note a tendency to "spikiness". Do you want to retain that look? Or go to a more rounded letter? Are you concerned with developing a classical look? Or don't care -- just want to maintain legibility at high writing speed?

 

To get some answers to these questions, would start with James Pickering's website and Ann Finley's pinned note here in FPN. Then would write a page of script and compare letters to the goal desired. Then pick the five worst offenders and work on them for a week. Repeat page of script and rinse and redo. After a few weeks of work, would see if I was achieving what I wanted to. Then would burn all papers to maintain level of security ... Naaah!

 

Enjoy,

 

Many thanks for your comments and helpful advice. I do sometimes spend an hour or two simply writing the same errant letters over and over again - though my wife thinks I'm mad! But the question remains, 'Where am I trying to get to?' I've been looking at some samples, especially those by Tom Gourdie, but a recent edition of 'Writing Matters' (the Journal of the Society for Italic Handwriting) produced the following sample:

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s289/kent993/img068-1.jpg

 

I hope that Nick Caulkin won't mind my reproducing this, but I admire his fluent italic style and I'd be very happy to achieve an equivalent hand, especially if I could write it at speed. Anyway, I'll keep at it and hope that one day I'll get there!

[katim]

Do you have a copy of "Dance of the Pen - Celebrating Fifty Years of The Society for Italic Handwriting 1952 - 2002"?

 

IMO your handwriting (bearing in mind your distinction between it and your calligraphy) is first class, and compares favourably with the best of the many examples shown.

In fact, it is better than most.

 

Ken

 

Ken,

 

I haven't yet acquired the Dance of the Pen, but I will try to get a copy. I've got a couple of Tom Gourdie's books and they also have examples by other writers, some of which are very nice.

 

Thank you for your kind comments - they're very encouraging. Being critical by nature, I tend to see the flaws rather than any good in the writing and I'm sad to see that my shaky hand - presumably a product of my advancing years! - seems to produce more wiggly lines than I like. There's not much I can do about the years, but constant practice might help with the shakes! You'll see that I've quoted Nick Caulkin's work (above) as a goal - I might get there one day!

Ken

[katim]

Wendy, Ondina, Roger, Italicist,

 

Many thanks for your kind comments - they're much appreciated.

 

Ken

Edited July 31, 2009 by katim

[vidalia11]

I hope that Nick Caulkin won't mind my reproducing this, but I admire his fluent italic style and I'd be very happy to achieve an equivalent hand, especially if I could write it at speed. Anyway, I'll keep at it and hope that one day I'll get there!

 

Your writing looks just like that!

 

Karen

 

[Randal6393]

Hey, Ken,

 

Agree with you completely -- maybe, with many more years practice I will be able to write as gracefully as Nick Caulkin. He has that sureness of hand, just dash it off, and only the essential letterforms are there. Puts the flourishes in the right place to balance out the line, seemingly without thinking about it.

 

Amusing note about the Mercator Society, Mercator is famous for popularizing the use of italics on maps. He also wrote a treatise on writing the Italic hand. Yet, while he would address his envelopes in Italic, his personal correspondence was in his favorite Secretary hand.

 

Keep up the good work and enjoy life,

[tipstricks]

Wow! I'm really impressed by your work, katim. It's a fantastic handwriting, many compliments! But because the whole great quality of the writing I would like call it "quick calligraphy" instead of simply "handwriting", can I?

I've seen your other works on your Flickr album: exceptional, and your "compromise script" is very inspiring!

Thank you for sharing and... post more!

 

Giampaolo

[katim]

Giampaolo,

 

Thank you for your kind comments - coming from someone with so much expertise, they are particularly welcome.

 

I am very fond of calligraphy, but I sometimes wonder whether it is as much an artistic skill as a specialist penman's art - it ought to be achievable by any good artist who has drawing skills (theoretically, at least!). In some ways it seems to me that it's more difficult to achieve really good hand-writing, because it has to be written at a practical speed. Calligraphy can take its time!

 

However, I can live with your term 'fast calligraphy', which is very flattering! :clap1:

 

Ken