Salutations From Norfolk, Virginia

[Blaine]

Hello! I'm a novice calligrapher from Norfolk, Virginia. I used to practice calligraphy as a kid (from age 12-14), and recently decided to get back into it. I'm now 32 years old. I've been practicing on and off for about a month, using Pilot Parallels, standard Pilot Parallel ink cartridges, and working with just the basic Gothic exemplar from the Parallel Pen packaging, though I also have a variety of calligraphy textbooks I'm working through. Here is a sample of my work:

 

http://puu.sh/fdCip/6c1a732b8c.png

 

At the same time, I've become interested in fountain pens. Learning to use them was dead easy after getting used to writing with calligraphy pens. You can see my standard LAMY Safari there in the picture, and I very recently acquired a Pilot Vanishing Point Fermo as well. I have a bottle of Iroshizuku Shin-Kai and Iroshizuku Ina-Ho so far, lots of Doane, Leuchtturm, and Rhodia paper and journals, cleaning supplies... I'm going nuts over here.

 

I look forward to reading about people's work and experiences in the world of lettering, fine pens, fine inks, and fine papers, and sharing my own as I continue to improve over the next months and years.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Blaine

[Sasha Royale]

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! Glad to have you as a member!!

[H1N]

So nice, welcome to FPN

[PVK]

Hello there and welcome...your work looks very impressive

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Hi! Welcome to FPN.

I'm really glad you've joined us.

Enjoy!

Best wishes from Japan,

VirtuThe3rd

[chad.trent]

Welcome! Nice to see more Virginians on here...

[TMac]

Hello and welcome to FPN. Your work is very impressive.

 

There is a nice pen and paper store near you - Pen Lovers Paradise on Princess Anne in Virginia Beach.

[Wahl]

[Blaine]

Hello and welcome to FPN. Your work is very impressive.

 

There is a nice pen and paper store near you - Pen Lovers Paradise on Princess Anne in Virginia Beach.

 

Wow, thanks for the heads-up! I had no idea. I think I've always just assumed there probably weren't any dedicated stores around.

[RMN]

Hello Blaine, welcome to FPN

 

That is some nice Gothic lettering...

 

So I think our calligraphy forums will be your usual hangouts...

 

 

Enjoy

 

 

D.ick

[Blaine]

Hello Blaine, welcome to FPN

 

That is some nice Gothic lettering...

 

So I think our calligraphy forums will be your usual hangouts...

 

Thanks. My hand and arm were tired when I was writing those, so the letters were pretty wavy... yet my overall consistency and spacing tend to improve after a long practice session, too.

 

Sometimes my efforts look better on Monday than on Wednesday too, for some reason, though the improvement since I first began has been tremendous.

 

Lately there's been a lot of humidity here, and I don't even bother to practice those days because of the ink feathering and paper warping. Bit annoying, really.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Blaine

[kbrede]

Nice work! Welcome to the forum.

Kent

[Bitpusher]

Speaking of Virginians - I'm from Albemarle County, and hit upon this thread searching for pen shops while on vacation in Sandbridge. I'm on my way to A Pen Lover's Paradise this morning

[Dragonmaster Lou]

Welcome!

[Imbad17]

Welcome and enjoy this wonderful resource. Beautiful calligraphy.