I have always had an interest in art. I never decided to learn calligraphy, however through my art GCSE I discovered I was naturally picking it up. I was constantly looking at artsy Pinterest boards and Instagram accounts, frequently being inspired by their designs.
When taking calligraphy more seriously, I started with a small paintbrush and watercolours – which in hindsight probably did not make this challenge very easy for myself. I spent a lot of time learning how to control the paintbrush and making even strokes – which thankfully, over time, became more natural to me. The only information that I was aware of what that some lines were fat, and others were thin. I experimented a lot until I discovered how this technique worked. I used pencils and drew out cursive lettering and practiced by thickening the lines that I though needed to be thicker. However, I didn’t always get this right.
I remember the hype about calligraphy pens, and after buying my own cheap set I found them extremely difficult. However, when I finally splurged out and bought recommended ones, I realised how easy they were to use.
After this point, I started to get some commissioned work – not a tremendous amount, but enough to keep me practicing and improving.
I decided I would create my own art Instagram account artandsoulbylizzie where I posted photographs of my commissioned work. My small business started to grow from this point on.
As time went on, I bought more pens and finally decided I needed to figure out how to use a dip pen. My outcomes were slightly shaky and inconsistent (with a lot of ink blobs) at first, however when I got the hang of it (and stared using gold and shimmery ink) it all started to come together – looking pretty and professional.
I am fully aware that this in not the most structured approach, and it involved a lot of practice and mistakes. However, now I am aware that there are YouTube videos and classes that, if you were considering discovering how to learn this skill, it might make this experience easier.
