One of my very favorite things: getting inky. Er, in this case: getting gouache-y. (Rhymes with “washi”.)

Just gouache me.

This week I’ll be providing live calligraphy for Etsy’s Wedding Trends 2019 Press Event at Gary’s Loft in Manhattan, and I am so stinkin’ excited.

In preparation, the Rye Workshop had sourced pressed floral escort cards for a hanging installation, and we worked together to create a versatile palette of earthy, feminine tones for the accompanying calligraphy.

After a bit of experimentation, we landed on blush, mauve, terracotta, ochre, copper and lilac.

Gouache is my medium of choice when it comes to custom “ink” for escort cards, inner envelopes or signage – matte and metallic. (Pretty much anything that doesn’t have to be waterproof.)

The opacity and texture can be so rich. I used Reeves for the below, but I’m also preferential to Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache.

Mmm, texture.

It’s sensitive enough to mix easily with water, but durable enough hold together without separating for an acceptable amount of time while I’m lettering. I can usually get at least 10 escort cards out of the ink before having to stir.

I generally premix each primary color I need with a bit of water (here I started with primary red, zinc white, and primary blue), then use a pipette to add just a bit, then a bit more, then a bit more, until I get the color I want.

Like the mauve below. (It should be surprising to no one that’s visited this website that mauve is pretty much always the color I want.)

You put the white with the mauve-y blush and stir it all up.

For metallics, if we’re doing just a few (as we do for an event where I’m lettering live), I always love the tactile experience of Finetec.

Call me a masochist (or just a calligrapher) but I can’t get enough of manually mixing the ink with a brush onto the nib.

Manually mixing the pigment from the Finetec palette onto my nib with a brush.

Stay tuned for the uber creative escort card installation sneak peek next week.