Meet our new Artist of the Month... Charmaine Alphonso. Based in Canada @charmaine.loves.letters is a Graphic Designer by trade who's love for lettering and calligraphy did not start until a few years ago. Read on to find out more about our Artist of the Month!
What is your background and when did your passion for Calligraphy and Lettering begin?
I have always enjoyed art. At a young age, I loved to draw and paint. Naturally that led me to go into that direction and I studied graphic design. I have been a Graphic Designer for the past 10 + years, however my love for lettering and calligraphy did not start until a few years ago. When I browsed the stores, especially when picking greeting cards or party décor, the lettering and calligraphy would always jump out to me and I thought, how did they do this? I started to watch lettering videos and stumbled upon the amazing lettering community on Instagram. I started to practice and in 2019 I started my Instagram account and loving every minute of it.
Who / Where do you take your inspiration from?
As someone who enjoys art and the history behind it, the art deco period is one of my favourites. I love everything about that period including the styles, the designs and the jazz music of that era. So, I was immediately drawn to the styles of art deco and art nouveau. This has easily been my main inspiration for my lettering styles. My inspiration also comes from the limitless talented artists in this community and day to day life that catches my eye.
What in your opinion is the hardest and the most rewarding parts of working in a creative industry?
The hardest part for me is challenging myself creatively every day. Dealing with barriers like creative block can be frustrating and mentally draining. But taking a break and focusing on other things certainly helps in the process. When I get past that wave and find my brain just spinning with creativity and ideas and I love the final product is what’s most rewarding for me. It’s knowing when you need to take a creative break is what’s important.
Do you have a favourite style?
My love for the art deco/art Nouveau periods have been a huge inspiration in my lettering styles. I like working with serifs to take these styles and add a modern twist to them. I also enjoy mixing serifs fonts with calligraphy lettering.
What are the most exciting projects you have worked on and what are you working on at the moment?
My most exciting project was my piece I did for Self Love. I absolutely enjoyed every aspect of it. I experimented with the font and loved how it came through. I am not working on anything new right. I am focusing on taking some old work I have done and digitizing them for print.
How does your work relate to your everyday life?
I like to find inspiration in everything I see. During the Christmas season, I found a lot of inspiration from looking at Christmas cards, packages, wrapping paper etc. I use that to try different things and add different styles to my pieces.
What are your favourite tools to use?
I love working with gel pens and paper. I like using color so pens with a variety and selection of colors are always my favourite. I am constantly on the computer so working with pen and paper is such a refreshing break for me.
What would your advice be to people new to the creative industry and any tips on how to get started?
My advice would be to not compare yourself to everyone in the social media community. It is very easy to get overwhelmed, especially at the beginning, with all the tools and paper out there. But just take it one step at a time and focus on learning the basics like how to hold the pen and how much pressure to use. Practicing on alphabet worksheets are a great way to get started. There are a lot of artists in the lettering community who offer worksheets, print them out and keep practicing. One tip which I did was, I started practicing with Crayola markers on worksheets to get comfortable with how much pressure to use. Lettering pens can be expensive, using Crayola markers are an inexpensive way to practice and get better.
To see more of Charmaine's work you can follow her on Instagram Remember to follow @manuscriptpenco on Social Media where we will be showcasing her work throughout the month.
