kmgb lettering

Back from a trip to Rome to watch 6 Nations Rugby. The game was wonderful, especially as Wales won. Afterwards on a tour around the colosseum my wife pointed out this lettering to me and I took the snap that appears above. Reminisent of the inscription work of David Jones , the letters have a rythym of their own and this lettering is informal compared to other lettering in the same place. This piece makes a connection between the formal letters that are the foundation of serif typefaces and the cursive letters found in documents and famously as graphiti on the walls of Pompei. I have an interest in Asemic writing and although inscribed in stone these letters fall into this category for me, especially as my grasp of the Latin language is almost non-existant.

This post is a piece which was accepted and was part of the CLAS (Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society) exhibition 'The Art of the Letter' earlier this year. I was pleased that it was accepted and delighted with the comment that accompanied it on its return. As usual I went up to the wire finishing it for the exhibition, but next year I'll devote more time to it.

This piece, dated 2003, went missing around July that year, following the exhibition that it was part of. Thinking about it at the weekend, it struck me that this was another reason for using my own words in pieces of calligraphy and lettering. In an earlier post I argued that copyright can be very restictive and getting permission can sometimes prove difficult. This leaves the options of using out of copyright text or one's own words. I hope that this piece is not changing hands for money anywhere.