Arabic Calligraphy with FP

[SMK]

I did this with a fountain pen (not with the traditional reed pen) so I guess it qualifies to be here.

The pen used is a Dollar demonstrator with an Inoxcrom nib ground to about 40 degree left foot oblique.

The ink is a mix of Sheaffer Skrip Red, a little bit of Waterman Havana Brown and I believe a dash of Sheaffer Skrip Lavender. The golden ink is from Winsor & Newton and is filled in using a dip pen.

The calligraphy is done on watercolor paper treated with tea leaves.

[penspouse]

Beautiful!

[SProctor]

Wow, that is incredible SMK,

I especially like the multicolored version on picasaweb and all of the finer detail one doesn't see in the smaller picture. Can you share with us what it says?

Thank you for sharing it with us!

[SMK]

Thanks penspouse and Stephen.

Stephen - the overall shape you see is the word 'Allah' (the name of God) written in a stylized form. The smaller words inside are some of the 99 names of Allah - the 99 names describe attributes of Allah i.e. qualities like 'most merciful', 'most beneficent' and so on.

I like the multi colored one too but the actual calligraphy in this one is in better.

S.

[SMK]

Thank you jasikajack. I appreciate your very nice comment.

[dust4tears]

I would like to learn more about Arabic/Persian Calligraphy.

Do you know of any english written books that you can recommend about the subject? I know there are a lot of books out there,
but I have't found anyone to recommend a particular book.

[SMK]

dust4tears - unfortunately I do not know of any instructions in English for Arabic Calligraphy. My own learning has been from studying works of other Calligraphers and from talking to one or two knowledgeable peoples.

I think the best place to start would be to look at some videos on youtube and vimeo. You'll find a lot of information about various scripts at http://www.calligraphyqalam.com/

The thing to do is pick a script to learn and stick to the exercises. I will be more than happy to provide help and guidance once you have chosen a script. I recommend starting with Thuluth, its a lovely script that requires comparatively little pen manipulation so is an excellent place to start.

Feel free to send me an email or a PM if you'd like more information. I stumbled back here by chance and saw your question.

Salman