Raoul Martinez
C508 Intermediate Fraktur
As the baroque era dawned on Europe, a new esthetic, driven by Maximilian I, transformed Textura into a more decorative script, with a contrast of subtle curves and straight lines. After a brief history of Fraktur, I will introduce you to this elegant, structured script, and will teach the minuscule and majuscule letters and some variations.
Supply List
- 3, 4, and 5 mm Brause pen nibs
- 2 or more straight pen holders
- Metal ruler
- 9" x 12" pad of marker layout paper (Canson Pro-Layout Marker)
- Half-sheet (20" x 25.5") of Arches Text Wove paper
- Black ink (Higgins Eternal or Moon Palace sumi ink)
- Two dark colors of gouache, e.g., cadmium red and ultramarine
- Small, cheap #2 brush for mixing gouache
- Small, plastic pallet with at least 6 wells
- 4 dinky dips or similar capped inkwells
- Squirt bottles for distilled water
- Artist’s tape
- Pencils for taking notes
- Slant board (any stiff, smooth board, minimum 18" x 20")
- Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol for cleaning nibs
- Paper towels or rags
Raoul Martinez has been dabbling in calligraphy since college. In 2009, he rediscovered blackletter at Black Sabbath, a monthly class led by Linnea Lundquist and Ward Dunham. He has spread his love of calligraphy by teaching at the San Francisco Center for the Book, Friends of Calligraphy, Pacific Scribes, and Artseed. He also leads a bimonthly online study group, the Blackletter Brunch. Raoul’s artwork has been shown at the San Francisco Public Library, Filoli, the Presentation Center, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, and appeared in Alphabet and the Speedball Textbook. For examples of his work, go to CalligraphybyRaoul.com and Instagram.com/raoulpat.