Yves Leterme

C506 What the Flat Brush Teaches Us

Five Day Class
INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED
Tools & Materials

This class is centered around the flat brush. We will deepen our understanding of the tool and fully experience how pressure and manipulation bring refinement to our strokes and letters. Purposeful exercises will increase our control over the tool in order to produce the lines and shapes exactly the way we want them. We will walk through different alphabets and hands, gaining more skill and precision along the way and we’ll learn how we can alter these alphabets, how we can mould them into something of our own, something original. Developing our brush skills inevitably translates in better awareness of all our letters, whether formal with the nib or drawn with a pencil.

Supply List
  • Some flat brushes in excellent condition (recommended: the Raphael Kaerell series, #4, #6, #8)
  • A roll of paper: Mala paper from Ikea or Kraft paper (A3 format) or white butcher paper
  • Gouache (You may also bring walnut ink and/or Bister ink)
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Ruler
  • Water container
  • Mixing brush
  • Palette
  • Bar of soap

Yves Leterme runs a studio in Sint-Kruis, a town very close to Bruges, Belgium. Having taught Latin and Greek for 25 years, he quit his school job in 2010 to become a full-time calligrapher. He takes on various commissions and makes free artistic work. Teaching, however, remains his main vocation and occupation. Since 2006 he has toured extensively around the globe to give workshops and presentations for societies and conferences. He also offers several online classes on the Acorn Arts platform. In calligraphic circles, Yves is especially known for his refined and versatile gestural lettering, his minutely drawn capitals and his richly textured, abstract backgrounds. Yves’ work has been selected for inclusion in many juried shows and his artwork can be found in catalogs, magazines, museums and private collections, as well as on Instagram of course. He’s the author of Thoughtful Gestures and Litterae.