Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists

LETTERS AS ABSTRACT SHAPES

Learn to see letters and numbers in the abstract. You
already know that an 0 is a circle or an oval, and an X is a
cross, but do you think of a Y as a fork, or a Z as a zigzag?
Choose an unfamiliar alphabet (found text, or hand cop-
ied). Scour the library or used bookstores for foreign texts,
but take care that the subject matter is appropriate I A
manual on shorthand contains fascinating symbols. Or run
a search for ancient letters and numbers on the Internet.
Consider the symbols used in astrology or mathematics.

82 I CREATIVE PA I N T WO RKSHOP

Turn words upside down or sideways.

Stencil letters on the diagonal.

Create a mirrored image.

Superimpose one word over another.

Cut words in half horizontally.

Invent your own letters.

Make up words- Shakespeare di dl

The lines of Cs across the top here have a decorative

effect. Foreign words or words that are incomplete and

partially obs cured corry mystery.