Gottfried Pott – A Look into the World of Calligraphy

We should always consider the interactive effect of tool, paper, and color if we want to suceed with a particular idea. Here experience is once again the best teacher. This is why I want to include at this point a few tips out of my own practice. I like to add a few drops of gum arabic to commercially available paints, such as gouache. It increases the binding capacity and prevents smearing; it even increases the flow from the pen during work. A few drops of ox gall are helpful if the writing fluid is being repelled by the paper surface.

Opaque/Glazing Fluid
I like to make my own opaque black which is easy to write with. I mix charcoal black as the color pigment with gum arabic and dilute it with distilled water until I can write with it.

If a glazing fluid other thank ink or water color is desired for writing, I would like to recommend a water-soluble dye which is available in granular form. A walnut dye is especially good because of its rich tonal values from the deepest to the lightest values of brown. And the granular form is very practical in general. It does not spill during transport and needs only the addition of water when we are ready to use it.