Katie Coates is the latest artist to contribute to our Arty Afternoons series and is mesmerising everyone with Modern Calligraphy and the creation of her thoughtful vegan, cruelty-free watercolour paints, all made using natural and ethically sourced ingredients.
To watch and be inspired, please click on the ‘Play’ button below
Back in January 2017, Katie began ‘lettering’ when she found she needed a creative outlet in her daily life. She had soon built up quite a following and was amazed and thrilled when people began to offer to pay for her designs.
Feeling such warmth and enthusiasm gave Katie the confidence to start her own business and so Campbella was born!
As an artist, she prides herself on using the very best quality of materials, with the letters of every piece she creates produced entirely by hand. The beauty of every work is that it is completely bespoke, unique to the person it was specifically created for.
With the medium lending itself so well to distinctive, personal creations, Katie’s video is a wonderful place to start seeking inspiration if you’ve always wanted to try Modern Calligraphy, or if you’re encountering it for the very first time.
Her video is an inspirational one. Throughout, Katie shows us examples of her work, how she creates her pieces and how she successfully combines colours to create her shimmering paint palettes.
Watercolours are Katie’s favoured artistic material and she shares that mixing your own paint is truly brilliant as there’s no limit to the colours you can create. It means that you can set the perfect tone for all the pieces you embark upon, ensuring every work is one-of-a-kind, whilst it’s also immensely therapeutic to both do and watch too!
As Katie shares, many of the paints she creates and sells via the Campbella website came into being as a result of her noticing colours present in the natural world. Nature is her greatest muse in many respects, with the hues emerging throughout the changing seasons inevitably capturing her imagination. She’s particularly drawn to plants and wildflowers, as well as the tones of the seas and skies, which includes those of the rainbow; a firm favourite of Katie’s as you’ll see towards the end of the video!
Similarly, she enjoys embracing nature both in terms of illustration and in terms of using natural materials as a blank canvas for her Bounce Lettering; a more specific term describing her style of Modern Calligraphy.
Katie mentions in the video that the joy of this form of art is that you can develop your own style of writing within these rather wide parameters. Whilst the technique might be broadly similar across many forms of Modern Calligraphy, with emphasis placed on making masterful use of pressure to produce thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes, ultimately you can take this and put your own distinctive stamp on the craft.
It’s truly fascinating to watch and the good news is that the tools are designed to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible. Katie recommends a few of her favourites, whilst she also kindly offers everyone the opportunity to get in touch with her should anyone wish to purchase the materials or simply ask more questions about Modern Calligraphy.
Katie’s contact details are at the end of the video, but you can also see her website by clicking here
You’re also welcome to follow and get in touch with Katie via Facebook or Instagram
She is currently generously giving 30% off on all Campbella orders using code ‘HORATIO’ at checkout too
We’re enormously grateful to Katie for taking the time to create this video and look forward to seeing your Modern Calligraphy and paint creations!
