Decorative Fantasy Writing on the Wall

I wanted to create a circle on a livingroom wall, but could not decide on a colour. A few years ago I drew a big circle and filled it with horizontal colour pencil lines. The result was very subtle, very very subtle. Nobody noticed. Inpired by a friend who uses the Syrian alphabet in art, I decided to fill the circle with letter-like shapes. no readeble text, I loved the use of an alphabet witch I cannot read. Purely for the structure of writing.

For the initial draft I used pencil, paper, ruler, calligraphy pen

For the painting on the wall I used A 15 mm wide marker ( see description below, step 3), paint to fill the marker, a ruler, pencil, tape measure

Fantasy writing sounds simpler than it is. You have to design a series of shapes with variations, but also similarities so they belong together. I tried to "write" lines with different materials to get a feel for one style of shapes. The inspiration was mainly Arabic. So you have to take care its not changing half way into Sanskrit, Hebrew, or Greek.

To keep a "Arabic"style I set myself a few rules:

1. Almost all lines are curved
2. The lines are thick and rejuvenate to a pointy end
3. No closed shapes ( as in O,B,D,)
4. Little square dots sprinkled between the letters
5. Letters flow into each other, no clear separation between them.
6. Use marker in the same diagonal direction throughout

I tried this extensively before I started on the wall. I made the lettering on the wall in horizontal "sentences". Going round in the circle would have created a bulls eye witch does not match the non symmetrical cupboards and art around it

It stands to reason if you want the lettering to be Chinese or Cuneiform or any other alphabet you must make your own kind of rules.

I was very lucky there was already a circle on the wall. I drew that a few years ago by hammering a nail on the center, With a piece of string with a pencil tied on the end it was easy to draw a perfect circle. this circle was unobtrusively decorated with horizontal colour pencil stripes, witch you may discover on some photos.

First I drew a horizontal line along a ruler ( or piece of wood). With spaces of 6 cm I drew parallel lines, staying within the circle. The first "letters" I made on a place that would be covered by the cupboard, so there was some space to get used to the feeling.

May be it would have been a good idea to sand the wall and if necessary repair cracks. I did not.

The actual writing was done with a refillable marker with a 15 mm wide tip and acrylic paint. I used Molotow one4all marker and paint. The tip will wear out, depending on the smoothness of the wall. The pin of these markers can be replaced, but I did not find any store that had them in stock. I managed to do all with one tip. You will have to hold your marker in the same direction the whole time( rule 6 in step 1). For the edge of the circle I cut a piece of carton to use as a stencil. And for good observers: Yes, I cheated and skipped a part behind the cupboard.

The lettering is made without using template or draft. I gained enough confidence with the making of drafts that I could make the lettering on the go. Again: restrict yourself to a set of self devised rules to keep the alphabet coherent.

One more remark on the use of ( this) marker. It is doable, but the marker is not happy with the vertical wall. Now and again you have to use the pump mechanism inside the markertip to get the paint flowing again.

It was always my intention for the wall to be a background of the cabinets and painting. I can imagine you will think it is a shame to cover so much of the work but actually I am quite pleased with the result. The circle disguises the bend in the wall and locks everything together, making the room bigger and more interesting.