Flourish Drawing

[Rachael]

I'm trying to make my business catch people's attention, and one thing I've always wanted to try was flourishing in a animal form. Like the picture I attached. However I don't know that many artists that can do it, or books that teach it. Is it just something you play around with until you get it right?

[Erica McPhee]

Hi Rachel,
Flourishing is one of those elusive things that takes time, patience, and study. But once you learn how it works, it is less complicated than it appears. It is done using a series of strokes to create the final flourish. Once you learn those strokes, you can then use them to flourish things such as animals, etc. There are a few resources that are helpful but the best thing, if at all possible, is to take a class. And then just practice, practice, practice.

IAMPETH offered classes in this in the past. Otherwise, I'm not sure of any other classes.

There are a few free resources. You can learn a lot by studying the old texts. Old books here at IAMPETH - Everything Offhand Flourishing

And some Dover publications:


The prices are ridiculous for this one:


I hope that helps. 

[AndyT]

A good excuse to post The Flourisher's Nightmare again.

[AnasaziWrites]

I'm trying to make my business catch people's attention, and one thing I've always wanted to try was flourishing in a animal form. Like the picture I attached. However I don't know that many artists that can do it, or books that teach it. Is it just something you play around with until you get it right?

Michael Sull has an Off Hand Flourishing DVD available at John Neal Bookstore here:
http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/s?keyword=sull

[AnasaziWrites]

This Tamblyn School book is good if you can find one (its book five of five).

[Gibby]

I've been toying with the idea of trying some flourishing myself – thanks for the list of resources. That looks incredibly helpful! My google-skills were failing me. Weird things appeared when I googled: the difference between flourishing and offhand flourishing.

Thanks again!
Gibby