(Gouache, gold leafing pen, and ink on Tomoe River paper. 21 x 17 cm.)

Here’s a second piece of Gothic calligraphy, this one based on Dr. John C. H. Wu’s translation of the Tao Teh Ching. I made this using gouche, gold leafing pen and ink (Noodler’s Bad Belted Kingfisher and Platinum’s Cassis Black) on Tomoe River paper. The ibis has been a symbol of writers since ancient Egyptian times, and here he bursts the frame to take the nourishment of water into the airs of the writerly mind.