The graffiti culture is one that has surrounded me fairly consistently in the past. However, It’s one avenue of lettering that I’ve barely scratched the surface of, myself. Despite the playful, energetic personality that surrounds street artists, there exists a heavy weight that keeps the amateur from breaking into the scene. Street credit exists, and the street is the street after all.

I’ve had the incredible pleasure of visiting 5 Points in Queens, New York on two occasions. Recommendation: if you’ve never been there, get there; this paint-consumed warehouse is one of NYC’s best kept secrets. Since my first visit, I’ve done a lot of research on the progress of street art in all form, I’ve picked the brain of a few friends and acquaintances immersed in the East coast culture – and mind you, they take their identities very seriously. Artists from all around flock to 5 Points for a chance to claim a few square feet of wall space. The location is almost like a who’s who or hall of fame documentation, with names and styles of all kinds on display, and an urban setting that’s absolutely prone to photo and video shoots – one of which was staged and executed during my second visit. I still don’t know what is inside of the warehouse, but I’d like to visualize endless drafting tables and artists plotting their next attack!

While many of the more outstanding pieces on display leave most people dumbfounded and sweating to understand the lettering structure, the main attraction of my post is actually focused on a 50-second scrawl on paper with a chisel tip Sharpie marker. As much respect as I can muster up for the brilliant ensembles of color, pattern, form and depth displayed under bridges and along freight train cars, I find myself most genuinely in love with what are referred to as hand styles.

These are easier to come by, most common in urban and developed cities, usually quick – sometimes sloppy – but always intriguing and often peppered with a bit of calligraphic influence. Street artists who focus on graffiti concentrate on what would be considered their ’signature’ which in this case is the hand style. In addition to the always-evolving demonstrations of their urban paintings, the hand style is something that is their own, and something that hopefully will become instantaneously recognizable among their peers with just a glance. FAUST is one such artist whose style was introduced to me just recently, and who I feel deserves some attention.

Pay attention to the first minute of this clip: (http://tinyurl.com/n9f23t). What caught my attention was less about the outcome, but more about the evolution of the lettering. As simple as it may seem, this technique of carving with a chisel tip goes way back and flirts with both black letter and calligraphy. Not to mention the relationship between the letters maintains a certain balance that this signature needs, which you don’t always find as often as you’d expect. The bold strokes and subtle curves create instant shapes that most graphic artists strive for with the pen tool and a number of – if not too many – bézier points, and if I had the same control that FAUST demonstrates in this clip, I would be a happy man! With practice, this technique can certainly be established, but for now the spotlight is on the awe that I fell under while watching this artist go to work on paper.

Thanks to Isaac Orloff of http://www.orloffillustration.com for the tip on FAUST.