Lyn & Cooper

Nov 30

Lyn Tran (of Draw&Explore) is a longtime, long-distance friend of our human Nicole! They first connected over a love of lettering. Nicole featured Lyn in the 3rd volume of TYPOgraphJournal and they stayed intouch via social media (and lovely lettered snail mail) since. So we are thrilled to welcome Lyn and her adorable three-legged pal Cooper to our pack.

In our latest WalkThe_Talk profile, we learn about Lyn and Cooper’s bond, and debut Lyn’s latest artwork Love is a paw-legged friend!

Hi Lyn, as longtime fan of your work – we love your lettering and craftsmanship! Can you tell us a little bit about your early creative influences and what led you to a career in art and design?

I’ve always loved to draw! In high school, I had an amazing vis comm and art teacher that really encouraged me to pursue a career in design. And that’s exactly what I set out to do. I’ve always loved painting and I think being able to work with my hands stemmed from the influences of those very classes. I got burnt out with my first design role, so I decided to take a sabbatical year off to live in Japan. They're known for their amazing craftsmanship and it was an enlightening year to help reignite inspiration that was missing in my first design role. A year to create with my hands and have that tactile experience that I missed so much. I learned about the craft of ancient block printing, paper making as well as Japanese calligraphy and crafting. Japan always has a special place in my design as everything is super kawaii (cute), fun and beautifully designed. I always try to carry those characteristics through my work.

How do you feel like your style and approach to design has evolved since you started out?

In the design world, I previously thought that 'more is better' but have found that less can actually say much much more.

I've also learned to be a true believer in designing something that uniquely represents my client. I’d usually aim to tee up a little 'meet n greet' (any excuse for a hot chocy too!), but its over this casual meeting where WE can really determine how to make magic happen! My many years of experience has taught me that the better I know my client and their problems, the better their design solutions are!

Your portfolio is lettering, and typography centric. What is it about designing with language you enjoy most?

I’m not going to lie, I first fell in love with typography. I had an amazing lecturer, Dan Milne, who showed me typography design and it rocked my world! (nerd alert!)

And to kick it up a notch, I also discovered Mike Perry’s lettering book, 'Hand Job' (unfortunate title or clever pun? You decide!). I loved how adding small nuances can completely transform the character for each letter. Needless to say, I've been addicted to lettering since and has allowed my business to 'flourish'.

What insight can you give us to your lettering process – do you have favourite tools or techniques?

I love getting my head into books and researching about particular styles of lettering. I relish in buying new lettering books as it doesn’t feel as saturated (as the internet) and has more unique references and insights.

My lettering process would usually involved:

1. Start with rough thumbnail sketches of the layout, drawing only the skeleton of the letters.

2. Once the layout that works well, I’ll start adding the meat to the skeleton of the letters. I always tend to turn my artwork upside down to check whether the composition is balanced.

3. If it passes the test, it's character playtime! Time to start finessing on the finer details and motifs.

4. The final touch is usually the colour palette.

5. Last but not least, depending on the final output, I would then vectorise the artwork in Illustrator.

As for tools, the iPad / Procreate have absolutely blown me away. It's expedited my working process and it’s amazing! RIP scanner, you've served me well.  

You are currently on maternity leave from Draw and Explore – what are your current creative outlets?

My maternity leave has been a great opportunity to reflect on my business and creative goals. And for the rare few moments I do get an opportunity to put my creativity hat on, I’ve managed to design digital milestone cards for Avery, which has been quite refreshing. Who doesn’t love a #babyspam.

Please tell us about Cooper

My dad and I were always dog lovers. Cooper was actually a gift from my sister to my dad and I’d always wanted a medium / large sized dog to go running with. I was in sunny Queensland on my last night on holiday having dinner with my friends when I got the phone call from my sister telling me that she got dad a dog for his birthday :O I was super excited (coz’ a dog for my dad, really meant a dog for me!!) She told me she got him a puppy Chihuahua - my heart was shattered into a million pieces, no running dog :(

 I got home the next day, still a deflated, but was ready to meet the newest member of the family. I walked through the door, entered the living room and saw this kitten like fluff ball curled in his bed - wait what!? *double take* A PUPPY HUSKY! *heart eyes*. I now take him just about everywhere I go, camping trips, every run…even to my new house when I moved out! Thanks Dad!

As you know our pack had a three-legged champion for many years and he was a beacon of light in our family – they are so resilient!
How did Coopers amputation came about and also how has he adapted?

Coop broke his leg playing at the park on the day of my nephew’s birthday party and a visit to the vet revealed he had bone cancer. We were given 1 night to decide between amputation (with potential to only extend his life for 4-11 months with Chemo, possibly less without) or saying final goodbyes….I’m not crying, you're crying! 

We were pregnant with Avery at the time and the day the vet gave us this ultimatum was also the same day we heard Avery’s heart beat for the first time. It was tough to really enjoy such life changing moment, when we had another life changing decision lingering in the back of our minds. 

A nights sleep really helped to clear our thoughts. 1. Vets aren’t always right - hopefully he lives for a lot longer! 2. Any time spent with Avery is still something we wanted to take our chances on and 3. He still has A LOT to give. Mr Vet - take my friggin money! 

Only 2 days after surgery, this clever tripawd was already trying to re-learn how to walk and it seemed to bother us a lot more than it did him! We avoided chemo given his age (and didn’t want it to effect his amazing disposition), changed his diet for the better, pay regular visits to our vet for a ‘tune up’ , acupuncture, and he now edges on to 13 years old (and almost 2 years after surgery - no signs of cancer yet *fingers crossed*). He still goes on multiple daily walks and sometimes when riding my bike, Mr Phantom Leg makes an appearance and Coop does some short sprints by my side! Dogs are resilient? That’s an absolute understatement!

How does having Cooper in your life improve your wellbeing?

He gets me out and about and makes me appreciate the beautiful (or not so beautiful) Melbourne weather outside - being out in so-so weather’s better than being glued to the screen all day! And interacting with other dog-loving enthusiasts is sometimes the best part of the walk! Although, what doesn’t help my wellbeing is when more people at the park know Cooper’s name than they do mine :(

How do he and Avery get along?

Avery and Coops get along really well. She tends to invade his personal space and she is the only person he allows to do so. Even when she’s curious about how his ear will taste! And it’s the sweetest thing seeing Cooper sneak a kiss to his little sister.

I saw on your instagram feed you have designed a type specimen for Cooper – can you tell us about that and how the “spunky” lettering styles mirror his personality traits?

I originally was working on a passion project called “ My dog has more friends than me”, which is a series of pet portraits and interviews with dogs I meet at the park. Think of it as “Humans of New York” but of dogs. This project's a long term ongoing project, but aim to complete it one day. There are many projects online where it highlights adorable and funny characteristics of dogs, but I wanted to introduce more complex stories that included heavier topics such as illness. As terrible it sounds, I really want to highlight that even at the most difficult times, dogs have a way of showing strength, determination and amazing companionship.

I wanted to have two types of lettering styles that complimented each other. This is me being bias, but I think he is very poised and extremely handsome! Having the fat bottom script style definitely packs a punch whilst demonstrating a sense of elegance. And for his gentle nature, a soft monoline was the perfect match.

Tell us about a typical day in the life of Cooper?

As of late, his life’s really revolved around his little sister - and the poor guy doesn’t have a choice in the matter. They both wake up and Avery’s trying to get to his food and water bowl (so he has to eat brekky extra fast now!) He’d also have to put up with Avery invading his super comfy bed! His favourite walk is to the amazing Hansen Reserve where he likes to rest and sunbake (and get pats from all the locals!)

Can you share a favourite Coop memory?

My friends came over to visit to meet our new little pup. We were sitting in our gazebo and chatting while Coop went about his business. We then noticed, that he was chewing on a nice wallet, we laughed wondering where he even dug that up from, only for my friend to realise, simultaneously patting his side pockets, that his wallet was missing! haha he usually checks for his wallet before he leaves our place now…just in case.

What life lesson have you learnt from him?

♡ Be resilient, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade! Work through it and just take it one hop at a time

♡ There's a brighter side to everything - he can still go for walks and still have a great quality of life

♡ One less leg and still gives an abundance unconditional love

♡ We don’t deserve dogs - still one of the gentlest giants you'll ever meet

♡ Be present and enjoy the moment.

When you are working does he hang out in your studio? If so what are the benefits to having him around while you are creating?

I always bring Cooper with me to my studio hangs. He’s not a fan of my studio space because it’s a little cramped. He prefers to hang out in the garden and sun bake. And I’ll come to him with questions when I’m feeling indecisive about my design options. He usually responds by giving me a lick to the face! He’s always good company and I never feel alone. Lucky me! Sometimes he also is accompanied by my little niece.

Can you also tell us a bit about your beautiful 23 carrat gold Lockie portrait? What was the brief, and what insight can you give us to the production?

The Lockie gold gilded glass sign was actually a gift for my client. I felt that I hit the jackpot because he too is a dog lover and has 2 dogs! So lucky guy, actually got 2 gold gilded glass signs.

The brief was to create a small portrait of Lockie and Kira and using different shades of gold to add that extra shine and depth to the overall design.

First up, I would draw out my design then print the design in reverse. As it is being painted on glass, I always have to work in reverse. Once I have played the design behind the glass, I start painting in sections of all the block colours. Once the paint dries, I start using water size (special glue that helps the gold stick to the glass) and then use gilder’s tip to pick up the gold leaf and transfer to the glass. Once the gold is dried, I will back up the gold section with drop black. Then I will burnish with a special pillow and a dusting mop, which will help get rid of the excess gold flakes and give it that extra shine. If the gold still has a few pinholes, I will repeat the process of transferring the gold until the holes are covered. The drop black paint will protect the gold from being damaged. Then, I would remove the excess gold with whiting powder.

Ta da! A completed gold gilded glass sign.

What do you enjoy most about working with these traditional techniques in your work?

There’s always something so magical and fascinating when working with your hands. I think it’s mostly the tactile experience I am drawn too. The way the texture of the paint feels, the delicacy of handling the gold leaf, the mirror reflection once the gold leaf dries, the moment your brush touches a fresh tin of paint. All those moments are so satisfying! It’s all just a beautiful process and I’m ever so proud to continue sharing and working with this wonderful craft. My guilty pleasure, seeing my paint covered and gold sprinkles on my hands when the job is complete. What a way to end the day!

What creative project or achievement are you most proud of professionally?

Melbourne’s stage 4 lock down has been extremely challenging for many Melburnians. I’m big believer in the role that pets can play in your life. Their enduring friendship and loyalty is so good for the soul, proven to improve mental health and mood, and just so many other wonderful things.

I designed a mural that would pay homage to our furry friends during the challenging times of COVID.

The mural created a unique experience for our neighbours to connect over the love of dogs.

As well as strengthening community pride by spreading positivity during these difficult times. Lastly, it has increased community engagement through beautifying our space. 

What does a dream commission look like for you?

I’m passionate about brightening up community spaces, creating art that people can enjoy, but also creating something with meaning that can actually improve the lives of the people who experience it.

I’d love to create a mural that showcases my love for dogs and the incredible impact they can have in your life. 

With Cooper being diagnosed with cancer and I’d just love to celebrate everything he is and everything he’s contributed to our family - as all paw legged friends do for their owners!