Yesterday, I used one of my rather mechanical entangled drawings last week to generate some tiles and surfaces in Repper. I figured out my colour palette and how I wanted to add colour yesterday, and this morning I continued to work on the design for over an hour.
Rather than having radial symmetry, this design has two axes of symmetry – horizontal and vertical.
I did record this process, and I found myself talking about some things that are too personal to share. These were some things I needed to voice, to hear with my ears rather than my inner voice. The process was valuable to me, but not something I want to be available to all and sundry.
Instead, I deleted the audio, and replaced it with a brief voice over introduction and some music to accompany the sped up video recording. I condensed over an hour of work into about fifteen minutes.
I also learned that voice over is entirely possible to do, but that I need to find a different way to do this. The function I used in Movavi only gave me a few seconds of voice over time. I’ll work it out for sure.
Yesterday, I worked to add colour to my drawing using Distress Inks as watercolours. I was soon really disheartened and disappointed with the colours.
This morning, I decided to finish adding colour and then to try adding details with a white Posca pen and various fineliners and gel pens to see if I could achieve something I felt was OK. Also, I used it as an opportunity to learn.
I’m still not at all sure of the partly finished artwork, but it is what it is.
This morning, I decided to use Distress Inks to colour a 20cm x 20cm piece of smooth heavyweight cartridge paper and then to draw upon it. I also recorded all of this process as a youtube video (see below).
The paper is a bit more coloured than in this photo – the camera washed the colours out a bit. I will scan it in before I do anything else with this drawing for sure.
It’s always so nice to draw on a coloured background. White is such a stark colour, but a necessary one for so much of my work.
I just wanted to draw for the joy of drawing this morning. I had no fixed idea of what I was going to do or motifs and patterns I wanted to use.
Now, I have a drawing with a background colour that I’d like to add more colour to. That gives me the opportunity to use Distress Inks a bit like watercolours. And as blues form the background, I can use a monochrome palette of some of the blues I used – Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Peacock Feathers and a touch of Evergreen Bough (I know, it’s a green, but it is a blue-green!).
I finished drawing ‘Passion’ this morning. The original is black pen on white paper, but I’ve manipulated it a little for the social media post. I kept to a relatively small number of motifs in the design, which gives it a bit more of a coherent ‘feel’.
Adding colour to the design was on my mind as I completed the design. This can be seen in the larger motifs that I’ve drawn.
In fact, I did start to add colour during my morning drawing vlog – and to a disastrous effect, in my opinion. I’m just so glad that I scanned the drawing in before adding colour. Now, I can work on it at my leisure digitally.
I may very well start another drawing in the series tomorrow morning. I don’t know what word I’ll choose yet. Maybe you’d like to leave a suggestion or two in the comments!
An abstract drawing that I started yesterday. I think the drawing is complete, maybe. But I wanted to start to add colour to work out what palette I want to use.
This is it so far, after a couple of hours mucking about with colours, layer settings and so on. I’m quite happy with the dusky pink and mossy green, but not so sure about the dusty blue.
This isn’t my only work in progress. I’ve just finished uploading my daily morning drawing vlog on YouTube:
I started to draw another abstract drawing in this vlog as I talk about inner critics, overly talkative me, and other stuff.
Both drawings are being done with a micro sized Uniball Eye pen on Canson marker paper. The paper is so smooth and a pleasure to draw on with pens that dry quite quickly, like the Eye pen.
For now, once I’ve done my social media posts, I need a break. The sun is shining and my feet are feeling eager for a little walk. So that’s what I’ll be doing in about an hour!
This morning, I finished drawing the entangled design on parchment and started to add colour. I did a really untidy job of using masking tape to hold down the curled parchment. It worked though. I’ve not completed adding colour, yet. I may do so through the day today, once I’ve done other errands.
Then, I have to decide what to do with this small piece of art. Do I mount it on black or white? Do I turn it into a card or something else? Or should I just let it live in a sketchbook of some kind of mine? I dunno.
It’s nice, every now and then, to do something a little different. There are things I learn and realise, especially as memories of the last times I created something with parchment come back to my awareness.
Monday is definitely mandala day! I’ve been working on this mandala for the past week, on and off. It’s taken me lots of attempts to get the colours and brushes to work the way I’d like. I’m quite happy with it now.
I like the combination of warm and cool violets and teal-ish greens. They’re close enough together on the colour wheel to work harmoniously together.
I’m just adding colour at the moment. I will think about adding patterns to the various areas once the colour is all complete.
Although the black lines are quite bold in this design, the colour seems to make them almost disappear. They seem to become, almost, the darkest shadows that separate the different colour areas, deep cuts that delineate the different sections. I’ve never really noticed that before, and I think it’s a nice observation.
I’ve been enjoying, as always, adding shadow and highlight to give that sense of volume and layers to the design. It’s always fascinating to me how such simple use of colour can add so much interest.
Vlogging
I’ve worked out that all the youtube videos I’ve been creating are really vlogs. I can be incredibly dense at times about such things. I do talk about different things in them than I do on this blog. My thoughts are different when I write and when I talk it seems. Or perhaps the process of writing slows my thoughts down in a way speaking out loud doesn’t.
Anyway, I’m enjoying creating the vlogs. As I draw every morning just for fun and to warm up my muscles, joints and creative mind and heart, it’s nice to share that process with others. I hope people gain inspiration and insight from the vlogs.
It’s been heart-warming and humbling for the lovely comments people have left there. I really appreciate every like and new subscriber.
In today’s vlog, I draw on vellum, and then paper when the vellum curls too much to be easy to hold down.
Zoom get togethers
Saturday I hosted a Zoom get together for any members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group who’d like to join in. Last night, I was chatting to Brett, one of the founders of the group and the person who keeps everything running smoothly there. She often has trouble getting onto Zoom, and so we decided to give it a go and we worked out the best way for her to join in.
So, after a short chat, we both suggested about the same time that we could open the meeting up to the group. One member joined us and we chatted until just past midnight for me.
I’ve also set up a meeting for Tuesday tea-time, UK time and the details will be posted in the group for members to join in.
Anyway, I didn’t really settle down to sleep until around 2 am, and I’m really feeling the lack of a good night’s sleep now. I suspect another nap will be on the cards sooner rather than later. However, I do want to get out for a walk again today. I’ll be trying to time it to dodge the heavy rain showers we seem to have.
This morning, I decided to add some motifs to my visual journal from the drawing I started, and finished, yesterday.
Last night, UK time, I met up with some of the members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans facebook group on Zoom. It was lovely to meet them. They actually pointed out some connections between me being a scientist and my visual dictionary/zibaldone being organised in categories. I’d never thought of that before.
In fact, the discussion about where I get my inspiration and my visual dictionary resulted in the idea for the video this morning.
This is a rather mechanical-organic-entangled kind of drawing, that is a work in progress. I started two similar drawings, but then messed them up as I smeared ink too badly.
This one, though, is gradually growing. Perhaps the machinery is all abandoned bits and bobs that nature is now reclaiming. Who knows! Perhaps there is a bit of a story in my art after all.
I did make a short youtube video this morning as I drew part of this design. Yesterday, I took delivery of a stand-sit thingy that sits on my desk. I realised I spend way too much time sitting down in a day, drawing and so on. So, I thought being able to stand and work may be a good thing.
Yesterday afternoon, after it arrived, I tested it out to do some digital art. All fine and good! It was a pleasant change to stand and work, that’s for sure.
This morning, I wondered how I’d get on drawing traditionally. So, I thought I’d make a little video of me drawing a thinking out loud.
It’s OK to work when standing up, but i’m going to have to set the thingy (must give it a name!) a bit higher so I’m not bending my back a tad awkwardly to work. Mind you, that may be solved if I wear the right pair of glasses!
All the same, I think it’s a fab investment, and as it lowers to being just about three inches higher than my desk surface and I can push it back out of the way, it’s fab.
It’s raining fairly steadily and heavily at the moment. We have a weather warning here in South Wales, one to take care when driving. I’ve got no plans to go out. Actually, even if it was dry I have no plans to go out. A walk isn’t a good idea at the moment. I twisted my knee awkwardly yesterday. Walking up/down slopes was problematic for me on my walk yesterday. Going up and down stairs can be really painful. So, my knee needs some tlc to recover, quiet day today then.
Art is the Adventure 