Ah! Fragment variations! One of my favourite things to do just for fun!
Today, I chose the lovely tangle pattern ‘Holly’, by Linda Dawson, as the source of the initial fragment.
My coddiwomple through the variations let to some lovely variations. Some were definitely dead ends, and some just don’t work in a reticulum.
Each dead-end and ‘fail’ teaches something. To persevere. And to accept that playing around with variations means mistakes, yeuchy variations are going to result. This is what sketchbooks are for – to make mistakes, to try things out, to work out what does and what does not work. And more importantly, to help get over the fear of failure, of having a go.
Even the ‘fails’ can lead to fragments that are lovely and unexpected.
Also, it’s nice not to have the pressure to create finished and highly polished artwork. It’s always nice to draw just for the joy of drawing.
Tuesdays are #TangleTuesday! This week I’ve chosen “Sandswirl” to draw and work out some variations with.
Sandswirl has long been a favourite tangle pattern of mine. I’ve never thought about exploring variations of it. I really enjoyed doing so!
When shadows are added, this tangle pattern becomes really dimensional in an interesting way.
I’ve never thought of using Sandswirl as a border before. This shows that all the time I’ve spent exploring patterns and fragments is paying off! I’d always thought of Sandswirl as a filler pattern. Today, I discovered otherwise.
It’s another Doodleworlds meets Zentangle/Entangled kind of mashup. I have so much fun drawing these at the moment. I really do need a good dose of whimsy and cuteness in my arty life at this time. This fills the bill for sure.
I’ve not had much time today to do a lot of colouring. So, I’ve just added some flat colours. Should I get around to colouring this one in my usual way, I’ll post the results.
I had planned to do a page with two illustrations, each slightly smaller than A5 in size. That just didn’t happen. Yesterday and today have had some unexpected events, all good. So fast and dirty colouring was just the ticket.
I have been drawing this template for YouTube. Today’s instalment is below.
Today, I drew my last two pages of fragment variations for the Fragments of Your Imagination Challenge 2022.
Day 30 is Ladybug by Shie Naritomi CZT. At first, I didn’t know what to think of the fragment or what I could do with it. However, as I started to draw it, a variation appeared. Then another. And another. I was truly surprised by all the fragments that appeared!
Fragment E4 was right up my street! I know I’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities with this one.
Today’s YouTube video has a quick look at these pages, followed by a flip through and review of each day’s page(s).
I really enjoyed playing with the various fragments, even the ones that gave me a bit of trouble! To see how many different pattern cells could be created just by simple changes never ceases to amaze me. My only problem is that I have way too many to use in my artwork. However, there are many that fellow artists, tanglers, doodlers can use or draw inspiration from.
I’ve learned a lot of things from this month’s daily drawing. Some I can put into words, others aren’t quite ready to be verbalised.
One important realisation is just how important shadow is to bringing patterns alive! Not just that though; how more textural patterns work with shadow so they enhance each other.
Another was just how many shapes fragments can be in! I’d actually call many of them motifs, though. Moving away from squares, seeds, circles, triangles into the realms of teardrops, ginko leaves, hearts, spirals, kites, rhomboids and more was an eye-opener for me. And a lot of fun!
I’ve started trying to put together the many ways I used to vary a fragment, but it’s all still a bit messy and the words aren’t quite flowing right. It is easier to show rather than explain just using words!
I’ve got mixed feelings now the challenge has, for me, ended. There’s a sense of achievement, but also a sense of loss. Having a daily focus is really good for me. When I don’t have a contract to work towards, I tend to be unfocused, all over the place, and nothing ever really gets done.
Self-motivation isn’t a skill I have a lot of. It is something I think I need to develop. I have a list of books that I could do, including two full of my variations from the Inktober Tangle Pattern Challenge 2021 and the Fragments of Your Imagination Challenge 2022 too.
It’s not just self-motivation, however. It’s also this darned imposter syndrome and a lack of belief in self as well.
What next?
I’m not sure what to do yet for YouTube and social media. Do I carry on with more fragments? Perhaps ‘draw with me’ videos may be an idea. What about card making and similar?
I actually don’t know what to do! So, if you have any ideas or suggestions or requests, leave me a comment!
Gingajava, a tangle pattern by Donald Wilka CZT, is not a pattern I’m familiar with, though I think I tackled a fragment similar to this when I did a few fragments in one go a few days ago.
It’s an interesting fragment, and does lend it’s self to variations fairly well. However, to keep the essence of the tangle, not as many as I’d thought.
Having said that, my creative mind isn’t firing on all four cylinders this morning; one at best I think. So, this fragment does deserve another look at at another time.
Beyond the fragments of your imagination challenge…
Just two more fragments to do in this year’s #FYIC2022 challenge. So, my mind is turning towards what next.
These challenges are fun. They give me a defined task to do each day. I find that really helpful as I’m not very good at motivating myself at the best of times.
So, I’m not sure what to do next … not just in terms of projects for my business, but videos and social media posts.
It’s always a funny feeling I have at the end of a challenge, project, commission, contract – there’s a sense of accomplishment, but there’s also a kind of sadness, emptiness, that it has come to an end.
I’ll figure it out; I usually do. But for today, I really do need to put my head down and have a sleep. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night and my attention is straying way too much. That also means it’s not a good time to come to decisions about what to do next, other than give my mind a chance to rest.
I enjoyed exploring the leaf shaped fragment based on Naaki. I ended up with two pages as I filled the first one with ideas before I started filming. So there are some repeats. There are quite a few variant fragments I’d like to use in my drawings in the future. Indeed, a couple have found their way into a drawing I was working on as today’s video was uploading and processing.
DooDah is a tangle pattern I use fairly regularly in my entangled drawings. It has an elegance of simplicity.
Having said that, when I saw it in a fragment form I thought, “What on earth…”. I had very little idea of what would transpire. I felt it’s simplicity of construction would result in limitations. And to an extent, that is true. However, I do think I came up with some variations that were true to the way Doodah is constructed, others are deviations from that to a degree.
Adding shadow helped to bring life to the fragments, and sparked off further ideas. So at the last knockings of today’s video, I had a flurry of ideas to add to this page. These were more like aide memoire rather than polished fragments, or indeed borders. But they’re now noted down for possible future use.
I’m learning with these pattern, or fragment, explorations to expect the unexpected, especially when I think I have no more ideas!
Every single fragment in this year’s Fragments of Your Imagination Challenge has been lovely, and Gamusinos by Oswaldo Burbanos CZT is no exception. I had a relaxing, enjoyable time coming up with a page of variations for this fragment.
Art is the Adventure 