More Mushrooms!

Link to today’s ‘Draw With Me’ video where I draw these mushrooms!

Absolutely no apologies for drawing yet more mushrooms today. I’m a 5’10”-ish tall hobbit as far as mushrooms are concerned!

Some different kinds/shapes of mushrooms drawn, step by step, in this video, but also some watercolouring (pretty inept) and some decoration with dots too.

It’s always so lovely to draw mushrooms, or botanicals of land or water. I never tire of drawing them. Each time I draw them, other possibilities come to mind.

So, I invite you to have a go at drawing a plethora of mushrooms with me. And have a lot of fun with colour and pattern too! These are whimsical, stylised drawings that can be anything you want them to be. That’s the beauty of a sketchbook – your imagination and creativity can express itself and the only limitations and/or rules are ones you set yourself.

Draw With Me … Mushrooms!

Yesterday, I was working in my lettering sketchbook and came up with some letters embellished with mushrooms. That led to me having the idea to show you, step by step, how I draw some of my favourite mushroom motifs!

I absolutely love mushrooms. They’re fun and funky and the whimsical, fanciful, stylised versions here are simple to draw, one little pen stroke at a time. Why not have a go? Take a look at today’s ‘Draw With Me’ video tutorial on YouTube.

“Blooming Kangular” – A Tangle Pattern by Tomas Padros CZT | Pattern Variations

Come #DrawWithMe some of these variations in today’s YouTube video. Just click on this link!

I have a big fondness for Tomas Padros’ tangle patterns, particularly Taiga. Blooming Kangular is new to me, and it’s lovely as is. But, it’s fun to do some pattern exploring to understand the tangle, and it’s possibilities, more.

Some of these patterns remind me of snowflakes. Another of star anise. And of course there are plenty of flowers too!

I had a lovely time drawing these, and I hope you will go take a look at the video and have a go a drawing along with me too!

Draw With Me | Zentangle Pattern “Huggins” Variations – Part 3

Click on this link to view the video tutorial that accompanies part 3 of the series of ‘Huggins’ variations.

This morning, I completed filling in the ‘Huggins’ spaces in this drawing. As always, it was a lot of fun to do, and possibly some unusual filler patterns appeared.

Given that I’m working at a lettering course, I’m particularly pleased that I got some lettering into the grid! It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I rather like how it’s turned out.

This sketchbook page is now complete. However, I have so many more variations to look at – filler patterns, various grids, ribbons, arches and so on. I think I’ll stop bothering Huggins for a little while and do something different for my next Draw With Me video tutorial.

Draw With Me … Zentangle Pattern “Huggins” Variations, Part 2.

Link to today’s Draw With Me video on YouTube

Exploring “Huggins” is way too much fun! Actually, exploring all patterns and motifs is, but Huggins just lends itself to so many variations in lots of different ways. Even as I’m typing, another idea has come to me. It’s never ending!

I look at just a few more variations in today’s video, and I invite you to join in with me as I draw these variations.

I have lots more variations in my sketchbook, no doubt soon to have some more added!

I’m noticing that the practice of exploring, working on iterations, of these patterns and motifs is making it easier for me to do this elsewhere in my art, particularly lettering. It is fascinating how just small changes make a huge difference and lead me down paths I may not otherwise have trod, so to speak.

Becoming flexible in my creativity is something I hadn’t thought about. But here I am experiencing it and loving the process! In some ways, more than creating new artwork! I do feel, however, this is a path I need to journey down on a regular basis to keep my creativity exercised and flexible.

Zentangle Pattern “Huggins” Variations … Part 1?

Click on this link to view today’s video.

One of my YouTube subscribers wondered what I could do with the Zentangle pattern Huggins. I think Linda’s exact words were ‘I’d like to see you take on Huggins’.

So I did. This page is as far as I’ve got for now, which is further than I got in the video. But what else is there to do while a video is uploading and processing?

Huggins is one of my favourite tangle patterns (there are many). It’s always fun to play around with varying the pattern, and it’s a very good one to add variations to!

Not my neatest drawing, but it is in a sketchbook. Sketchbooks are, sometimes, the place to get ideas down quickly as they come to you. And that’s exactly what I did in today’s video.

Seed pods and flower variations sketchbook page

Click on this link to go to today’s YouTube drawing tutorial.

This was such fun to do! I mean, every drawing I do is fun, but this one is more so. I started with a tiny little motif and it inspired a whole page of variations.

Sometimes, I didn’t like what was there. However, I’d later go back and adjust or add to the design based on what I was learning from the later motifs I had drawn. I’d also talk about what was going on in my head as I was drawing.

It’s a tutorial for sure. Not just step by step how to draw these variations, but also about the mindset I have when I spend time with a page.

It would be fab if you’d pop along to YouTube to watch this video and have a go at drawing along with me! And then, see what other variations you can come up with! Of course, I’d love to see them too.

Draw With Me… Zentangle Inspired Flowers, Seed Pods and Peace

I invite you to draw this design with me. Link to today’s video tutorial on YouTube.

On the weekend, I like to do an artwork of some kind using some of the pattern or motif variations that I’ve developed in the week. This week, the seed pods and flowers just needed to be used in some way.

I thought of lettering the word ‘peace’ but decided on using the peace symbol as the focal point instead. Being born in the early 1960s, I do remember hippies, flower power and the peace movement, so popping plenty of flowers and foliage around the symbol seemed the right thing to do.

The seed pods fit in well, and the song ‘Sowing the seeds of love’ by Tears for Fears came to my mind too. so doubly fitting the message of peace.

Naturally, there are some hearts hidden in there too! And the plumptious moonberry blueberries too, adding some delicious goodness too.

The green background was a tad serendipitous. Partway through the drawing, I remembered that green is symbolic of peace and harmony, among other things. Rather fitting!

I’ve only got the skeleton of the design done. I’ve yet to decide on how to add colour, shadow and/or texture. So, I’m taking a bit of a break from it for my mind to mull things over subconsciously. I think I’d better scan the page before I do anything more to it though! Things tend to go awry when I start to add colour etc.

“Bilt” variations and a sketchbook page border.

Please click on the ‘Watch on YouTube’ option.

Bilt, a tangle pattern deconstructed by Lisa Skeen, is one I’ve not used that I remember. It is, however, great fun to explore variations of!

In this video, I go through how to draw Bilt, one step at a time, and then look at some variations.

A bit of a change from flowers, but sometimes change is as good as a rest!

Draw with me … A flower border

There are never enough flowers in my life. I’ve really enjoyed drawing flowers (and seed pods) over the past couple of days. So, I thought I’d make use of one of the flower motifs from yesterday to create a border on a page edge in my sketchbook.

I like the graphic contrast of the black background and the flowers and foliage. It’s going to be a lovely page to make notes or record thoughts about whatever I’m drawing in my sketchbook at this time.

If you’d like to see how to draw this, and follow along with me, then please take a look at today’s video on YouTube.