Angela Porter

Halloween Whimsy!

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What is Halloween without a clutch of whimsical drunken party skulls along with some tentacles, eyeballs, pumpkins and so on? Click on this link to see my YouTube video about how I drew and added colour to this drawing.

I love Halloween; it’s one of the few celebrations in the year that don’t fill me with deep sadness and cause emotional distraught. And, of course, when it comes to me, cute and whimsical, smiley and pretty is my preferred style of illustration.

I thoroughly enjoyed drawing this design earlier today. My whimsical heart was filled with joy as I just a few of my favourite things. I’m sure there’s a song there…

“Hats upon skull-ies and batwings on potions,
mushrooms on bottles and bright orange pumpkins,
Some stripy tentacles with round eyeballs,
These are a few of my favourite things.”

Well, it doesn’t rhyme, but it’s a start!

So whatever you are doing today, however you are celebrating, or not, I wish you the very best!

Colouring Page – 28 October 2022

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October is nearly at a close. So, this week’s colouring template for Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans Facebook group is my last Halloween-themed one for this year.

I absolutely love Halloween; it’s the only yearly celebration that isn’t filled with triggers for emotional upsets. If I could change the date of my birthday, it would be Halloween! It’s not the horror-filled aspects that grab me, it’s the fun and laughter I associate with this time of year.

I love creating whimsical art all year round, but changing the scary for cute is a lot of fun at Halloween. It makes me smile and fills my heart with joy. As far as I’m concerned, skulls and pumpkins, ravens and potions, ghosts and ghoulies and all the other wonderful things associated with Halloween are not just for Halloween!

Inktober Tangles 2022, Days 26 and 27 – Feliz and Narfello(ish)

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Click on this link to view today’s drawing tutorial (for the bottom design) on YouTube.

Oh, I got my right royal knickers into a twist today over Narfello! I ended up doing two videos and still managed to muck up with Nafello.

The top design was my first attempt. There are lots of things I like about it. But after nearly an hour and a half video, I convinced myself I’d made a total mess of Narfello. So, I drew breath and started over and produced the design at the bottom, but without the colour; I added the colour while the video was uploading and processing.

Even with the second attempt, I still managed to not get Narfello ‘right’. But I think it’s probably close enough for today.

I’m so glad I did a second version, as I like my Feliz (to the left). I like the way the variations gradually change from left to right (or right to left!). It feels more coherent than the first version of Feliz, where I went to town exploring ways to fill the pattern!

I also like how the Narfello-ish appears from under the Feliz in the second version. I can see that I need to add some quite intense shade to the right of the Feliz to enhance this illusion. However, I’ve just about run out of energy for today, so that is a job for another time.

One thing that I am enjoying is the contrast between the geometrical Feliz and the organic, flowy Narfello.

I’m also pleased with how much volume I’ve created using monochrome Arteza Everblend markers, particularly on the bottom design.

Both of these designs will end up in my sketchbook. There are some variations in the upper one I’d like to try. The lower one is a reminder to look at how I can slowly change the filler patterns, if that’s the right term, to change the pattern subtly.

I really have enjoyed working with this pair of patterns. I hope you take a look at the accompanying drawing tutorial on Youtube and have a go at drawing your own version!

“Bs” – Inktober Tangles 2022, Day 21

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YouTube drawing tutorial.

Bs by Midori Furuhashi CZT is a lovely floral zentangle pattern, yet it managed to throw me a few curve balls! I explore this pattern in today’s YouTube drawing tutorial video.

However, those curveballs helped me to better understand the tangle. They also helped me discover some interesting variations and a beautiful flower bud too!

I tried adding some texture lines and patterns to the petals, but they just didn’t feel right. However, using colour to add shadow and highlight worked well. To do this, I used Inktense pencils and a water brush. They reacted in some surprising, but nice, ways with the Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves and Villainous Potion) I’d used to add colour to the paper.

Colouring Page – 20 Oct 2022

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This week’s colouring page for the Facebook group “Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans” is a Hallowe’en themed mandala. It combines two of my favourite things – mandalas and Hallowe’en!

This design has a whimsical feel, but that is one of my default settings! And adding colour to it makes me feel much happier about the design.

“TagH” and “Walk the line” | Inktober Tangles 2022, Days 19 and 20

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To view the accompanying drawing tutorial on YouTube, click on this link.

Two lovely tangles today- TagH by Zentangle and Walk the line by Chris Titus CZT.

I really enjoyed trying out different shapes in the leafy Tagh. There are just so very many possibilities for this kind of pattern. I’ve long used this pattern in my artwork without knowing it was a Zentangle pattern!

Walk the line reminds me so much of eroded rock strata and microscopic images of cells. It’s a lovely contrast to Tagh. Again, it’s a pattern I’ve often used in my own art, and it’s nice to find it’s also been added to the ever-growing library of tangle pattern step-outs!

“Slowpoke” Inktober Tangles 2022, Day 18

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Click on this link to watch the accompanying video tutorial for Slowpoke on YouTube

Slowpoke, by Cris Letourneau CZT, looks complicated, but it’s actually quite simple to draw, one step at a time! The fun comes in adding embellishments, which I did with a gold Uniball Signo gel pen. The central coloured panel with Slowpoke on is the only part that I did during today’s video on YouTube.

I coloured the paper with various Distress Inks before I started to draw. In person, the colours aren’t so garish, honest!

Around the panel with Slowpoke on, I’ve added a border of stylised flowers and leaves, all in a very Arts and Crafts Movement style. I need to fill out a couple of areas a little more, but I quite like the simplicity of the coloured panel with the black and white and rather dense border around it.

Inktober Tangles 2022 – Days 16 and 17 – Dinovel and Lollywimple.

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Click on this link to view the accompanying drawing tutorial on YouTube.

Today, I took a look at two quite delightful #zentangle tangle patterns – Dinovel by Susan Yeo CZT and Lollywimple by Sally Hunter CZT.

The fabulously floral Dinovel lends itself so easily to variations, only a few of which I drew.

Lollywimple is an interesting and lovely pattern that I haven’t used before, as far as I know. It reminds me of a knobbly branch, and so I kind of used it that way.

I really did need a calm, quiet start to my day. Indeed, I still need a calm quiet day.

Inktober Tangles 2022, Day 15 – “Noom” or “Noom Repus” by Zentangle Inc

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Click on this link to view the accompanying video drawing tutorial on YouTube.

Noom, or Noom Repus, is a lovely interlinked tangle, a chain, leaves, or shells if you will. It is a tangle that vexed me until I saw a tutorial video a long while ago, and suddenly the pieces fell into place.

I have to say, it’s not a tangle pattern that I’ve used often in my work, but after playing around with it in this video, I’ll try to use it more often!

I tried out some variations with Noom and found that it does lend itself quite well to embellishments, particularly in ‘auras’ around it. Adding colour to create shade and light does bring out the curvy nature of each part of this design.

Of course, this is for my sketchbook, so it’s not finished. It really was just working with the pattern to see what I could do. And of course, that sparks off lots of ideas for other variations further down the line.

Inktober Tangles 2022 – Day 14 “Slidehat” by Karin Frank

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Click on this link to view the accompanying drawing tutorial on YouTube

I had a lovely time drawing many variations of Slidehat by Karin Frank earlier today.

Although not all the ‘hats’ worked out well, they were still fun to explore as possibilities. As this is a sketchbook page, the permission to experiment, explore, and try things out is implicit. A sketchbook is a place to do all these things and more. You can finish a piece of art or not. You can show people or not.

A safe place to be artful, that’s how I think of my sketchbooks more and more. I put too much pressure on myself to always finish a drawing, to have it polished and “imperfectly perfect”. If I don’t finish something, I can beat myself up. But I’m learning that in a sketchbook, I can do all I need to learn, grow, and develop. And sometimes that includes knowing when enough has been done!

It may take me a long while to be able to set aside my perfectionism to fully embrace this, but like everything in life, it is a work in progress!