berries

Hearts and flowers mandala

Angela Porter2 Comments

Today’s art is a mandala with hearts and flowers as the main themes. I’ve only used three colours – red, green and gold! That’s surprising to me; usually, I go to town on colour. However, in this case, it gives a coherency to the design I prefer.

One thing I may do is to revisit it and add textures to the spaces between the design elements. And a drop shadow would help to lift it off the paper a bit more.

Mandalas are really soothing and meditative to draw and add colour to. And I certainly need that today.

The last few days have had me intensely inking in colouring pages and adding colour to some of them. Yesterday I was determined to get the last couple done, and I overdid it a bit; my damaged muscles/tendons/ligaments between two ribs are rather stiff and sore. But I got it done! Whimsical Houses is complete, and the cover and back art for the next book is also done. So, now I can take a bit of a breather and spend some time on personal projects.

I’m also so tired today. My mind was working twenty-nine to the dozen last night. I woke before 4 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I see a nap not too far in the future. But before that tea. Lots of tea. Probably some lunch too!

Medieval Inspired Botanical Bookmark

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I have no idea why, but tall, thin drawings (bookmarks) just appeal to me. Indeed, they always have.

I enjoyed drawing this one, and I’m fairly pleased with the chosen colours. There’s a soft, muted, vintage palette along with the flowers, seed pods, berries and leaves mainly inspired by Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts and the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement artists.

If you’d like to follow a #comedrawwithme video for this design, just click on this link!

Coloring Page – 29 Sept ’22

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I drew this colouring page for Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans Facebook group this morning. It definitely has a fair few autumnal motifs; however, any kind of colours could be used!

I’ve partly added colour to the design, mainly to highlight some trickier areas with lots of detail.

Picture Perfect Pumpkins! – A #DrawWithMe video

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

You can tell I love autumn! I just couldn’t resist another drawing with pumpkins and assorted autumnal motifs. In the video accompanying this picture, I get all the drawing done and start adding colour. This photo is of the completed drawing so far. There’s plenty of space for some more autumnal goodies!

As I worked on some warm, grey paper (‘Clay’ Toned Paper from Fabriano), the colours are muted and feel a bit washed out. Usually, Inktense pencils with a light wash of water are bright and vibrant, but the grey tones mute them somewhat. But I like that. It gives a vintage and nostalgic air to the artwork.

From time to time, I can circle back to drawing styles that I’ve not done for a long time. This kind of drawing, which has an etched ‘feel’ to it, is an example of something I’ve not done for what seems an age. I am, however, enjoying it very much. Exploring working on toned paper with various colouring media is fascinating for sure.

An Autumnal Pen Drawing

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Click on this link to view the accompanying tutorial/demonstration on YouTube.

This morning, the first one of astronomical autumn, I felt the need to draw things autumnal. What better than oak leaves and acorns, mushrooms and pumpkins and a smattering of berries.

This wasn’t quite what I expected to flow out of my pen. Although the elements are stylised, there’s also a lot of contour line work and stippling to bring some volume and texture to the design. It’s a bit like an etching, lino cut or woodcut. A bit.

I can see where I started adding precise contour lines, but then they became much more expressive.

I’ve just added a coloured background to my drawing for now. I’m not sure about how to add colour yet. Do I risk messing it up by using traditional media? Or do I play safe and add colour digitally? At the moment, I don’t know. But there’s no rush. The image is scanned in and saved safely on my hard drive.

All I will say, for now, is that I really enjoyed drawing this. And I quite like it, even when considering the yeuchier areas of stippling.

Template Thursyay!

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Click this link to join Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans Facebook group.

Today is the last day of astronomical summer; tomorrow is the autumnal equinox, the first day of astronomical autumn. Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the warm, balmy days and the cooler, snuggly evenings cwtched up under a warm blankie. The changing colours are glorious – nature in her fiery finery!

I’m hoping that the glories of autumn will entice me out from home a bit more often, camera in hand. I can hope. I’m still finding it hard to go out and about. But little by little, I am getting out a bit more, from time to time.

Anyhoo, today’s colouring page is an autumn-themed mandala. Now I know that for those south of the equator, spring is incoming for them, but Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving and other celebrations take place according to the calendar rather than the seasons. So though I’ve coloured this template in rich autumn tones, it could be coloured in any way you wish.

I love to draw mandalas, and this one was no exception, especially the cute, whimsical mushrooms and pumpkins! And not forgetting the acorns and oak leaves too. I even managed to sneak a few hearts in there. And of course, stars and moons, berries and botanicals are always most welcome!

Monogram ‘a’ – Zentangle Inspired Art

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I’ve mostly finished this 3.5″ (11cm) square ’tile’ with a monogram. It’s changed a little since my last blog post this morning.

Apart from completing the colour, I coloured over the brown section in the bottom right. I used dark and light grey Gellyroll Moonlight pens to add the crazy ‘N’Zppel’ Zentangle pattern. It needs tidying up and perhaps some highlight within the inner black spaces.

But for now, it will do. I think I need a break from it to eat and do other things for a while.

Zentangle Inspired Monogram WIP

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Click on this link to watch the Draw With Me tutorial video on YouTube

This morning, I thought I’d share how I’m exploring creating some Entangled art, particularly monograms, via YouTube.

This little drawing is 11cm by 11cm, which is approximately 3.5″ square – took about an hour or so to get to this point. I wasn’t sure of the green, but I think it’ll work out just fine. There’s quite a way to go yet, but that will have to wait for another time.

The materials I used are:
* 03 black Sakura Pigma Micron
* Various Arteza Everblend marker pens
* Various fineliners in grey and green
* A white Sakura Gellyroll pen
* A metallic gold Uniball Signo pen

Template Thursyay! 05 May 2022

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Thursdays are fun days! I release a new colouring template for the members of the Angela Porter’s Coloring Book Fans Facebook group, which is free to join.

This week, I chose a rather stylised, whimsical kind of floral theme. Big, bold motifs, with some smaller details and elements.

If you’re into adding tangle patterns to designs, this one will lend itself well, even though it’s geared towards being coloured.

In adding colour, I’ve taken the opportunity to try out various colour combinations, as well as get some shading practice in.

I drew the design with an 05 Uniball Unipin pen on acid-free cartridge paper. Colour was added digitally using Clip Studio Paint.

On Template Thursday, I don’t release a video on YouTube. But there’ll be a new video tomorrow for sure!

Saturday, Saturday…

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Do you ever have one of them days when all that you try seems to go awry? That’s today for me.

I tried three times to create a video and ended up with total messes. I then tried a stop motion project. My camera wouldn’t hold autofocus. So, I think I’ll give up on this for today.

So, instead, I have an oldie of mine, but with words that perhaps make sense. Maybe today I’ve not been working delicately, trying to force it. A rest may be in order.