Link to #DrawWithMe YouTube Video
A difficult few days for me, but finally settled to do some little little art! Just a few patterns from my oldest Pinterest Tangle board!
A clutch of Zentangle inspired designs
non-representational art
Entangled, Zentagle Inspired Drawing – 28 January 2013
Click on the link to view the accompanying Draw With Me video tutorial on YouTube.
Yesterday, I had a stinking cold. One trip to a café for lunch by myself, and I pick a bug up! I’m feeling a lot better today; still not right, but better. Anyhoo, I just ran out of steam after filming the video and uploading it. I had to stop and sleep.
So, the drawing is an unusual one for me. I used an 05 brown Sakura Pigma Micron pen and added some shade/colour with a port Graphitint pencil and waterbrush. The white patterns were added using an 08 GellyRoll pen, also by Sakura.
The paper is ‘naturel’ coloured PaintON Mix media paper by Claire Fontaine, and it’s approx 10cm x 14 cm in size.
There’s more to do in terms of colour, shade and highlight with this drawing. But not today. Today I need quiet time to rest, recover, and maybe do some quiet work. I have three colouring pages to add colour to as soon as possible. Then I can breathe for a while and really take some time to recover my strength, resilience, and equilibrium after what seems like months of hiccoughs, starting with the muscle damage between my ribs nearly three months ago.
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Adding colour with Pitt Pastel Pencils
Arty Musings
Click this link to view the YouTube video where I partly colour this drawing.
A day or two ago, I started to add colour to this drawing using Pitt Pastel Pencils from Faber-Castell. I thoroughly enjoyed using these pencils, possibly more than alcohol markers! That was a big surprise! I think the paper makes all the difference. I drew the design on ClaireFontaine PaintON mixed media paper in a natural colour. This paper has a ‘tooth’ to it which the pastel pencil can be worked into to ‘fix’ it somewhat.
I tend to approach adding colour as a way of adding another layer of pattern. It’s not about representational art and giving a realistic look. For me, it’s about playing with layers and volume using contrast. If I keep this in mind, then colouring can go reasonably well.
I kept to a simple palette of three browns and two greens. Oh, and a white pastel pencil too. I also used gold ink on the ‘beads’ and found that I could add shade to it with pastel left on the paper tortillon.
I will finish adding colour to this design; it will find its way into my accordion art journal. But I won’t be finishing it today.
Overwhelmed and overwrought
My emotions are all over the place for reasons I’m not going to go into. But, just to say, it’s been a tough few days, and I’m now officially exhausted.
I’ve had to push through with work to get the first drawings for my next colouring book revised and inked in. I still have one template for Whimsical Houses to colour, which is my plan for tomorrow. Not today. I can barely keep my eyes open.
I need to be gentle with myself and give myself some quiet, relaxing time and plenty of opportunities to sleep so my brain and emotions can reset. Some Star Wars may be in order … Yes, a good dose of Star Wars always does me good!
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Zentangle and Early Celtic Art Inspired Drawing
Click on this link to view this design’s Draw With Me YouTube video.
I very much enjoyed drawing this design. It all began with a bit of chance. I grabbed my notebook full of motifs and patterns and opened it randomly. On the pages were some Early Celtic Art patterns dating back to the Iron Age. So, I started at the top left with one of these and let the rest of the design flow intuitively. Some patterns and practices were inspired by Zentangle principles. Oh, I did include some motifs inspired by the work of Yellena James.
I love Early Celtic (La Tene) art. It’s full of swirls and spirals and asymmetry too. It just intrigues me so much. Of course, I really enjoy drawing these kinds of non-representational designs very much.
Next, this design will need colour/shade/highlight somehow. I don’t know whether to use Inktense pencils or chalk pastel pencils. Either would work on the paper I used – ClaireFontaine’s PaintON mixed media paper.
I used 0.5 and 0.3 Unipin Fine Line pens from Uniball. The paper measures approx 4″ x 5.5″ (10cm x 14cm).
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Saturday, Saturday…
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.
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Draw With Me – Zentangle Monotangle Tiles
I draw, step by step, two monotangle zentangle tiles in today’s video on YouTube.
Each piece of paper is 4″ x 4″ or 10cm x 10cm. I coloured them with Distress Inks before starting to draw. For the orangey-yellow tile, I used mustard seed, dried marigold and abandoned coral. For the bluey-green tile, I used broken china, peacock feathers and evergreen bough.
Each tile is made of a variation of fragment D5 from the Zentangle Primer. I used 0.35 and 0.20 Copic Multiliner SP pens to draw the designs. Then, I used a black Ohuhu brush marker pen and various colours of Arteza EverBlend marker pens to add colour and shadow.
These tiles would look fab mounted on blank greetings cards, and that is to be their destiny!
I really enjoyed the two to three hours I spent this morning creating these designs. I’m quite happy with them. More-so as the Distress Ink worked well with the Ohuhu marker paper, and the alcohol inks worked well on top of that.
Which is your favourite one? Or, are you like me and I like them both equally!
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Pattern Exploration No. 2 | Day 1
Today marks the start of explorations around pattern 2, which is a lovely, stylised floral design.
In the video, I walk you through drawing a couple of the variations and my style of stems too.
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Sketchbook Saturday
Inktober Tangles 2021 | Day 26 “DEX”
Dex is a grid-based tangle pattern by Zentangle Inc. It’s interesting to add variations to. Indeed, I’m sure I recognise some of the variations as other tangle patterns. I expect there’s going to be a lot of overlap.
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Inktober Tangles 2021 Day 25 “Round Square”
Round Square, by Karin Guzzetta CZT, has turned out to be an interesting pattern to try variations out on.
At first sight it seems a rather, well, boring pattern. However, with just a little creativity, it’s become fascinating rather than boring. From adding ‘auras’ and patterns, to threading laces through the pattern, to inverting the dark and light areas, and even changing the shape from square-ish to triangular, this has become a pattern full of possibility.
I’ve just realised that I didn’t try adding white (or coloured) patterns to the darker borders in some of the patterns.
Will it make it’s way into my artwork? I don’t know. I can see some interesting optical illusions going on in places. A bit more forward planning with the ‘laces’ running through the pattern could have a really interesting effect, maybe.
However, these will have to be shelved for now as I do need to turn to other work for the day.
Angela Porter 