This morning’s warm up art is this mandala featuring some flowers as well as some zentangle and geometric patterns.
I’m not entirely sure this works, but sometimes an idea just has to be tried out. The flowers are a bit ‘flat’. The zendala/mandala background may be a bit too busy or just not the right colour. I’m really not at all sure.
However, whether it’s worked out or not, it’s been a relaxing process. It’s always pleasant to create for the sake of creating, and also working digitally too.
I used Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, Microsoft Surface Pen and Microsoft Surface Studio to create this design.
I managed to miss #Inktober52 weeks 3 and 4 so I thought I’d combine them into a sketchbook page along with week 5.
The prompts were *week 3 – brick *week 4 – snake, and *week 5 – balloon.
I’ve not been imaginative with those prompts. I’ve included some sinuous snake borders and bricks. Some classic brick patterns. I’ve only added a smattering of balloons, and a repeating balloon pattern.
Of course, I’ve also practised my hand lettering.
I hand lettered and drew this page on ClaireFontaine dot grid paper and I used Uniball Unipin pens to do so.
I added the kraft paper background and colour digitally. It never ceases to amaze me that, as much as I love my line art, colour really brings it to life. I especially like the way the colours seem to glow against the kraft paper.
I’ve just had a giggle. I realised I coloured the balloon that is hanging down in leaden greys, almost like it’s filled with mercury. That was a totally unconscious decision of mine!
A simple, monochrome mandala today, using some of my favourite patterns (plus a couple that are entirely mine).
Drawing mandalas is so soothing, mindful, meditative. The repetitive nature of drawing patterns is part of that relaxing experience.
It was also nice to use some of the patterns from my ‘visual dictionary‘ or ‘visual zibladone’ in some art.
I have some new patterns and motifs to add to my visual dictionary; they spontaneously appeared as I was drawing. I like when this happens, when I don’t over-think things and just go with my instincts.
I wanted to add a colour gradient to the mandala. However, when I tried to do so, it just didn’t feel right. So monochrome it is.
Drawn digitally using Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, Microsoft Surface Pen and Microsoft Surface Studio.
I like this week’s prompt for #Inktober52 – Shadow. I like to work with quite high contrast colours/shades to give the illusion of dimension. So, I thought I’d take one of my borders, add it to a very shadowy background, add colour, light and shadow, and finally I’ll put a quote about shadow on to it. My only problem with adding a quote is which one to choose! There are so many fine quotes about shadow and light.
It’s nice to have a whole week to work on the prompt. I’ve already spent over two hours adding colour to that little section of the border design, just to give you an idea of how long it takes me to work in colour.
What this means is that I can use my Inktober52 project as ‘warm up’ or ‘comfort’ art over the next few days if I wish.
The colours I’m choosing are quite ‘dull’ for me – they are hues that have a lot of black/ in them and they do give a quite vintage or grungy feel. However, against the dark background they glow.
They’re not my usual choice of bright, pure colour. I think that’s simply because it’s taken me a long time to work with them and become comfortable with them too. That’s another reason why Inktober52, and Inktober, are so good – I end up trying things out that I wouldn’t necessarily do for my publishers.
Today, I thought I’d share one of my favourite geometrical patterns. You may have noticed it often appears in my entangled art, as well as in dangle designs.
I’ve included the steps I use to draw the pattern, along with some variations and different ways I use the patterns.
I used a 05 Unipin pen, a pencil, a couple of coloured pencils and dot grid paper.
Another day and another set of entangled borders! I’m enjoying drawing these. There’s something pleasing about creating small designs. Whether it’s the speed at which I can draw them, or their cuteness, different shapes and sizes to my usual art, or something else, I don’t know. All I know is that I’m enjoying it!
The pens I used to draw the designs were Uniball Unipins and Tombow Fudenosuke pens. I used dot grid paper by ClaireFontaine.
To remove the dot grid, edit some smudges and errors, add a background colour and some colour, I used Autodesk Sketchbook Pro.
I’ve had a nice couple of hours this morning playing around with drawing and paper coloured (and not coloured) with Distress Ink.
I started with drawing the border with the flower straight onto the coloured square of mixed media paper (top right).
For the middle design, I cut a rectangular panel of Distress Ink coloured mixed media paper and glued it to another piece of coloured paper. Then, I decorated the panel along with some simple patterns spilling onto the background.
The bottom right design uses a square piece of plain paper with a small rectangle cut from some Distress Inked paper. I used a die with a stitched detail to cut this panel out along with a Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine.
I’m not at all fussed on the stitched detail in this case. However, I do like the contrast of the coloured panel against the white background.
I do have a fair few pieces of paper coloured with Distress Inks, so I think some fairly quick, simple and soothing designs will be done over the next day or several.
Not sure what I’ll do with them yet. If you have any helpful suggestions, leave a comment! Also, leave a comment to let me know which design is your favourite.
I started by colouring a 6″ x 6″ piece of Strathmore Bristol paper with various shades of green Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, Bundled Sage and Iced Spruce) and edged it with some Aged Mahogany.
Then, I drew the design using a metallic bronze Uniball Signo gel pen. Finally,I added some shading and depth with an olive green Chameleon Fineliner pen.
My photography skills aren’t good, which is why there’s two photos. The top one is a bit truer to and you can see the design more clearly on it. The bottom one shows the shiny bronze ink I used.
I think you’ll get the idea of what I’ve created.
It’s been a busy day here in the Angela studio/office. I’ve been focused on social media stuff for something I’m involved with at the moment. I had to get things done this morning and afternoon, so it wasn’t until quite late in the day I could turn my attention to art.
By then, I just wanted to draw something that was comforting, familiar, soothing. Which is why I ended up with another entangled design.
It did it’s job in soothing and calming me somewhat. Now, I can settle down, after I finish off a couple of things. I think time away from technology is required this evening.
I woke this morning, refreshed after a long, deep sleep, and wanted to draw something relatively simple, something I could work on in the future.
I used a Uniball Vision Elite pen on a sheet of dot grid paper from Claire Fontaine. If you zoom in, you can still see the dots of the dot grid.
I had no idea of what I was going to draw. All I knew was I wanted to draw, and I wanted to start with a flower. Which I did.
I then started to grow the design by adding the swirls. Those swirls had shapes in them perfect to add some round seeds.
Next, I thought a rectangular background panel, filled with a geometric design, would be a good counterpoint to the more organic flower and swirls. So, I did draw in a pencil grid to use as a guide for my inked lines.
After adding a narrow border to the panel, I decided to add some simple dangles to the lower swirls. I thought the design needed to be lengthened a little.
When I’d finished the dangles, I knew the design was complete. I felt no need to add anything more to it, despite having a lot of white space! So, I scanned it in and prepared it for posting to social media.
I’d like to work this one with some colour to the flower and swirls, maybe the dangles too. The geometric pattern I’d like to add shading to bring out a more dimensional appearance to it. I may add that shading as shades of grey, or maybe as lines.
If you’d like more ideas about drawing dangles, then my book “A Dangle A Day” is a good place to start.
That’s where I have to leave it for now as I have a busy day away from home today.
This morning I thought I’d try out a little experiment. Instead of drawing the design first, I used my Chameleon markers to lay down colour shapes and gradients and then add the line art.
I remembered to take a photo of the colour pattern I created, so you can see where I started. I had started adding some line art on it.
After adding the black line art, I then added gold embellishments using a gold gel pen. These are mainly on the background, where I wanted to add some interest.
One thing I’d change if I could do this over is to keep the same pale yellow to pink gradient background instead of the blue section to the middle left. I also meant to use pencils to add some depth of colour to some of the flat-looking areas. It would also have been a good idea to use them to increase the illusion of 3D in some of the patterned regions.
Do you know, I often say that I should’ve added some shadows when I post what I think is a finished piece of art. I need to put a huge post-it note on my Surface Studio to remind me about this!
My final step was to use a piece of foam to sponge some black Distress Ink around the edge to give it a bit of a border. I’m not so sure this was a good idea; the edges are a bit more defined, but they also look a bit dirty and grungy. One lives and learns, eventually.
It certainly was an experiment for me with traditional media. The method I’ve used here is a bit like the method I use when creating digital art. There, I start with a block of colour for the section I’m working on and then add shadow and light and ‘carve’ patterns into it using various methods.
Let me know what you think about this little design.
Oh, it is a little design. The card blank is aprox. 5½” by 4″ (14cm x 10cm)and the design is approx. 3″ by 4¾” ( 8cm x 12cm)
So, Angela, how are you doing today?
I’m doing ok. I had a good night’s sleep and so am feeling more alert and upbeat. I’m still a bit achy in the lower tummy area, but it’s nearly completely gone now.
Yesterday was a self-care day. I didn’t eat much; my appetite had departed me almost entirely. What I did eat made me feel sicky. That’s better today, as in I’ve had breakfast and though I didn’t eat much before I was full, I did eat.
I wasn’t happy with any art, or just about anything else I did; I just got frustrated with it and myself. Instead, I did spend a lot of the day cwtched up warm, crocheting and listening to Audible (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire read by Stephen Fry). Eventually, I settled down to sleep a little earlier than usual.
I’m glad to say that my mood seems a bit brighter and more stable today.
This morning, I’ve been busy ‘art-ing’, and I need to pop out soon. Errands to do and I need a bit of a walk as well. It looks like it’s going to stay dry for a while. That’s always a good thing. The temperature outdoors is more refreshing than it has been of late, which will make walking far more pleasant for me. It will help to blow the cobwebs away. Maybe it will also help with the stiffness/tenderness that those abdominal cramps have left in their wake. I may also find some inspiration for some more creative words in my journal too.
Art is the Adventure 