Cc is for Clematis and Color

The end is near, two more days to go. I am on a tear with my new inspiration. Today's work is a drawing of a clematis enhanced with zentangle patterns.

However, I got a new pen today, and when I added a touch of color to the background with inktense pencil and water, the ink ran. BOOOO.

If I have learned anything in my life, it is that mistakes and problems are often the gateway to new discoveries and highly satisfying solutions. So....

A little help from my digital pal Photoshop allowed me to drop out the background. Then I added a gradient layer, just to try, and knew this was the background intended to go with this flower.

My final November post will appear on Saturday ... then, on to who knows what.

Bb is for Bold Blooms

I am inspired. The combination of flowers, lines, zentangle patterns and time to be creative allowed me to spend an entire day at work on this. I love the foreground flowers and the leaves, and the little patterns near the table top. Oh, and zoom in on the vase.

This is fine point markers, black and color, and inktense pencil for some POP. 9x12 on watercolor paper.

More tomorrow. Its great to have something new to focus on.

Aa is for Another (Zentangle) Abstract

How fun is this? I started with the idea of a symmetrical floral-ish design I found among the zentangle patterns - but, never one to follow the rules or the recipe, I soon adjusted it to become a flower.

All the zentangles I have seen so far seem to be black lines with color added. Really stunning and strong. What I especially like about them are the varied patterns that surround the main pattern.

So, though I chose to work in color, I followed overall idea by extending the flower lines (fractured images come to mind) and filled each area with a different color scheme and pattern. I love doing this. This is the art of my childhood, the doodles that filled my notebooks and my ongoing obsession with lines and florals all rolled into one fun art form. I am going back for more. So, watch this space tomorrow to see what appears.

Z is for Zentangle

As I mentioned yesterday, I was at a loss for a Z idea. Zugzwang anyone? Zebra? Zebra put me in mind of lines. Thinking about lines, I remembered that I when I posted a line drawing earlier in the alphabet, someone commented that it looked like Zentangles. I never heard of them, so I looked them up.

As stated on the website, "Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns." Its like the official version of what I like to do ... something that combines design, doodling and finding shapes and worlds within shapes. Only who knew?

Immediately I watched a YouTube video, and understood that there are thousands of patterns and methods - all at a tap of my keyboard. They are incredibly beautiful - like fonts - each expressing a style or feeling. And, like fonts, combined to make words and convey ideas. COOOOOOOLLLLL.

So I have been looking and reading and admiring all day. I drew several patterns into my sketchbook. Looking for a clean page, it opened to a drawing I had begun last year - combining mandala and pattern of lines. I had colored different sections with soft pastel. I saw those empty shapes and I thought, Zentangle sampler. While looking through patterns on line, I tried them out on the spaces in the drawing. I drew with fine point colored markers that coordinated with the undercolor.

I feel as if I stumbled onto exactly the concept that my ideas have been waiting for. I am already well into another drawing and can't wait to see where this discovery of beautiful pattern ideas will take me.

Today's creative leap is the reason I do this challenge. By combining the inspiration and input from other participants, the push of daily practice, and constant attention to the art I will make next, I occasionally come to a place where I feel a have taken a leap. Today was like that.