anatomy of an idea

This week's Square One Facebook group focus tangle is the lovely Oke by Michele Beauchamp.

I started playing with this tangle in my sketchbook (you can see it in the bottom left corner of this very cluttered / inspired page) and soon stumbled on an idea I liked.  I'm a little scared showing a full on sketchbook page in a public place - it feels a bit like having one's underwear on show!  But I thought it might be interesting, so you can see how bits of ideas that begin randomly, or jump from one tangle to the next, come together into one piece.

I tangled a quarter circle version in the basic beauty of black and white to meet the group posting criteria.

But I felt there was a bit further I could go so set to work on a Zendala using the same kind of design, with a few added feathery type Fescu and some flourishes.

There are few rare things happening on this tile - for one I rarely use these beautiful but precious official tiles.  Seconding I rarely draw gems, but this tile called for them, and I used not one but seven!  I also took longer that usual on this tile, coming back to it over the course of a couple of days.

It was a joy to draw and I'm very pleased with the final result.  We are having a few days of bright and sunny summer weather here, but by the looks of this tile my heart is already half way to autumn.

going with the flow

This was one of those tangling occasions where I set off with no direction in mind, no plan as to what might end up on the tile. 

It began as a test to see whether there was a compatibility problem with using my fine line pens over some new watercolours.  I'd had some clogging problems when practicing, but think maybe I hadn't let the paint dry completely (I can tend to impatience!).  The pens still complain a little over areas that include hints of the metallic paint - a bit of silver in this case - but not enough to even have to clean the nib.  I was also trialing a newer smoother (and cheaper than my usual) watercolour paper - and apart from a slight wrinkling it did well.  So equipment wise it was a success. 

But even more satisfying was the look of the tile.  It began as simple wash of a fairly bright green, with a few blue streaks and some silver on top.  As I began tangling some Diva Dance I felt that was all that should be on the tile, with a few added Orbs.  Very minimal shading but a bit of coloured pencil to accent the Orbs.  And there you have it.  Very relaxing to do and the pleasure shines through in the piece I think.