Fun technique for finding new shapes

This is that post where I realize that I haven’t bothered to post in two months. Ugh.  Setting a goal to post at least once a week.  I’ve been doing art though.  I’m still pretty stoked with the Tombow pens.  I also picked up a couple of Fluid Easy Block 8”x8” cold press pads to do mandalas on with Sharpie and Tombows.  I’m ordering a couple of other sizes online that I didn’t see in the store - and I’m going to try some hot press paper, as I think the smoothness would be better for the detail work I’m trying to do.  The 8”x8” size pads have proved really portable for me though - and has pretty much replaced my zendoodling.  Check out my new gallery to see what I've been working on.

I’m really trying to play with colors that I wouldn’t normally choose and shapes that are not typical.  It still amazes me that every mandala, even though they all start with the same circle and (usually) eight points, comes out completely and utterly different.  I do find myself using at least a few elements over and over again, and I’m working to find ways to make them different or to embellish them with fills and edges that I normally would not use.  

So here’s a technique that can get you out of your same 3 elements over and over rut.  I did not create this technique, I saw it on a video by Prema Akasha and then kind of ran with it in a slightly different way.

Start with a tiny circle.  Add 8 dots around the edge.  Make a line or shape in each space.  Turn the paper as you go.  Continue drawing something on the end of each spoke of this wheel.   Sometimes I’ll use letters - I, L, O, V, C, U, M, N, T S, D, W, Y are good ones.  Also circles, squares, triangles, hearts, diamonds and other shapes as well.  

Once you have your spokes with at least 3 elements, start connecting pieces back to the center.  Use straight lines, curves, wiggly lines, dots, circles, whatever you can think of to make your connections. You can start a new set of items on the ends of your elements.  Continue as long as you wish (or till you run out of paper!)  Don’t forget to add fill and detail, and subdivide the new elements you are creating if you wish.  You can emphasize and highlight with a thicker pen once you have your main shape as well.

This exercise will likely help you find new elements to use in your drawings and I can almost guarantee that you will be amazed at the detail and depth of your drawing from using this technique.  I sometimes will use it to go forward on an in progress mandala that I’m stuck on deciding the next element.  It is also very very meditative to me for some reason, I think because I just have to connect what I’ve added rather than decide on an entire shape to use for the element.   Here is a sample of a few tiny quick mandalas created with this method.

I also like this technique for quick doodles when I just have a pencil and a short amount of time and want to make something cool really fast.  Hope you will try it, it will help you expand your element base for your mandalas for sure!

Changing shape

I spent a couple of days last week at a spa with a friend.  It was wonderful, of course!  I always enjoy drowning myself in the fancy showers and soaking in the various pools.  Got a great (and relaxing!) massage, but mostly had some great girl time with my friend.  Although we both agreed that the steam room there was very scary!  We went in once and decided that it was too terrifying when the steam came on!

I brought some supplies with me of course, but I only did one mandala during the trip.  After looking at all the carpets and architectural details in the hotel we stayed in, I decided to start playing with some different shapes than what I normally use in my drawings.   Nothing too exciting, just not the normal shapes I usually add as I go around the circle.   I was really happy with the results and did a second painting this morning.

One of the things I like about drawing mandalas is the way that it is repetitive and consistent.  I draw as meditation, not for end product.  So that means that sometimes my work is not quite perfect - I go past the ends of my lines, my hands shake and my curves are not perfect.  I certainly could use a compass and curve and ruler, but I like the energy that going freehand gives to my work and I think that's what makes it personal and mine.  I know there are a lot of amazing artists who do use tools or have a steadier hand and make more intricate and perfect work than mine.  And that's okay with me!  I think that whatever you create is so much better when it comes from within.

Speaking of meditation, I did A LOT of that during my trip.  So far my meditation practice has only involved drawing or painting.  Now I'm doing what most folks would call "real" meditation, with being mindful of my breathing and all that.  I'm liking it!  Though I find it really tough to keep my mind calm. I'm much calmer if I have something that uses my energy the way the drawing does, but I suppose that's not the point; drawing still involves some sort of thinking and decision making. But I am committed to giving it a go and making it a practice for awhile.  I'm gonna keep drawing and painting as well. 

Still playing with the Tombows

It's been a few crazy weeks since I started playing with my new Tombow markers.  I went and bought a couple more colors and finally got to play with the colorless blender.  Didn't really love it.  Instead, I picked up a Niji Water Pen.  Now that, I love!!  It's a nice portable way to watercolor without the mess and with A LOT more control.  I love that the brush is nice a tight, it's great for what I do which is really just glorified coloring.

I also picked up brand new fine and super fine black Sharpies so that I could put in the kind of detail that I like to do when I draw my mandalas.  My old ones were just not alive enough to put down enough ink on the watercolor paper (guessing they were kind of old...)

Great detail finally!!

Almost done!

Finished!

Also added a bit of detail to a few of my existing paintings, since these Sharpies actually work! Also played with using a white gel pen for detail on the darker areas; it gets sucked up by this paper, so the result is very subtle.  I think it's kind of cool!

Time has been flying and I haven't had time to break out the acrylics lately, but being able to be portable with the markers and water pen has allowed me to keep creating art despite not having much time.   I'll just leave you with a couple more that I finished.  Hopefully next time I'll have a new acrylic and something more interesting to share!  What kind of art are you making this week?

Love the way this mandala turned out!

Playing with my Christmas Presents

Hope you had a great holiday over the last couple of weeks!  We had a quiet one, but it was really nice. In the little bits of quiet time that I had, I've been looking at products and techniques to try with my paints and pens and I'm working on a new acrylic on canvas mandala in orange and purple (it's not done yet, but when it is I'll share!)

Last night I decided to use my Christmas gift card (thanks Mom!!) to pick up some goodies from the art supply store to play with.  I settled on a few different items, but primarily, I got myself a bunch of open stock Tombow Dual Brush Pens.  They are a water based ink pen that can be used alone, with their blender pen (which I forgot to pick up last night...) or water.  I guess a lot of scrapbook folks like them (that's like the one craft I don't do..).   More info about them HERE.  If you search You Tube there are tons of videos and techniques (many with rubber stamping) so definitely get a cup of tea and go watch a few, there's some neat stuff to be learned!

Tombow pens in all my favorite colors! 

Anyhow, I think these are going to be my favorite way to play on watercolor paper!  They have a fine point and a brush tip.   So they're very versatile for either drawing or applying color, for what I do, which is draw mandalas.

Now,  I should tell you, I am a serious newbie to watercolors.  I really don't know what I'm doing.   I have avoided playing with them in the past because I'm a control freak.  I like predictable results.  I like perfect lines.  I like to know what's gonna happen!  Watercolors for newbies is not any of that.  But what I didn't realize is that I was missing out on some seriously intense colors!  I love intense colors!  So, I'm learning to let go and play with it.  (Seems like what I'm doing in the rest of my life...but that's another story.)

By the way, I found these pens because I was looking for a better permanent pen to use on watercolor paper to outline and draw my mandalas.   I'd tried my Faber-Castell fine ink pens and the the paper just laughed at them.  I tried Sharpies and they work great - I just don't like the way they feel in my hand.  But they really do work best for me, so that's another thing to work on I suppose.  

So I figured I'd share my second attempt with these babies (the first was pretty nice - but then I got carried away with the background so it was kind of wrecked, haha!)  

I drew my outline in black Sharpie on 140lb watercolor paper.  (As this was more experimental that serious, I just freehanded it all, not really trying to be precise).  Then I started adding color from the pens.

I left white space in between for blending

Then I used a little water on my brush and started blending within each section. 

All blended!

I kept adding, and to be honest, it was so much fun that I forgot to take more pics!  So here's how it ended up:

Ta da!

I was actually happy that the Sharpie lines were a bit thicker than I originally planned, as it added a little buffer between colors, which kept things where they belonged to some extent.

I really love the intensity of the color with these pens! Obviously, part of that is my choice of bold colors within the Tombow line; with 96 colors, of course some are going to be much lighter, gentler. I also like the way the colors blend and spread and get all inky looking. I have to get a blender pen so that I can see the difference in the spreading (videos I've seen show the blender being more subtle and predictable..which I might like!) I'm looking forward to playing more over the weekend and getting more of the colors for my collection as well!

Well, that's what I've been up to today, I plan on playing with these pens all weekend.  I hope you are creating art that you love today as well! 

Doodles and Coffee

I've spent a lot of time in coffee shops. Actually, I've probably spent more time in coffee shops in the last four years that you will ever spend in one for your entire lifetime (well, unless you happen to work in one).   It's gotten a bit addictive for me, I enjoy watching people come and go and trying to figure out their stories.   And seeing the same people practically living at the shop, both workers and customers,  I always wonder why those people always seem to be there too. (Heck, I often wondered why I was still there!)  

I wish I had started zendoodling when I started having to wait at coffee shops.  I tried knitting during that time but the light was always too sucky and atmosphere too uncomfortable for my liking.   Oh well.  I did get a lot of other work done. Thankfully, my days at that particular coffee shop for hours and hours are over.

Anyhow went to a (different) coffee shop yesterday and it was so packed with people; I love being in the middle of a crowded place and just feeling all the energy.  I only had about 20 minutes, so I decided to do a quick half mandala zendoodle while I was hanging out.  I now carry my pens and paper everywhere, just in case I have a few minutes to doodle.   I love this nice little set of artist pens, which was recommended by my friend Annie (who also inspired me to get hooked on doodling) they're quite affordable and this set has a nice variety of sizes.  I just use a relatively cheap tiny sketchbook that's always in my purse in case I have time to kill, but if I had a few more bucks to spend, I'd get one of these.

Anyhow, I'm finding it pretty fun, and I'm still developing my style in zendoodling.  But here's what came out yesterday.  I try not to get too hung up on perfection.  It's about just adding and adding little bits until it feels finished.  And trying to relax during the process.

All done!

Get yourself some pens and check out Pinterest for some ideas (if you're stuck) and start doodling.  See where it takes you.  And get some coffee to enjoy while you do it!

Welcome!

Welcome to The Pink Artspot!  

I'm Jen and this is my personal art and life blog.  Kind of a live art journal.   I plan to share my artwork, my thoughts and sometimes my process.  My art at the moment consist of acrylic, ink and watercolor doodles and paintings.  I prefer to paint on 12x12 canvas or 9x12 watercolor paper. I carry a tiny sketchbook and a set of pens around in my purse so that I can zendoodle whenever the mood strikes.

A quick doodle that I did with my morning coffee several months ago.

Mandala - "Cosmic", 12"x12" Acrylic on canvas

Painting is just the latest of my art obsession.  I love color.  Like really really love.

But.... it goes way way back.

When I was 12 or 13, I painted our basement playroom with giant murals of mountains and rainbows and sea life and rainbows.  (Someday I'll have to find a picture of that for here...).  It was silly and fun and oh so 70's!   I also sewed quite a bit as a teen, making both clothing and bunches of satin soft sculpture rainbows and other things.  Several (okay, many) years later, I worked at a company where everyone played tennis and did cross stitch.  I'd rather eat dirt than play tennis, so I jumped right into cross stitching!  But my need to play with more and more color led to a period of collecting fabric and quilting.  I loved all the many color ways and fabric designs, but of course, that wasn't enough color either, so I started dying fat quarters and working on elaborate color wash style quilts.

While attempting to master quilting, I also started decorative painting - learning to do faux wall finishes, stenciling, one-stroke painting and a few murals.  Nothing terribly epic, but I sure had fun!

Hey look - we still had a couple of these hanging around the house!
(don't laugh - didn't you ever paint on candles?  Do it - it's fun!!)

After that, I got into beads - after I knocked over a giant tray of my daughter's beads.  Cleaning them up, sorting them out...I got hooked.  Started making jewelry, and learned to bead crochet but I never really got prolific about making stuff - it was the beads that I loved - the colors, shapes, finishes.  So I started collecting, and eventually opened an online bead shop (no, it's long gone now...).

Pile o' sparkly beads! I made the big one and the big string of larger beads in the middle; now it's all a cool necklace...somewhere.

At the same time, I started learning how to knit and crochet.  Knitting ended up being the one that I preferred, and I learned to knit socks. Started collecting yarn as well.  But mostly, still playing with the beads.  

Dabbled in a little entrelac...I don't think I ever finished this!

Not satisfied with factory made beads, I also took up lampworking and began making my own glass beads.  I was working on honing my skills and developing my style when I lost my studio space.  That was in 2011. 

White murrini over encased dichroic glass (okay, yes, it's not perfect but it's soooo sparkly!!) 

My lampworked owl on crocheted seed bead rope

Lampworked vessel, amber with silver glass scrollwork

I really didn't want to craft after that.  I mourned my glass and my studio.  I sold many of my remaining pieces and put my equipment in storage.  I didn't have the money to rent and outfit a new space and time went by.   Many crazy life events happened shortly thereafter.

Messing around in my studio

Friends playing with glass in my studio

I really didn't feel like creating anymore,  except for occasional (like for a day or so) knitting and life changed even more and it was this past Spring that I decided to try zendoodling for stress relief and to just do "something". I found that I liked it a lot.  I think there is something soothing about repeating shapes over and over.  And let's face it, it's easy to make things look pretty good with high quality fine ink pens!  So I kept at it, and my doodles started turning more and more into mandalas and portions of mandalas.

Zendoodle half-mandala

I liked making mandalas and got so much peace from making them,  that I decided to try my hand at painting them.  I started with square canvas and acrylic.  I found it to be very therapeutic and relaxing. So now my focus is drawing and painting mandalas.

Winter, 12x12 acrylic on canvas

And so now, here we are (are you still with me??)

What I've learned after ALLLLL that....I need to do art.  I need to create stuff.  Art is is something that one does for oneself.  Not to please others.  Not to impress people.  But because making art feels good.  If you're doing the right art for you, it quiets the mind, and makes time go by.  It makes you think deeply while you're doing it.  Or sometimes, it helps you not think at all.

It's all for fun.   I may or may not have anything profound to say.  Hopefully I'll have a little eye candy for you.  Or some inspiration.  Or occasionally something to smile about.

I hope you will join me in playing with art - no matter what the medium.  I'll show you my stuff - and talk about things as we go along.  Maybe we're both thinking about the same things...maybe we're both just interested in making stuff.  We'll see what happens.  Hope you'll stay along for the ride.