Mandalas

Some new paintings.

New mandalas
It's been a while since I posted paintings, so here are two new ones and a few shots from my work area.

Finish #2

And I learned my camera had a setting to take a negative picture.

Drawing inks

Fountain pen inks

Finish #1

Something bad happened here, and this
bottle turned to gel.

An in-progress shot of that first one.

Getting a little closer. These normally take about three
watercolor sessions after the ink has dried.

Lace works

I've been working on a new concept, inspired some diagrams of needlelace found in antique books. It appeared that various elements are used to fill a square, and the squares are arranged in pretty patterns. You know how much I love squares, patterns, and symmetry,

The diagrams look along the lines of this:

My first drawing was done in pen and ink, making a mandala of sorts. I used some blocks from the diagrams and invented some of my own.

The next experimental step was to add some color and a few more elements that deviated from a strict grid. I started by painting a grid of squares and triangles in different colors, then I drew some design lines on top. The background square were done in Turner Acryl Gouache, so they have a matte finish, but unlike regular gouache, I can paint more on top of them without rewetting and disturbing the base layer.

I used darker iridescent colors to fill in some of the design areas. 

And more:

The last step (and the scariest, since there is no going back once started) was to paint on fine black lines everywhere. I think it came out pretty cool looking, although it is tough to capture the colors and the pearlescence in a photo. I have no idea how to finish it. It's on 12 x 16" canvas, and the design goes all the way out to the edge, so I think I'll have to mount it onto a box frame... so I can hang it on the wall space I don't have. :-P

Let the experiments continue!

Happy Fountain Pen Day

My posts seem to alternate between ink and wool. It seems I can't make up my mind which medium to focus on during my fluffing off times. Fortunately, I've not been forced to specialize.  Today being officially "Fountain Pen Day," makes it the easy choice of topic.

Got ink?

Here are some interesting factoids about fountain pens from the Pen Heaven blog. I don't have anything that comes close to the million dollar pen they mention - most of mine are in that cheap yet functional category. The exception being the unassuming green Sheaffer (5th from left) which someone told me was actually worth about $200! It would be terribly easy to pick out and order new pens every month, but I've limited my indulgences to joining a monthly ink club at Goulet Pens. I'm sorely tempted each week by their newsletters with all the sexy pen photos, and the Jet Pens emails too. November's samples are due to arrive any day and I haven't even used up a single one of October's five Ink Drop samples. (They're good for multiple pen fillings.) I guess that means I'd better get writing with a pen rather than a keyboard.

And for those of you who are stitching, rather than writing today, I point you over to my complimentary pen nib cross stitch design. Just remember to keep the ink away from the linen!!!

Click to get the full size pdf.

Cheers,
Tracy

State of mind

Some small ink and watercolor paintings I've done recently:

My intent was to get this pair onto notecards on Etsy, but the image is more a testament to how I feel getting ready for the trade show in St. Charles in a few days.  So, perhaps when I get back.  So many ways you could caption this.

• Ever have one of those days?
• Ouch, that had to hurt.
• Give me a call when you get free.
• Hope you're back on your feet again soon.
• The Twister Champion reigns!
• Relax!

Ditto.

Don't forget to relax. Drawing mandalas is a great tool for me to unwind a bit. So, if the first picture is the "before" this is the "after."

Octopus Retrospective

Someone suggested I should make a big tentacled Celtic thing for cross stitch. I couldn't agree more.  I've always had a thing for tentacles.  Looking back, I realize I've inked a number of octopi and but have only one small cross stitch with that theme (yet!).  Bring on the cephalopods!

My most recent octo drawing. 

This little painting got printed into cards available on Etsy.

Quick sketch - important to get that caffeine.

From the Celtic Beasties - Halloween of Knot chart

Mostly Off Topic: So, has anyone else seen the #6 Dungeon expansion pack for the Munchkin card game? There is one called the Dungeon of Manga Wrangling, where monsters with tentacles get an extra +5 against females. We do get extra treasure, though, when we kick their butts. :-)

Edited to add: Totally forgot about my very first Ink Circles pattern - Sea Stars.  Big ol' octopus front and center...

And it wasn't much later that I made "Octopus's Garden"...

Apparently I have more of an octopus thing going on than I had originally realized! ;-)

Equal Opportunity

My last post was about some awesome black-ish pens I scored at Staples. I do not wish to imply that I find any one color superior over others, so this post gives a proper shout-out for some wonderful white ink.  Not to be confused with White-Out (correction fluid,) white ink is meant for drawing on colored paper, or adding  back in highlights on black (waterproof) ink.

Mandala drawn with white ink

After finding those BLX pens, I did a little research and found that they came in multiple point sizes, and of course then needed to order some.  Jet Pens had happened to mention them in their current email newsletter, so that was my first stop. From that point, it was only a question of what ELSE to add to my cart to hit the magic "free shipping" threshold. I found this bottle of Kaimei Manga white ink would be perfect. Thank you Jet Pens for the speedy service. Your package arrived just prior to our power going out for a few hours this afternoon. Perfect timing, as I had needed the break from the computer that a bit of painting would provide.

As the reviews indicated, the ink has a bit of a foaming issue, but that can be dealt with. I used a brush and the ink straight out of the bottle to draw this mandala.  The most interesting thing about applying the ink on colored paper was the ink's initial look being watery and not covering well.  It turns out though, as it dried it whitened up to a pleasant level.  The drying time was quick enough that I didn't have any smudging problems as I worked my way around painting each round of petals.  Overall - loved it, and will need to be doing more of this sort of thing.

BLX

And the best new toy in the office today...Uni-ball BLX pens. I found these at Staples yesterday. They are the coolest colors, as advertised they are colors "infused" into black ink. They remind me of the custom colors I blend up for my fountain pens.

You might think that the brand new computer I just bought would be the cool new thing, but it is currently the symbol of all pain.  My laptop died a hard death, having celebrated only its second birthday. It's eventually going to be getting a new motherboard, but I decided I didn't want to be out of commission for as long as it would take to get that turned around. Seems we always need a backup laptop anyway.

Let's just say I'm not in a very good mood right now. Windows 8 is the suckiest interface I've ever seen. I can only hope that it grows on me. I've had the lovely task of attempting to install all of my various software programs and recover data. I'm far from being fully functional, but at least I can write down notes about which drivers failed and such using the coolest new ink colors.

Old School

And here are a few tiny paintings I did last week using more traditional materials - ink and paint. I was on the road, so it was interesting to see how adequately I packed my travel art box. I know of a few things I need to add/change.

Coffee Break

Finished this today: ink and gouache, 6" square.

Coffee Break

The ink came out a bit heavier than I had originally envisioned, particularly on the orange border. But it didn't look finished with just the paint. In the top photo, you can't see the gold is metallic and the red looks a touch more gaudy than real life.

Here is the initial sketch, for anyone who cares.

Not the Hat You Were Looking For

Life is too short to drink delicious homebrew labeled crudely with only a Sharpie. It also looks a bit more classy if we give a bottle to a friend.  This beer is not new, but has entered the window where it is fully carbonated and drinkable and was, embarrassingly, one of three batches on the shelf without proper labels.  It's a clone of Magic Hat #9. So if someone asks us if it is Magic Hat, we can answer, "Nein."

It's supposed to be a rabbit puckering a bit (as the beer is an apricot sour) but my daughter thinks it looks like a skull, with the necklace as teeth. I need to brush up on my rabbit drawing skills.  Done in ink and gouache. All of our beer labels have a character wearing an eyepatch, a long-running inside joke from our first batch.

And on the bottles it looks nice and cheery.

Cheers!

Mandala Finished

Mandala I painted using Turner Acryl Gouache and ink

Four of Wands

And today's card is the Four of Wands, actually drawn (from the deck) a few days ago but drawn (on the paper) today.  When I started the deck, I had intended on using beetles primarily for the figures but hadn't really thought through all of the imagery.  As I mulled over the weekend on how to present this card, the wands (staves, sticks, etc.) just HAD to become stick insects.

Four of Wands

The four wands/sticks support a festive garland.  The card represents excitement and joy coming your way.  Again, I used the Rider-Waite deck as inspiration, but as the four stick bugs looked joyous enough, I left out the two happy figures in the middle. They were going to be beetles, but there just wasn't enough room without pushing the busy-ness envelope. You can read more about the card's meaning here.

So far, the only surprise I've had since drawing this card was finding a wasp in the mail I retrieved from the mailbox.  It stung me right between the fingers and boy did it hurt.  I screamed and threw the mail up in the air and it landed all over the street. I was smart enough to take my ring off before my hand started ballooning. I don't think that was the event the Tarot foretold.

Five of Cups

I'm not sure whether I have the stamina to do the entire deck, but here is one (selected randomly from a shuffled pile.)

Five of Cups

The Five of Cups: Loss and bereavement, but not all is gone. There is still some hope, as represented by two cups that are not spilled out. Not sure if this means bad news is in store for me personally.

Inspiration comes loosely from the Rider-Waite Tarot, below. You can read about the full meaning here.

Getting ink done

Perhaps you were hoping for a 13, but I drew this 31...

I couldn't decide whether to draw a dog or a lion so you get this hybrid.

You may recognize this as the pencil drawing from a few posts back. It's been in the works for way too long, but has now at least progressed to the next state.  I'm anxious to get color on it, but I haven't decided what medium to use, and I'm out of time for art today anyway. I'm particularly glad his head came out well (at least I think so.)

Procrastination

If you pardon the crappy photos, I'll share a peek at the drawing I'm currently working on.  I say "the" drawing to imply only the most recent session. I seem to have about as many unfinished drawings as I do pads.  I need to bring myself to finishing some rather than starting new ones.  I have been procrastinating and wandering, not sure where all of this is going, if in fact it is going anywhere. Kind of like the paths in the picture.

I'm hoping a theme gels as I continue inking.

Detail of the knotwork

Time for the Green Sawdust

Not sure if the same product is used in today's schools, but I remember back in grade school the janitor bringing out the green sawdust when ever somebody tossed their cookies.  Well, the SGUV (Stained Glass Unicorn Vomit) is done, so bring out the sawdust. I had some friends balk at my working title, but others assured me that it was "totally me."  Not the best pictures, but here it is...

and the big picture: