Dutch Diamonds, New Tangle

Ready for a new tangle pattern? My husband said it looked like those little pointy hats the dutch girls wore in the old days. (Does anyone know if they actually did wear those cute little hats?) And thus the name came about - Dutch Diamonds.

The step-outs for Dutch Diamonds.

The first project I used dutch diamonds on was a postcard for a facebook swap I was involved in. I have no idea now where this postcard ended up. And I've learned a lot about shading and highlighting since I drew this. 

And believe it or not - both of those long strips are dutch diamonds. The back one is a variation - or tangleation - of the original. There are many ways to draw dutch diamonds - you are only limited by your ideas. (And if you need another cup of coffee. Or chocolate. Or coffee and chocolate. Oh, wait! Jelly Bellies!!!)

Here are a few tangleations I came up with. I'm inviting you to try Dutch Diamonds out for yourself. I know you can do it. And I think you have some more tangleations just waiting to slip out of your hand, through your pen, and onto the paper! And I would love to see them!

Dutch Diamonds! (Now, where did I stash that extra bag of jelly bellies???)))

A New Year's Coming

These are the last three of my New Year's post cards for the swap. I used mixed media paper and cut my own 4" x 6" postcards - rather than buying them. In the last two cards I tried something new. Not sure how I like it yet. I used pen nibs and a speedball wand, which I dipped into Liquitex Acrylic Ink to draw the pink string and the green vines. Other colors in the cards came from Grumbacher Translucent Watercolors, Wink of Stella Glitter Markers, and At You Spica pens. It's almost new year's day. The cards are in the mail. It's a new record :).

Pkok Tangle, Sandhya Manne

Currently, I am working on postcards.  A few of us are involved in a New Year's postcard swap and I'm trying to get mine done and in the mail.  You might have seen yesterday's post where I listed how far behind I am.  I am one step closer now, haha!
Pkok is a new tangle from Sandhya Manne, one of our CZTs from India. Her work is always so beautiful and delicate.  I love this new pattern of hers! It just really wanted to mix it up with some merryweather (Sandy Hunter) and bales (Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas).
I cut my own postcard from mixed media paper. Color came from my Grumbacher Transparent watercolors. The sparkle is from Wink of Stella Glitter markers (which unfortunately doesn't photograph well.)

On a Roll

I found a postcard I forgot to post. It's on its way to someone lovely. Now it's time to gear up for the two ATC swaps I signed up for. And somewhere in here I need to find the information about the bookmark swap Sandy is doing - because I forgot all about that! But it's all fun :) and I love it!

Circle of Life

The Circle of Life
From the day we arrive on the planet and, blinking, step into the sun, there's more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done. 
There's far too much to take in here, more to find than can ever be found, but the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky, keeps great and small on the endless round,
It's the circle of life and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, till we find our place on the path unwinding, in the circle, the circle of life.
From The Lion King, these words kept running through my mind as I drew and colored this postcard. I really like the lines: through despair and hope, through faith and love. I've been there, we all have at one time or another. It's a test of our strength, a test of our faith, our beliefs, our values, what we place our value in, who we place our value in. It really all comes down to that, doesn't it. Who - and what - we value above all else. That is what takes us from despair to hope, and on through faith and love.  Just a little something to get you thinking as you go on about your week. May it be a great one!

Fall?

The weather is cooling down a bit in Maryland. Not quit as steamy hot during the morning, cooler in the evening. I even pulled out the Tinkerbell sweatshirt tonight. The rain has backed off a little bit which is really nice also. And I am still working on postcards. Need to get them finished so I can started working on the two different ATC swaps I signed up for :).

Borders, Anyone?

Today's postcard is a combination of border tangles. I like the way you can use them in thin areas, in chains, in braids, in borders, so many applications. Haha! And that's one more postcard. Again, using the graphitint Derwent pencils. I just love everything Derwent! 

Dutch Diamonds

Still working on postcards - I may never get done - hahaha! Not sure why my ipad posted little dots in the center of most of these knightsbridge squares. The center line is a new tangle I've been working on. Mark said it reminded him of the little dutch hats, I thought it looks like the nun hat/wings that Sally Field wore in The Flying Nun. After we stopped laughing, Mark decided it should be named Dutch Diamonds. I really like the way it looks. Going to have to try it out a little bit more.
In other news, I am back in Maryland keeping Kali company until her break in classes. I brought lots of art stuff this trip. I am better prepared :). Like a boss!

Lovely Art in the Mail

 Recently I've made several posts showing you some post cards I've been drawing. Some of the CZTs have been involved in a post card swap. We get a list of addresses for the people signed up and we send them a post card we have tangled up. When I got home from Kali's last night and started going through all the mail that had arrived while I was gone, I was excited to see so many beautiful pieces of art. 

I did not draw any of the pictures in this post. Each artist's name is shown clearly on the photo. I love the colors Sharon used in the above card. The depth is attained by her excellent use of shading and blocking. Beautiful work, Sharon!

Deby got some great dimension in this drawing! Again - from shading and in this case - hatch marks. Well, at least half of a hatch mark. I have always loved Margaret Bremner's tangle pattern called Copada. It's the one that is in color. It just adds a touch of class to everything it is matched up with.

I wish you could hold this card in your hand and extend it to arm's length! The background design looks so real, and the swirl out front fairly pops off the card! Cathy did an incredible job with this one!

Deb told me that this reminded her of the ocean, which reminded her of me :). I love the blues and I really can get the feel for the waves rolling in. Such fun!

I just realized I have art from three Deb/Deby's. Haha! What really draws my eye to this ATC is the bright colors and the lollipop trees. Or flowers. The pink swirls in the background remind me of the clouds. A sort of cotton candy kind of day. I love it, Deb!

This post card from Mildred is really fun. As a photographer, I recognize the technique of off-centering. To make art - whether photo or drawing - interesting and eye-appealing, offset the primary focus a bit. This mandala is a wonderful example of that. It makes Mildred's drawing even more appealing than if she had centered the mandala. Again, her shading makes the drawing stand out. So beautiful!

What a fun ATC! Teri-Lee did an amazing job! I mentioned on facebook that the little cotton puffy flowers in the center remind me of the cotton fields I see as I travel through the Carolinas and Georgia. Memories of childhood! I love it!

Vickie picked a couple of tangles that worked so well together. The gingham background really makes the circle swirls stand out.  They look embroidered in real life. What an awesome and unique card!

I had a great mail haul! I should leave town again :). One comment that I made several times was that shading made the difference in these drawings. Attention to shading is how the picture gains that 3-D look. That naturalness. And it is what makes your tile, your post card, your ATC stand out from everyone else's. 

Thanks, ladies, for some beautiful art!

An Under the Sea Posting

This one definitely fits the "no more than three tangles" rule. Squid, sedglings, and indy-rella. Favorites when it comes to underwater drawing. Swimming across a card of blue variations. Already swimming its way to its new home. I hope you enjoy it!

Ina-pada

So, in our postcard swap we are allowed to use up to three tangles. I don't always remember, but I think I was close on most of them so far. Hahaha! I love Margaret Bremner's copada tangle and wanted to use it right across the center of the card. It hit me about halfway through that I could do a double row, then turn the centers into a variation of inapod. Then I realized that inapod + copada = ina-pada. Pretty cool! So that's like either one or two tangles, depending on how you view it. Then I topped it off with msst. Don't remember who I sent this one out to, but it's already in the mail and on its way. Hopefully it will be very happy in its new home :).

Henna Swirls

I am really liking Jane's tangle Henna Drum. I always have. I've used it many times in the past and I always enjoy coming back to it. I freehanded these swooping lines - that's what I call it when I don't have my glasses on. Hahahahaha! And they didn't turn out too badly, so I went with them, cleaned them up and added the flowers. The color came from Prismacolor Water Soluble Pencils. Trying them out for the first time. I like them, but they just don't hold a candle to Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils. Well. I guess it comes down to why you use color. I use color to brighten things up and give them life. I will probably save the prismacolor pencils for on the highway work. They did speckle good, though!

My Time is Winding Down

My visit to Kali's is almost at an end. I start the drive home in three days. The remaining two days here at the apartment will be spent with Kali working and attending class from 9:30 AM - 10:00 PM each day. So we ran errands together this morning and grocery shopped. Now she's off to class for the night. I honestly don't know how she keeps up the pace. She's getting tired and a bit run down, which usually doesn't end well. On the positive side, she has a week break in classes coming up in about a month!
Postcard number six! I had never tried any of these patterns before. Kandysnake, Kandy Ribnz, Navajo, and one of mine called Pillows. I may change the name on that one before I include it in the ebook. (This reminds me of a roller coaster and amusement park.) I really like the colors in this one - again with the Derwent Graphitint Pencils. They are water soluble and work like watercolor, for the most part. This postcard swap is a lot of fun!

Post Card Time Again

Just a quick post before the laptop battery dies. As in dead. Kaput. Fini. (Those last two may be spelled wrong.) Still working on post cards for the CZT swap. That middle tangle is my pattern - Ceedarr. This one's a lot of fun to draw! I also used quipple - which I will never ever use again. Like . . . ever. Thank you, Taylor Swift!

Never QUIT!

If we are honest with ourselves, I expect a great many of us struggle with self doubt. Struggle with the question, am I any good, do I really have any talent at all?  I know as I am constantly trying new art techniques, new methods, new product, I frequently wonder if I have any talent at all, or am I just playing at making art. I have recently figured out (but often forget) that it doesn't matter if I really have any talent, any artful inclinations, as long as I am creating something - I am happy. And that's what really counts. 
Today I was reading through emails, and I came across my daily post from Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I have to tell you that most of the time I just look at the pictures and only read the article if there is a photo that interests me. Today I started reading a story about a lady who wrote in asking, "how do you know if your art sucks so bad you should just give up?" Then the editor/story writer pulled out some comments from various readers, and one really stood out in my mind. I guess because it's the way I would respond. I don't tend to be all wordy, and proficient at big words (this is one of the longest posts I've ever written), and heartfelt sentiments. So I loved that the reader simply said, "Never QUIT! Avenge the naysayers!" And I totally agree! Let's go do some avenging.

Just Flow With It

It's amazing how large these post. This is actually drawn on a 4" x 6" postcard. In keeping with the rule of three - tangles that is - I went with a version of hollibaugh, tipple, and a flowy thing that I think is mooka, but not entirely certain on that. Hahaha! Just having fun! Color once again brought to you by Derwent Graphitint Pencils, cause that's all I brought on this road trip with me.

Posting From Kali's

I am up north visiting Kali. I had planned to be working on a book project during this trip, but the book deal fell through. So I am kind of at a loss for what I should be working on. Some of the CZTs are getting ready for a postcard swap, so that's what I'm working on now. No more than three tangles allowed, black and white, the only color we can use is by pencil or micron. I used Derwent Graphitint Pencils for the color you see in these two.

This card was fun. These are two of my own patterns: Blox and Harlequin. You can see the step out for blox by clicking on 'My Patterns' at the top of this page. On to more postcards. I have something like 16 more to make! That should keep me busy for a day or two :).

Earth Day Swap

Earth Day is April 22, 2013. It is a day to celebrate environmental protection. In preparation for this event, a group of CZTs participated in a post card swap. Our tangles were supposed to start with the letters e, a, r, t, or h. We swapped four cards. For whatever reason I did not take pictures of the first two cards I made. I remember that one went to Dilip in India - I used henna drum on that one. In the card above, I tried out a new pattern on that background wall. I do not remember what the pattern's called, but I really like the way it looks. It will be a new addition to my steampunk collection.

This was the 4th card I drew. I stuck with the flower-ish theme with rock 'n' roll surrounded by H2O Lilly across the top. The color on both these cards came from Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils.

So far I have received this card from Laurie Doucette. It is the map of her home state - New Hampshire. She tangled each county in a different pattern. I love it!