Escape from Winter in color

I finally had a few spare minutes last night to color this piece.  After I got it colored I realized where I got the inspiration for the bookmark that I gave to Jennifer.  I'm happy with the way it turned out and glad I had some time to myself to draw/color.  I don't seem to have much of that lately but I'm working on it.  Happy Thursday!!

Phone vs. Camera

The past couple of days I have been taking my pictures with the camera on my phone.  I know I need to take the battery out of my good camera and charge it (or find the extra battery), but since I'm lazy  so busy I've been trying to make due.  For some reason there seems to be a strange shadowy thing thing on the side of this one which has forced me to rethink my camera strategy.  It's not that I mind the shadow too much, but it's kind of an icky color and doesn't do anything to enhance the finished project.  So I'm off to look for my battery charger.......

Sometimes when I color a piece I like to play with the colors in Photoshop after I upload it.  That's what I did with this one.  The left picture is done with prisma color pencils and gel pen.  The right one almost looks like a nuclear fairy garden but that's OK - it was fun playing!  I hope you have fun playing in your day today!

Color again!

When I finished this tangle some of the patterns seemed to run together, like you couldn't see where one ended or even what the pattern was.  That's why I decided to color it and give it some definition.  At first I wasn't too sure it was working then I finished it and stepped back - I was pleased.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the color (like we all do) and other times it's soothing to me.  This was the soothing piece.

On another note I want to say something about our own art. We all tend to be critical of the things we produce but at the same time enjoy the process.  I think that just like in life, its the process that makes it all worth while.  The finished project in the end is going to be a reflection of that.  Therefore, don't be so hard on your art.  It's part of you and it's fabulous!!!  Keep sharing what you love!!!

Challenge 33 - Pendrills

Hello everyone!!!  I was so excited that I was able to draw and post while traveling, only to find out that it didn't work!!  SO I was able to get some new stuff done and wanted to get this weeks' challenge posted.  I had fun trying something new and then adding the color was fun.  I almost felt like a real artist!!!  I hope you're enjoying your summer.  I have no complaints!!!  Happy days to you all! :)

Trying something new

I got some new metallic gel pens for Little Miss Thisorthat (she's becoming quite the little artist with her pad and pen) but before she got here, I HAD to try to them out!  Either I don't know what the metallic is suppose to look like or it's not showing up because I can never see any metallic when I use them.  As you know, I don't usually use pens to color with because I usually like to fade it in and out, but this time I thought I would give it a shot.  I don't know if its the ruffles or the flowers or what, but I'm please at how it turned out.  I hope your day turns out to be something you can be pleased with also!

Above the Sea

I've been thinking about my upcoming vacation and was wishing there was a huge boat and lots of water in my future - BUT I'll be thrilled to death to see family I haven't seen in a while.  We have such a great time catching up and making new memories.  You just can't beat family!!!  I'll even squeeze in a wedding while I'm out there.  I'm so excited!!!!  Of  course when you think about water vacations (which is where my mind is today), you have to add color because that's part of the attraction.  It's like a five sense vacation :).  The beautiful colors, the feel of the breezes and the warm water, the smell of awesome food, and the sounds of the soothing music and the perfect stillness that sooths your soul.  Vacations are awesome!!!  I hope you have a day full of all the things you love!

COLOR 2!!!

This is the second of the colored experiments that came from the same tangle.  Sorry to be so short but have lots going on today.  Hope you're enjoying the color!!

COLOR!!!!

I've been playing with color on previous tangles.  This is a portion of one I did last month.  Enjoy the color!!

A Little Color

I posted this a week or so ago, but decided it needed some color.  So here is a little color to brighten your day!!  Enjoy!!

A rose is a rose

A while back I bought some Pitt markers and rushed home to try them.  Boy was I shocked!  The color was so bright (after everything being black and white tones) and not transparent at all (which you all know how scared of color I can be) so I promply put them away. I was straightening up and organizing my art supplies when I ran across them again and decided to give them another try.  I had some input from my flickr friends about how to use different types of pencils along with the markers (to soften the bright color down a little) and this is the results.  I wish I had put the white pencil down first so I wouldn't have had to drag out my not so reliable gel pen, but this like everything was a lesson and next time I'll know better.  I'm happy enough with the results to give the markers a try on another piece. I do have to say the markers were very easy to use and having the brush tip they allowed me to do very fine work as well as getting some bolder color with thicker lines.  I don't have alot of different colors (eight I think) but it should be enough to practice with.  If you have any thoughts that might help me, feel free to share them.  I love hearing what little secrets you've come up with!  Well, whatever you're doing today, throw yourself into it and you never know what the result will be.  Enjoy the day!

Challenge 18 - Eggzzellent

Wow this one really was a challenge for me!!!!  I had to go and get a picture in my head  and I never could get it quite right (you know how THAT goes).  I can honestly say I've probably worked on this (the black and white and then the color) for about 10 hours (but Mr. Thisorthat would say much longer).  As you can see I even ended up changing one of my patterns because I didn't like the way it looked after I started to color it.  I would love to say that this was all done with my creativity in the use of pencils and pens, but I have to say after much frustration and not getting the look I was after, I headed to the computer and used my Photoshop.  I'm pretty happy with the results or maybe I just got tired of "fine tuning" it but I can say that I've completed the Challenge set before me and I am victorious!!!!  Now I'm going to start working on some of the things that I should have been doing!  Happy day to you and I hope you conquer whatever challenge you set out for yourself!

Ta-da! COLOR!!

Surprise!  This is one of the tangles that I've recently colored and I really love this one!  I don't know if it's because it kind of looks like Thanksgiving (I'm not really sure why but for me it does) or if it's because it was really fun to color and I still like it (which sometimes I don't) or if it's just the tangle itself, but when I look at this one it looks like it makes sense.  I don't know what to call this one but I like looking at it.   I guess it could look like a space station of come kind (if there is more that one kind - he! he!).  Anyway I'm so excited to share some of these pieces with you so be sure to check back again soon.  Hopefully Laura will get her Challenge for this week up and I can do something fun with that too.  Make it a great week!!

Ribbons and Pearls

I'm having a lot of fun with color this week!  It was easy to pick the colors for this, but I have to admit sometimes I get stuck there.  I'm never sure if I should blend and mix colors or if I should stick with one color.  Of course the easy way out is to just pick one color and change it up in the different patterns, but that seems a little like cheating when there are so many color options.  I know each piece dictates what needs to be done, but it still is a little intimidating because I stop tangling when I'm happy with the piece, and I don't want to mess it up by putting the wrong color in the wrong place.  I see pieces that others have done that the color looks awesome on (which of course encourages me to do more color) but even though I don't think I've achieved awesome yet, I'm getting happier with each piece as I go along.  I'm pleased with this piece so I hope you enjoy it!  Happy Day to you!!

Blue on Blue

Well it's pretty obvious that this isn't another version of this weeks' Challenge.  I would love to say that I did this in less than 15 minutes, but there's no way!!  After I stepped back when I finished the last pattern, I thought I would drag out my watercolor pencils.  I was pleased to see (because I don't use them enough to remember) there were several different blue pencils.  It was an easy decision because I'm still learning what colors go better together so I used all the different blues.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in grade school again trying to figure out what colors go better with other colors and how to blend colors and where to shade.  I'm sure I learned that somewhere around third grade.  All I can say to that is it was a LONG time ago!  It was fun to see how the different colors played out on the paper - some I didn't have to use much pencil to get the color I was looking for, and others I had to use more than I originally thought.  I learn something each time I try new things and I guess that's one of the reasons I am head over heals in love love (yes I meant to say it twice) with Zentangles.  The creative process is something I look forward to each time I sit down with my pens and journal as I wait for the next great thing to appear.  Ha! Ha! Sometimes I really crack myself up!!  Of course the next grate thing is all perspective so I'll keep working toward that.  All I can say is it gives me great joy and a sense of personal fulfillment when I finish a tangle and I'm pleased with it.  I hope today brings you that same sense of accomplishment!

Color or no color?

Yesterday I was feel quite creative.  After I finished this tangle, I thought I would add a little color.  That's when things went south!  It's hard to know what color to put in the tangle (that you've worked all that time on) and then where does the color go?  This one I decided to put just a hint of color instead of going crazy and putting color everywhere.  Don't get me wrong I love the color, just mostly on other peoples' work.  I'm still new at adding color and I'll admit that it intimidates me - and not just a little!  I've tried using all different kinds of pencils for shading, and I've used oil pastels, watercolor pencils, regular colored pencils, and even dabbled with my Photoshop (I know some people think that's cheating but I'm still on the fence) to actually add the color to my entire drawings.  Sometimes I think that less is more, but then I see others' work and wish I were brave enough to totally go for it!  I'm just scared that after putting all the work into the tangle, that it will end up being trash if the color doesn't go right.  Of course right to me is hard to pin down because I'm such a perfectionist about how things look when they're done.  I know, I know, I'm learning to let go of that but like everything, it's a work in progress.  So today my goal is to totally go for it and do the color thing (without using Photoshop) on my next tangle and go all in on it.  So today I hope you find something to totally cover with color and have fun with it!

Color Abound!

I was up REALLY late last night (or I should say somewhat early this morning) and I decided it was time to add a little color to the Bouquet that I did last week.  Then when I finished that, I had one more Mooka that screamed out for some color too.  I'm still working on fine-tuning the Mooka pattern, but it's getting better from my standpoint.  It's nice to have something that you can work on and just change a few things (like the color or the layout of the pattern) and have a totally different result - it's pretty neat!  I think sometimes we get used to doing things the same way and expect a different result (which I think we all know doesn't work).  Today I hope you change something up a little and see how different the results are.  Happy Friday!!

More Photoshop

 

Well  even though yesterday was our Anniversary (and was very nice by the way), it was also NASCAR!!  Which translated means I had a lot of time to work on my tangles!  After I finished with this one it looked incredibly busy to me so Mr. Thisorthat suggested I add some color to it.  His choices were hot pink and royal blue and red, but after I got them on the tangle, it scared me!!  I thought I should tone down the colors a little, but left the red for him.  I'm still not convinced about the coloring thing, but I do like the way the shading on the black and white part turned out.  Also there was a "booboo" on the original that had to be removed (too bad there's no white out when you're drawing) so there are some benefits I guess.  But I almost miss the finish work time doing the shading because that's when the tangle really comes to life, so I'm not sure this is the way to go or not.  Take a look at both of these and let me know if you have a preference.



Look what I did!

I've been playing around on my Photoshop and seeing how it would turn out if I tried to color my tangles that way.  Electronically.  It sounds like cheating a little.  The good thing was if I put color in a place that didn't look so good then I could change it.  I'm still not sure if I even like the color but I'm still experimenting with it.  This was fun experiment for me as I'm trying to get more familiar with my Photoshop program and this gave me an opportunity to do that.  I learned some cool features (like cutting and pasting from one picture to another) that make it worth playing around some more.  I was excited with the outcome (even though I have issues with the colorization thing) but I wanted to share with you.  Have a fabulous weekend!

I have been very inspired this week by Laura's challenge.  It has made me think about leaving some open spaces instead of filling every blank spot on the page.  Sometimes less is more - right?  We've all hear that and probably know it, but that doesn't stop us from being in the moment and going tangle wild!!  I've also been looking at some of my older drawings and am thinking about adding color to them.  Even though the color scares me a little, I've seen so much that I love, and I realize I won't get better at it until I actually do it (practice makes perfect - darn!).  So you might be seeing some color soon but remember it's all a work in process. 

Happy Weekend to you all!!!