Diva Challenge#354, Joey #206 & IAST #233 duo challenge

Diva Challenge #354

Use My Tangle Monday

Siri by Simone Menzel

It was great to see Simone's pattern "Siri" featured this week! Simone and I have shared some Travelling Tangles swaps so I'm fortunate to have some of her original art of  my very own and I find her work so inspiring. I don't think I've ever used this pattern beyond playing around with it a little when she first published it on her blog. It's pretty high focus. My approach to something like this is to go big and go slow.

My background options

I find myself  falling down the rabbit hole of multi media art journaling. I bought a Dylusions ink starter set last week and played around with the sprays and stencils. "Siri" felt like it would be a good fit on one of these and after a lengthy stare-down, I decided to scatter fragments of Siri using my Platinum Preppy blue fountain pen and Staedtler Triplus Fineliners.

Joey #206 & IAST #233

Duo Challenge

Joey started us off with an untitled wave pattern  (bottom left corner) she found on Pinterest.  I laid in the corner line work on Monday, then once I saw the IAST challenge I drew the Pi string on a separate piece of paper and then turned it around and around to decide which direction felt right, then carried a string line over to Joey's side.

I've been doing these in a multi media sketchbook using only my fountain pens and graphite (sometimes a Tombow grey marker). The only thing that keeps me going with this is how much I love using the fountain pens and the sense of accomplishment I feel when I finish. This is an exercise in problem solving! Composing these pages are mostly Zen, but there are several moments throughout the long process where I get frustrated because I don't like the way it's going. It has ALWAYS worked out in the end and that always surprises me, but it doesn't come easy by any means.

I added "Mosi", a new to me pattern featured this week on Square One: Purely Zentangle (as if  this wasn't hard enough;-) I felt like the Joey side needed something organic to balance out Frunky and though "Mosi" wasn't really gelling with me, I loved how the challenge artist, Tomas Padros added sort of an  "Icanthis" component to it and because I'm into botanicals lately, I went for it. I hated it! I took a break and later went in with a black brush pen to add some weight and little leaf tips. Better.

The required patterns in place:

Mystery Waves (untitled)

Frunky

Soluna

Keeko

More drippy watercolor circles

&

Botanical studies

in my DIY sketchbook/journal

One of my creative goals is to draw botanicals. I like the whimsical styles of a few of my YouTube faves at Authentic by Frani and Shayda Campbell and have been following their tutorials.

I want to work on more intricate, detailed studies and alternatively do some fun abstractions. I'm also still having fun with the drippy watercolor circles. I had a palette with some remnants of dried up, cheap, Daiso watercolors that I was about to rinse off when it occurred to me to set up a few more pages of miscellaneous watercolor splashes to inspire future drawings. The flowers above came about a few days later.

I have always preferred a muted color palette and am only now breaking out of my comfort zone into brighter, more vibrant colors. I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought a Daniel Smith starter set plus a few bright tubes and have been having fun playing with the florals. But, you know what?, I prefer these silly Daiso watercolors. Everything is still practice at this point.

She is so camera ready!

Thanks for stopping by! Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me.