Something a little fishy...

Cartooning mixed with patterning for an odd combination that seems to work well. Will have to cartoon some more like this. Maybe next time will do it in colour.

Hearts and flowers with a bit of colour

 

I thought I would try some colour. I have these lovely colouring pencils - Derwent Coloursoft - which had been bought around a year ago and never used. I am pleased with this outcome, so think I will use them more often. I still have a way to go to learn how to use them, they look a bit obvious. They need to be more natural looking and less 'scratchy'  looking. I'll get there!

Meanwhile, at work...

I am all alone in the office today - everyone else either on hols or working from home, so I thought I would put my time to good use....

Merry Christmas one and all

Merry Christmas doodle

 I almost decided not to complete this one as it was getting far too busy! But I am glad I did - busy works for Christmas, so this is my Christmas Doodle. Merry Christmas everyone and here's to 2015 doodling.

Autumn Leaves

Autumn leaves. I drew this over a couple of mornings - I try to draw a bit each day, even if its just a tiny bit - 5 minutes. Anything. The more you draw, the more you need to draw. I can feel the urge to stop blabbing here and pick up my pen NOW! Laters!

Wobbly Mandala

An attempt at a Mandala. All a bit wobbly, all a bit strange. But very, very addictive doing it. Already working on another one and could end up doing an awful lot of these. Hugely therapeutic. Type in 'how to grow a mandala' into YouTube to see how easy they are to do. And then do one!

Quick Line Drawing

This was unbelievably therapeutic to do. Actually, what do we mean by therapeutic? What it really was was some moments, a bit of time, where I was just into something so deeply that time and space stood still around me as I drew. More meditative than simple therapy. Therapy sounds like I have issues and problems. Which of course I do, but I don't draw to solve issues and problems, I draw because I love it. Simple as. I get to be with me for a short period of time. Ooh, deep!

I have no idea what to call this one...

And sorry for the not very clean photography. Odd dark marks on the paper there.

Took around 2 or 3 hours to complete, but couldn't do it all at once (who has 2 or 3 hours to spare anyway??). I suppose I should have used a bit of shading to make it pop more, but oh well.

Early Morning Doodle

I haven't done a drawing in a bit, so thought it time to get on with it. A quick early morning doodle. May your day be bright and full of colourful patterns.

Portrait of one of my brain cells

Here is a portrait of one of my brain cells. As you can see, it sees things very much in black and white.It is somewhat complex at first glance, but then you can see the simplicity (as opposed to simpleness!) of it. After a while the method within the madness starts to reveal itself but in the end, it is very easy to 'get' - but you do have to reach for that understanding...all my brain cells are unique, but each have these basic structures behind each of them... :D

Pencil Shading

A different type of drawing this time. I forgot how much I love drawing with pencil. I love practicing shading so this one brought back a lot of previously known, and now remembered and reinvigorated, love.

Done during yesterday's process - working on all sorts including getting to understand what damage the ego can do to a life. Bloody thing.

Even me posting this comes straight from the ego direct - although now mixed with a bit of finger pointing to it to create an uncomfortability in me - which will subside because the ego is good at that. It anesthetizes...

Tapeworm

Doodle done (ha, doodledone, like Dumbledor) over a few days. I was going to add more pencil shading to it, but it was all a bit fiddly, so just shaded a couple of bits. Now, I am having a block. I don't know where to start with a new one. Ah well...

Quick Early Morning Doodle

And this is a very quick early morning doodle, done whilst waiting for my morning coffee to brew. Hence, probably, the odd coffee bean shapes in the middle of the largest loop. Wierd!

Quick Biro Doodle

A quick doodle done at my desk at work, done in between client calls, questionnaire designing and data analysing. A line at a time, so to speak. Anyway, all done in biro hence the sort of messy look. 

Mountain Range

 I quite like how this looks. I really ought to give it some shading to make it stand out a bit more, but I am too lazy. So, this is the finished, unfinished product.

Flowers.

 Flowers done over a few days. I couldn't wait to finish it, because I was getting sort of bored with it. But I kept just adding one more flower. Just one more. Then another. Etc. So, I just had to get it right, even though it was a bit boring to do. But it was an interesting process - I found myself discovering a new sort of pen 'flick' when filling in the petals with lines that was very satisfying.

Anyway, here they are. Flowers.

Biro, paper...draw!

I had a biro, I had a piece of paper, so I did what had to be done and married them. This is their wedding bouquet.

This one was drawn at my computer desk over a few days during the periods of time that I was waiting for my computer to boot up. Well, I hate that egg timer (it's a spinning circle these days) thing. It's like watching a kettle come to the boil. It never does while you watch it. So, drawing seemed like the natural thing to do to pass that time in a way that I love passing time.

Anyway, pen, paper, I hope you live happy ever after producing baby drawings all over the place. Ding dong.

A is for...

A is for...well, lots of things. I might work on the rest of the alphabet.  I don't even remember why I did this one. I like it though. I do love letters. And I do love doodling. So combined is a lot of love going on. As per usual, the majority of this one went on during some extremely intense skype conversations with a bunch of people from all over the world from NZ to Tennessee to Wales to Holland to Israel. Why not? Who else can I talk to about the evolution of the human?

Another sampler

I forgot about this one! I started this one last year (again at yet another Waunifor seminar). It only needed a couple more things doing to it, which I did tonight when I found it tucked away in a notebook earlier this week.

Anyone would think I was bored at these seminars. But the drawing simply helps me concentrate on the process - it keeps the old brain busy so that I can get whats going on directly to my mind. Believe me. Boredom hasn't existed in my life in a long, long time.

Curtains

I drew this one when I was in Waunifor, Wales, for a week a few months ago. It sort of reminds me of theatre curtains. Not sure why, it just does.

It's only small, usually I draw on A4 size, but this was just a small sketch pad that I had to  hand, Smaller than A5, even, I think.

Anyway, don't really know what to say about it. Small, curtains, shading, round bits, curly bits and diamonds with lines. Says it all, I guess!.

It's all a bit fishy...

I found a great photo of a fish on pinterest and copied the shape it made in the water and then just added my own style to it. Sort of hand drawn photoshopping. I hope it doesn't mind. I promise I didn't make the fish slimmer than it already was, I just embellished it's patterns. And it didn't have large mooka style tail bits. Anyway, here is another doodle that got done during some excellent Emin calls. So, who knows what has been weaved into this one!

Zen Doodle, Zentangle Sampler

Here is a sampler I did over a period of time. Each time I was on a global Emin related call, I would, as I listened to magic unfold, keep my brain busy by drawing . This is what turned up.

Life, the Universe and Everything

This is another one I did during the weekend Seminar. Something to do with eternity, the natural laws, connection and the universe. All of which are part of the death and dying process, because all it is is one of the steps in the ongoing journey of life itself. As you move through life, you move through death. Dying is simply being born out of one vehicle into another. Simples, really...

The Ruby Care Foundation. Taking the fear away from dying.

I was inspired to draw this whilst I was attending a weekend seminar conducted by Judith Pocock who is the founder of the Ruby Care Foundation which is a service that 'takes the fear away from dying' - i.e. all things to do with bereavement.

The seminar was amazing, life changing, attitude to death and dying changing and was simply something I am glad I didn't miss.

I guess this drawing represents life - it looks like cells, like the universe in its embryonic state, like frog spawn, like...anyway, that's how I see it. It worked out like this unintentionally...

Visit http://rubycare.org/ if you have any questions about death and dying, about how to cope with bereavement or just to see how some people think differently to most....

Weekly Challenge #168 Tangleation Nation: Rain

Rain. Well, it's certainly appropriate, because it has been raining. As per usual, actually. So, no change there.

Saying that, today is actually rather nice. Sunshine and wind so plenty of washing done, dried and put away, which IS a change as I don't normally organise our lives in that way so much...something obviously in the air. Some chemical or other making me do things I don't usually do.

Anyway, nuff burbling, here is my effort at the Diva Challenge for this week. I call it Sunshine on a Rainy Day.

Weekly Challenge #166: UMT Diva style

I found this one to be more challenging than usual. I did lots of rough sketches before I decided not to sketch anything out and just go with the flow. So, I downed pencils and picked up pen and just drew till I ran out of steam. And this is the result. A bit messy, but on the whole I quite like it.

I call it Organic Mechanic, because it has a mechanical feel to it, but I drew it organically, if you know what I mean.

Weekly Challenge #165: UMT - Camelia

I worked on two for this weeks challenge (to start to make up for the fact that I didn't join in last weeks - sorry! too busy).

It being a Bank Holiday, here in the UK and the fact that I have fallen deeply in love with my new ginormous drawing board and want to spend every waking moment with it (and sleeping - it's set up in my bedroom...ooer!) I not only spring cleaned out my bedroom to make room for it, but I then made sure I made it welcome by using it as it was meant to be used. Stop that, in the back there!

Anyway, here are two Camelia trys. I hope you like them.

Here is the first which I called 'Twist and Shout'

Here is the second one I did which I called 'Just Popping Out'

Actually, I have no idea why I give my drawings titles - it seems like an odd thing to do. But then, I am odd.

Growth

I called this one 'growth' because it kind of looks like some horrible growth. I don't know where I was going with it, but it just had to be gotten out. Imagine. That was inside my mind somewhere!

Actually, I am being mean about it, it ain't that bad, just a bit weird. Hardly pretty or dainty or cute. Blocky, unmanageable, all over the place. So, actually, totally like me after all.

:D

Planets colliding

I finished off two drawings tonight using my new (2nd hand) AO drawing board. Er...it's way bigger than I thought it was going to be - but I love it! It takes up almost my whole bedroom, which I am turning into my studio, but I don't care. It totally looks brilliant in there.

I spent all of today spring cleaning the room and then setting the board up by the bay window so that I can get the light as long as possible. Was drawing up till around 8.30 with no extra lighting. Great!

Anyway, here is the first completed picture:

Weekly Challenge #162: String Theory - Initial String

A bit late! And a bit hurried. Not sure I like this attempt much. But sometimes the ones I am not sure about grow on me later anyway, so hopefully this one will to.

The 'I am the Diva' challenge this week was to use your initials (in my case - AK) as your template for a doodle tangle. I like the concept of the challenge, but not sure that A and K are the best intials to have for this sort of thing. Or am I just making excuses? Probably...

So, here it is:

Try the Diva challenge yourself here:

Shamrocks - weekly challenge #159

This weeks zendoodle challenge was based on it being St Patricks day on the 17th. So, the challenge was entitled: Top o' the morning!

Now, St Patrick was a bit of a fraud and, apparently, St Patricks celebrations, in its current form, was born in America....

He wasn't from Ireland. The colour one should associate him with is blue. He didn't drive the snakes out of Ireland, mainly because there weren't any. And so on.

But who cares? Doodling puts the fun back in when it has been drained out by a pedant such as myself....

Here is my version of the Top o' the Morning Challenge....

Duotangle - Diva Dance and Crescent Moon

Diva Challenge 158 - Duotangle using just two pattern types, the Diva Dance and the Crescent Moon.

I was inspired to draw in a freer fashion than usual, by fellow tangler, Helen Williams of A Lttle Lime, allowing myself to go for a more flowy type of design rather than keep to the confines of a 'tile'.

Freeflowing suits my style much better, I had just forgotten that rules are there to be broken and more importantly, I have always been a bit of a free radical rebel...