Water soluble oil pastels with gesso

I tried another water-soluble oil pastel painting using what I figured out from the first painting. I built up several layers using oil pastels, gesso, water-soluble markers and paint markers. It was very relaxing making simple shapes and using different colors combinations.  I’m sure I will be will be playing with my oil pastels again.

Water soluble oil pastels as a background

 

I love my water-soluble oil pastels, I use them all the time to lighten up a painting that has gone to dark. I have not used them for a background yet, so I thought I would lay some colors down and go from there. I could not use my pens, so no sharp lines. The only markers that worked were the water-soluble brush tip markers. Pencils mostly just digged into the oil. Inktense blocks and watercolor painted on with a brush was the best way to do shading and shadows.

If I use the oil pastels for a background again it will be for a painting that does not need sharp lines.  

Zentangle inspired fish

I had not drawn in zentangles in ages, so for fun I pulled out a background painting to draw on. I stared at the painting looking for shapes to draw the zentangle patterns in. What I saw was a big fish trying to swallow a little fish, with a smaller fish in the distance. Fish are easy, because their scales are a pattern. Plants, rocks even water are all patterns. The trick was adding colors that would look good with the mostly yellow and orange colors already in the background. This painting was a lot of fun to do, and I love my cartoonish fish. I strongly suggest if your want to get your creative juices flowing, just pull out an unfinished painting and see what you can see in it.  I have done more of these painting; it is so much fun, and a good way to use up your background paintings.

More Mixed Media Zentangle/Doodles in Circles

Here are some more examples of Zentangles in circles.

Here is another zentangle and doodles in circles painting, this time I used a freshwater fish theme.

The frogs are markers and colored pencils on construction paper.

I had a lot of fun with the circles, I hope you try it out.

Mixed Media Zentangle/Doodles in Circles

To try something new (to me) I decided to use circles to put my patterns in.

I started with 9x12 watercolor paper. I used a plate and a bowl for the large circles, a cd for the medium circles and a jar lid for the small circles.

I filled in the background with blue and green watercolor and orange and yellows watercolor for the circle. I spilled blue on the painting, I decided to just work around it.

I thought the large circle was too big for one pattern, so I broke it up with a design that connected the circles. Then I put a dragon tail behind the design.

I filled in the designs I started with watercolor pencils.

I filled in the background on the large circle with black ink.

Using a black ink gel pen I inked in more patterns, including a dragon wing to go with my dragon tail.

I shaded in my patterns using colored pencils and put highlights on my center design using a white watercolor crayon.

I filled in the background with little circles and abstract designs.

I used watercolor crayons to lighten what was too dark and markers to add color and shading to everything that needed it.

9x12 Watercolor

Happy Halloween! here is some art work I did for Halloween.

Doodle art

I found a watercolor pencil tutorial that was a lot of fun at Art is fun.
First you make some random shapes with masking fluid.

Then you paint a simple water color wash over the shapes with whatever colors you want.

Then you draw around the shapes with watercolor pencils.

It is a lot like Zentangles. With Zentangles, you draw strings on the paper then fill them in with patterns. With this project you make your white shapes, then make you doodle art around them. With this art, you are not restricted to patterns, you can draw what ever you want. Lots of fun!

Summer inspired watercolor

I used watercolor and a black ink calligraphy pen for this painting. I was going to do a Zentangle, but I was having trouble deciding on patterns.  I thought if I picked a theme, than I could decide on a pattern. I went with summer garden. I looked up pictures of beetles and I found a very colorful beetle. Instead of using the pattern from the beetle like I intended to do, I just painted the beetle. Around the beetle are rocks, above the beetle is a snail and butterfly wings, beside  him, flower petals. I am happy with how the painting turned out, I think I will use a theme again.

Brightly colored Zentangles

Some more Zentangles on watercolor paper with pens, watercolor, and colored pencils.  I was just having fun.

Four panel zentangle

This was a project  I did from the book One Zentangle A  Day by: Beckah Krahula.  It is four separate Zentangles that flow into each other. I loved the book, and I highly recommend it to any one who wants to learn more about Zentangles.

Doodle art in ink, color pencil and watercolor

These watercolors don't have very many patterns that are official zentangle patterns. Most of them I made up or came from pinterest.com

Ink and graphite drawings

I drew these on different colored cardstock. I find that these drawings are a lot more relaxing to do than the colored ones.

Mandalas and Zentangles

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I painted this on a 4x4 piece of heavy watercolor paper. First I drew a string with pencil. String is a Zentangle term, it is a random line drawn in pencil which creates an area within which you draw your patterns. I filled in half of the paper with yellows and the other half using blues and purples. After the paper dried I filled in the string with patterns. Only a couple of the patterns are Zentangle patterns, the others are from Pinterest or I made them up to fit the space.

I made the circle on heavy watercolor paper using a CD as a template. I filled in the circle using watercolors, pens and black ink.

With this one I did not try to stay in the lines when I painted the watercolor background.

This one is on thinner watercolor paper and is watercolor pencils and black ink.

This one and the one after it are on thick watercolor paper, watercolor and markers outlined with black ink.

My first Zentangles

Here are a few of the first Zentangles I created.

Add capI painted the Tardis for my son for Christmas. We are both big Doctor Who fans.tion

Add cThe round Zentangles are called mandala. I painted the mandala for my son’s birthday. The design is centered around my attempt at a Beetlejuice sandworm.aption