Another piece for my art swap has been completed and will be delivered soon. I am excited as I really like this Zentangle and Mandala inspired piece. I call this one Starry Messenger as it carries with it some inspiration from Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius. (Click the link to learn more.)
In an effort to keep the piece from getting too busy, I started with a very simple Bales in the background. I needed something simple to get me started and I wanted all the same pattern to keep the design from being too fractured. I knew I could go back and add ornamentation later. I did go back at the very end and add a bit to make it interesting but not too busy.
For the stars I chose patterns that remind me of fabric. My friend who I made this for has a love of design and fabric so I wanted to bring that to the fore. After I got the biggest parts done, I did the centers in Gneiss. I chose Gneiss as it reminds me of a compass center and as Galileo was a source of inspiration I thought it fitting.
I experimented with varying patterns in Starry Messenger and it was a lot of fun. The top right star grew out of Purk. I think I may use that again. It was fun to do and the first time that I made a "3D" pattern. The variations on Bales Ragz, and Huggins are ones that I will remember in the future.
Beautiful! Very inspiring; thank you for sharing, not only the finished product, but your thinking about putting it together, too. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteone of my favorite zendalas ever... amazing job on this!! I love your pattern choices; they compliment each other really well. I don't normally have this thought (because I am something of a tangle purist) but have you considered adding a little bit of soft color? I'm not saying it's not perfect the way it is... I was just wondering :o)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sandy. This was a lot of fun to do. I had not throught of adding color to this piece althrough I am working on a piece now that has me thinking of color. I will have to explore color more though as I am not experienced in painting. Thanks for your kind words.
DeleteWhoa! That is amazing. Love how the shading makes the stars simply POP.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to experiment with color, I recommend scanning your original and printing copies to play with. If you aren't experienced at painting, why not try watercolor pencil? They are fun to play with and you are quite obviously good with pencil and pen. Add some color here and there and then use a clean brush with clear water to move the pencil around.
If you try it, please share.
OK Cris, You convinced me. I woke up to a 50% off coupon from Michaels this morning so I went to check out the watercolors. I already have some watercolor pencils and I bought some watercolors and will play with them a bit and see what I can do. Thanks for the push. :) I'll take photos as I go and see if I can get a share post done when I'm finished.
DeleteThis is stunning.
ReplyDeleteWow! Really Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete