On my art table: Mandala magic

Mandala_Magic

I’ve long been drawn to mandalas – to their symmetry, their beauty and, most of all, to the calmness that they evoke. But I’ve always been afraid of trying to draw them. This year, though, I finally took the plunge.

And it was so hard! Whoever said dividing a circle into 12 equal pies is easy, is lying! I wish I could show you how many pieces of paper I crumpled up and threw and how many tears I shed just trying to draw those 12 symmetrical pies. By the end of it, I’d much rather have been eating apple pie, and I’m not even that fond of it! And when I finally did manage to get it divided up, drawing symmetrical shapes in that circle gave me nightmares!

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On my art table: Two Sisters

Art journal spread - two sisters

I love painting whimsical girls, and I love giving them colorful hair. Don’t you think their bright blue hair looks exciting? I almost I wish I could color my hair robin blue! *laughs*

On this spread, I was experimenting with face structure and with using black. Believe it or not, black used to (and sometimes still does) scare the bajeezus out of me! It can easily overwhelm a page and make it seem dark and depressing. But used like this in small quantities to frame the page, and with pops of color added on, I think it looks quite nice, don’t you?

Like these whimsical sisters? You can buy art and canvas prints, notebooks, laptop skins, and more featuring them in my Cupick store. I’ll be adding more stuff on there regularly, so do follow me there for updates!

If you want to learn how to art journal, sign up for my monthly newsletter, Gypsy Wanderings, and get a free copy of my ebook Art Journal 101. Click for details.

On my art table: Evolve

Art_journal_spread_evolve

I drew her in my moon journal this year. A reminder to evolve – to be brave enough to emerge from the cocoon, to break down the walls I’ve built up to protect myself, but which only keep me entrapped and prevent me from growing.

It can be a slow process, this metamorphosis from a protective cocoon to a butterfly. But it’s such a beautiful process. Creation and destruction, much like the cycle of life itself, don’t you think?

Do you need a reminder to evolve? You can buy art and canvas prints, notebooks, coasters, and more featuring this piece in my Cupick store. I’ll be adding more art work on there regularly, so do follow me there for updates!

If you want to learn how to art journal, sign up for my monthly newsletter, Gypsy Wanderings, and get a free copy of my ebook Art Journal 101. Click for details.

On my art table: Zentangle butterfly

Another month, another blogging challenge. This time, it’s a 15-day daily blogging challenge. What can you expect over these 15 days? Gorgeous eye-candy from my art table! I hope you love these glimpses of my work as much as I love creating them.

art_journal_zentangle_butterfly

Kick your Zentangles up a notch by drawing them on a painted background. Add some shading around the image (in my case a butterfly) to make it pop up and out of the page.

I created this piece using acrylics on watercolor paper. I used a Derwent Inktense pencil for the shading, and sketched a spiral fly path with a white pen to use as a journaling block.

This is an easy way to create coasters, greeting cards, or a small art piece for friends or loved ones. Just put on some music, and Zentangle away!

Want to learn how to art journal? Sign up for my monthly newsletter, Gypsy Wanderings, and get a free copy of my ebook, Art Journal 101. Click for details.

And head over to my Cupick store to buy art and canvas prints, notebooks, coasters, mousepads and more featuring my art.