DIVA CHALLENGE #140 No. 2

You wouldn't believe how irritated I've been since I realized that I didn't do my first Diva Challenge correctly.  Somehow I just missed the word "monotangle." 

I spent a good deal of time yesterday trying to draw perfect Fibonacci Spirals.  Then watched this very cool video about them (if your interested, I highly suggest you check it out, I'll post the video at the end of this entry.)

Then... I had a magical dream last night about spiral-y things, pointillism and pastel pencils (& luckily this morning work has been slow slow slooowww); SO, in less than an hour I came up with this:

Diva Challenge #140

It's not perfect (it's certainly not a Fibonacci,) but the colors are what make it so darn fun.  The white parts were done with a white woodless graphite pencil, & all the rest is done with CarbOthello Pastel Pencils.  Pastels are so great for pointillism.  Overlaying the dots sort of smudge the colors very slightly together.  Also, how great do they look on black Canson board?  (Am I right, or am I right?)  Click on the picture to see it larger... just to look at all the little dots & layers. 

I really love color.

Now that I actually have completed the challenge correctly, I can be satisfied.  Not perfect or particularly good, but hey - I took a stab at it, & trying is the only way to learn!

Now... if you wanna see that video, here it is

Doodling in Math Class: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant

Happy Friday Everyone!

ZENDALA DARE #75 - TAKE 2

tangles used: whisket

I just love my pastels so much.  Combining them with tangles just seems so natural.

Now on to the bright owl's Zendala Dare #76!

ALSO - here's the beginning of the lady slipper orchid... I'm thinking it was a mistake to do it on white paper, & should choose another color & start over... it's just... what color?

If you see this & have any ideas, leave me a comment, I'd greatly appreciate it!

green & white lady slipper orchid test - pastel on cold press wc paper

I'd surround myself with real ones if it were practical...

so many flowers!

I've been trying to do several things at once... & thankfully, some of the results have been acceptable, (though, not all of them.)  Teaching myself how to use oil pastels AND draw orchids.  I probably should have started with one, then gone to the next... HOWEVER, I personally like to just go ahead & jump in with both feet. 

1st go with oil pastels - Sunflower

ok, so I didn't just jump right on to orchids.  & also, I didn't do my first orchid in oil pastel - I did it in traditional pastel.

1st orchid - bright green phalaenopsis - pastel on mi teints

here's the first combination of oil pastels & orchids - & I really love this for some reason

light green phalaenopsis - ink, oil pastel on mi teints

I am kinda irritated that I had drawn all my lines in ink... I don't know what I was thinking!

Next - a study done completely in op's that I want to recreate almost exactly the same, except with a little more definition & a little less scribbleyness.

yellow cattleya (study) - oil pastel on mi teints

AND FINALLY, a flower portrait I can be completely proud of because I love it to pieces.

purple dendrobium - oil pastel on cold press wc paper

I think that when I started using oil pastels I tried to just blend blend blend all of the lines & colors.  Now I realize that I'm pretty sure I like the way they look when I use much, much less blending, & just let the vibrancy of the individual colors & lines stand out.

Next up - I'm working on a close-up of a single lady slipper orchid.  I'm just in the sketching stage right now, & I've got a new tin of CarbOthello pastel pencils that are so incredible to work with, so I'm fairly certain that is the way I'll go.  

If only I could stop doodling, which turns into tangling, & next thing I know, hours have passed & all I've done is fill sketch book pages with tangles - leaving no time for me to do other work!  I don't mean this in a bad way, but tangling & learning & searching for new tangles is such a time suck!!!  ALSO - have you ever played Tetris for a long period of time, & when you go to bed, you dream TETRIS??!!??  WELL - when I tangle for a long time, I dream tangles.

Perhaps I should just do some orchid tangles?