Playing with Colored Pencils

I've had a set of Prismacolor Colored Pencils for about three years but just recently started using them with my tangles. I also purchased some books and have been watching tutorials on drawing with them. Still have a long way to go but feel I'm making progress.

I couldn't sleep Sunday night as I'd slept most of the day (bronchitis can really kick your butt) so I worked on a fall leaf drawing from one of the books I'd received. I brought it to work and my friend/co-worker Caye said, "I hate you. Can I have it?" Apparently it matches her décor.

Fall Leaf, 9"x12", Colored Pencil on Bristol Paper

Today, two more books were delivered so found some cherries to practice on in one of them. Not too happy with my result but will keep on practicing.

Cherries, 3.5"x3", Colored Pencil on Bristol Paper

Off to find more stuff to practice on!

My Angel of Cross Stitch Pattern Is Here!

I've wanted to do Joan Elliot's The Angel of Cross Stitch for a long time but couldn't find it. The chart had been published in the June 1999 issue of Just Cross Stitch, which was no longer being published. On her blog, folks had asked Joan about it and she'd indicated that she wanted to rechart it (the magazine had the original) but with her current commitments, she just wasn't able to. So I kept looking.

Back in May of 2015, I finally acquired a copy of the magazine issue that I'd been looking for. Several ladies in a cross stitch Facebook group I belong to had been talking about it and one of the members found a copy of the magazine on Amazon and sent me the link. Woohoo!

When I got the magazine, I was eager to start but found that the color symbols for the chart were way too light and hard for my old eyes to see. I bought a magnifier so I could see the symbols but that was awkward to have to keep using every couple of minutes. Think ... think ... think ... then I remembered that years ago, I'd had the same problem with the Lavender and Lace Angel of Autumn chart so I'd re-charted it using PCStitch.

I spent about a month on it but finally finished transferring the chart to PCStitch and was about to print it out when I had a sudden thought. "Why should Joan Elliot have to spend the time to re-chart this pattern when I'd already done it?" So, I sent her an e-mail explaining what I'd done and soon received a reply asking if I wasn't the actual angel ... or something like that. I sent her the pattern file and while she did have to purchase PCStitch, she finally got it started. She even posted in her Facebook group hinting at something special. Apparently, she'd been dealing with copyright issues all day so my e-mail turned her day around.

Soon after Joan was in an accident so she wasn't able to work on the chart, but it was finally finished and put up for sale on December 26, 2015 and I received my copy with a thank you note from Joan today! I may have squeed as much as my bronchitis would allow me to when I saw it!

Please excuse the sick person face and droopy eyes ... I have a severe case of bronchitis.

I have to finish a stocking I'm making for my cousin Sarah before I can start this but in the meantime, I can find the perfect fabric!

To purchase your own copy of Joan Elliot's Angel of Cross Stitch, please visit her blog @ https://joanelliott.wordpress.com/ to order directly from her or get links to other shops that sell the pattern in your country/locale.

Tangling Bruges Lace

I thought I'd do quick "tutorial" on how I drew the Bruges lace on my "Oceans Depth" drawing and hopefully it will help others do the same. Remember that any lace will work, just pick out elements you like and transcribe them to your drawing/tangle.

Don't try to put every element of the lace into your drawing unless you're going for super intricate and want to spend hours upon hours of drawing everything in!

I'm linking to the lace photo I used as my inspiration since I don't want to breach anyone's copyright:

Vintage Lace Making - Lace: Its Origin and History - do a search on "Maline" and it is the second image under that - or click here to load image only.

I decided to use the circle just left of the center as my "starting point." Note the curls of tape coming off the circle, how they start and stop or turn into buds. There are small circles dispersed throughout and the pieces are connected with a netting that has picots on it.

Click on images for a larger version of each.

Step 1: Since I was filling in the top of my drawing, I drew just what was needed to fill in that space, adding details where I needed them or removing them where there was too much. The wavy line at the bottom designates the middle part of the drawing that I'm "adding" to.

Pencil sketch

Step 2: Next, I took my 02 Sakura Pigma Micron pen and outlined the tape. Note how I adjusted the lines as I went along. I also added the circles where the picot netting will connect the different pieces.

Tape drawn in and circles added

Step 3: This step was kinda fun as I drew in the connecting lines between the circles and the curls. For this, I used my 01 Micron pen so it would be a fine netting. Oh, I erased my pencil lines before starting the connecting lines. While I was at it, I went back to the 02 Micron and added the netting inside the center circle and buds.

Connecting threads added and center netting

Step 4: The final step (other than shading) is drawing in the picots. These can be placed anywhere on the connecting lines but they need to alternate on the line, i.e., one on top, next on bottom, next on top, etc. With the 01 Micron (which was used to draw in the lines) and add small teardrop shapes for the picots. Don't be afraid to add more connecting lines if you think an area needs it.

Closeup of picots

Finished Lace

Now, add your color and/or shading!

Try other lace types as well. Once you get the hang of choosing which elements to include and which to leave out, you'll be able to do the same with more detailed lace patterns, like those that include people, animals, flowers, etc.

Check out my post from yesterday to see the original image I posted with the Bruges lace.

Hope you find this little tutorial useful!

More Encyclopedia Tangles and Adding Lace to Tangles

I've continued to tangle on the encyclopedia pages and have been having a blast with the Tuesday Tangles in the Facebook Zentangle: Tangled & Journaled, Too! group. For each tangle I've done, I put the name of the pattern on the page and the date from the challenge, even if I didn't do the tangle on that day.

 

 

 

 

Last night, I started a new drawing with a large gemstone in the center. I found a photo online of a crystal that had yellow at the base, then blue, then green and used that as the basis for my gemstone. Under the gemstone, I put some knife inspired shapes that fanned out and decided to soften it with some Bruges Lace at the top.

To add your own lace to your tangles, do an image search on lace and look for designs that catch your eye. Pick out parts of the lace that catch your attention and add them to your drawing. I always sketch them in first with a pencil before inking over them.

Before Shading

Oceans Depth

Materials: Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Prismacolor Colored Pencils on Bristol Paper

Time Spent: 4 hours

Size: 5.75"x9"

That's it for now. Off to find some more lace photos!

Floop - Gemstone Tangle

So, I went to Hobby Lobby after work and picked up a white Gelly pen in order to use it to draw highlights on gemstones. I think that a pen with a larger nib is needed though.

Floop

Materials: Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Prismacolor Colored Pencils, Gelly Roll Pen on Bristol paper
Time Spent: 2 hours
Size: 5"x5.75"

As I tend to do, I also went searching for gemstone painting tutorials on DeviantArt. Some of the ones I found are for paint programs but the concepts can also be used with paints and colored pencils.

I've created several collections which I'll add to as I find new tutorials and references on DeviantArt:

Gemstone Tutorials
Gemstone References
Misc Tutorials

For a listing of specific gem tutorials for tangling, please join the Tangled Gems- Zentangle® Inspired Jewels and Stones group on Facebook.

Happy New Year 2016!

So, life has been busy lately. I recently closed on a house and although I've been in the house for a month, there is still tons of unpacking to do!

I'm also working hard on patterns for another issue of Crochet Uncut but with everything else happening around me, including working full time, I'm not sure when I'll be able to complete them and publish the issue. But I'll keep at it! I'll try to add another post in a few days with some of the pieces I'm working on.

I've also continued to tangle and recently completed two new pieces.

The first one I completed on 12/21/15 and gave it to my friend Caye as a Christmas present. This last summer, I introduced Caye to tangling and got her addicted to it. She even purchased a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 so that she could tangle in Painter. When I showed her the photo of the piece and asked her if she liked it, she said that she hated it because she'd never be as good as I was. "So," I asked, "I guess you wouldn't want it as a Christmas present then?" Yeah, she changed her tone real quick after that!

A View Into My World

Materials: Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Prismacolor Colored Pencils on Bristol paper
Time Spent: 14 hours
Size: 8"x10"

Before I show the second piece, I guess a little background information would help. I'm a member of a Journal Tangling group on Facebook but never posted anything there as I usually only do single pages. I'd seen some tangles done on dictionary pages and music sheets so had been looking in various thrift and used bookstores for something I could use. Yesterday, I posted a request on my neighborhood's Facebook page for books, like dictionaries, encyclopedias, hymnals, novels, whatever, and one of my neighbors responded and about a half hour later, her sons showed up at my door with two boxes of books. Inside the boxes were 16 volumes of the 1979 edition of the Britannica Junior Encyclopedia.

I posted the photo above to the Facebook Tangled Journal group and was happy to see other members get excited about doing something similar.

Anyway, I picked out Volume 1, Ready Reference Index, turned to the title page, and started drawing. I finished it on 12/31/15, began coloring it today, 1/1/16, and finished it a short time ago. As I was drawing, I was thinking about whether I should do all pages in the books and leave them there or tear some out and sell or give them away (I'm part of an Art Abandonment group on Facebook). I finally decided that I'll probably do some of each. Then, an idea came to me to use one of them as a guest book! Since I'm in a new home, I could ask each visitor to do a doodle or drawing on a page, then sign and date the page. I can then leave it as is or add some of my own doodles to each page.

Anyway, here's the completed journal page in the encyclopedia:

Volume 1: Title Page

Materials: Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, Prismacolor Colored Pencils on Title Page of Britannica Junior Encyclopedia, Volume 1, 1979 Edition
Time Spent: 12 hours
Size: 7.25"x9.25"

Okay, that's all for now. I really need to go pick a box out of the garage and unpack it ... and my trampoline is looking at me with great disappointment ...