Finding and Breaking Down Patterns for Inspiration

At the end of last year, I signed up for a year-long mixed media class called Wanderlust. One of the techniques taught so far is Zentangle. The same weekend I was practicing my first tangles, we went to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (during the COLDEST weekend of the winter thus far. BRRR!). 

Because I had been practicing Zentangles during down time in the hotel room, I was particularly tuned into patterns while we were at the museum. We spent the majority of our time in the Made in China: Cultural Encounters in Export Art exhibit. Other than the dinosaur photo above, every picture I took was mostly about pattern. These are just a few examples:

The plan was to draw them into a pattern of some kind to keep for future reference and inspiration. I decided to play with the photo below first.

On my first attempt, I tried keeping the branches, but it just looked blah. So then I just focused on the flowers. I did practice these a few times in a few different ways before doing my final pattern stepped out for you below to use if you want to try it. 

Step 1- Top Left: Draw a few random circles spread out. These circles will remain on top of the stack of circles. Add the pattern to the interior of the circles.

Step 2 - Top Right: Draw partial circles peeking out from behind the full circles you drew first. 

Step 3 - Bottom Left: Continue drawing more partial circles, add more full circles (that are top of the stack) as needed and fill in. Draw the interior circle patterns. You can leave it like this if you want. 

Optional Step 4 - Bottom Right: Start shading. The pattern is lovely on its own, but shading gives it so much more depth and interest in the sketchbook format. You can use a regular #2 pencil or if you have graphite drawing pencils, this is a good time to play with those. You will also want to use a tortillon. For this pattern, I start by shading a shadow cast down from all the top circles onto the bottom circles. In this photo, I've started shading the last half, leaving the right half alone. 

Option Step 5: After creating a shadow under all the top circles, I decided it needed more. So I imagined a light coming from the top left side, and shaded the bottom right of the circles. 

This is my final product. I have a Pogo printer (similar to this) that I will print out a photo of the original inspiration. It's a sticker, so then I will just stick it to the top of the page where there is a blank space.

I use a small 5.5" x 8" sketchbook to play with markers for tangling or for watercolor markers, etc. It isn't really meant for water, but this book isn't precious, so it isn't a big deal if I destroy a few pages playing with marker techniques and patterns, etc.

Here are a couple tangles I've tried from a book I have. You can see where it's hardly professional quality. I'm just playing with it to see how it feels and how it works:

You can try this technique with any pattern you find that you think is interesting. You can find pattern in so many places if you pay attention. It can be in nature, fabrics, buildings, art, jewelry, and so much more.

Book Review - 20 Ways

For my post today, I’d like to share a couple of really good books I bought recently.

20 ways to draw

20 ways to draw a tree (and 44 other nifty things from nature - 96 pages) by Eloise Renouf, and 20 ways to draw a tulip (and 44 other fabulous flowers - 96 pages) by Lisa Congdon.

20 Ways to draw a Tulip

They are books for artists designed to either teach you to draw, or if you have some experience, to develop your ideas.  

They both start with a brief introduction and then a ‘how to use this book’. The instructions tell you that each page has been purposely left with blank space, these books are designed for drawing in!

Draw 20 shells

There are a few helpful pointers for beginners, with tips for learning how to see the subjects you want to draw, but after that, you’re on your own. 

Draw 20 feathers

Each double page spread has a subject. In the trees and other things book, there are leaves, eggs, logs, seeds and other natural objects.

Draw 20 seed heads

And in the Tulips and other things book, each page is a different type of flower. 

Draw 20 Lavender plants

Draw 20You can see where I’ve made a start sketching some of my own tree ideas in the gaps on this page. 

Draw 20 trees

Both books are beautifully illustrated by the authors, all in bold simple styles, and are a great springboard to get you looking and thinking differently about your designs. 

And I like the idea of encouraging you to consider the same subject in multiple ways. It really gets your brain working and thinking about how each drawing could be used for making your own stamps, or carving directly in to clay.

Draw 20 poppies

I would recommend both of these books whether you’re looking for something simple to help you start drawing, need something to help develop your ideas, or are looking for a kick start during a dry spell. And if trees and flowers aren’t your thing, there are also 20 ways to draw a dress, cat, moustache, bike and more. You will never be stuck for an idea again!