Inktober Day 20 - Metallic Leaves

For today's Inktober piece, I knew I wanted to start with an Inktense background of fall colors.

Originally, I was thinking of doing zendalas in silver and gold. And then I saw the Diva Challenge post this morning and I ended up drawing leaves in metallic gel pens. The quote reads, 

"Delicioud Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it. And if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumn."

By George Elliot

And here are the leaves..

I'm afraid the only fall leaves I'll see are the ones I create! (^ ^)

Intricate Patterns

I am posting a couple of challenges in this post along with a new to me form of art. The picture you see above is for Diva's Challenge #218. This week's challenge was to create a white on black tile. I started with Isochor (top left) and added Flux, and Shattuck (and Printemps. I used a Sakura Gelly Roll (white) on Black Artist tile by Strathmore. I tried to shade with a white coloring pencil but I'm not sure if they show up. This is only my second attempt at white on black.

This one was my first attempt. I have a difficult time thinking about how the finished piece will look or picking appropriate patterns to use. And working on black paper means you can't sketch with a pencil first. I know that's the goal of zentangle but it is still intimidating,

I also tried doing Darcy's Weekly Challenge #6 which was to use P-Q-R patterns.

I used Pozer, Quandry, and Rixty. I feel like I cheated a bit as I did not use Rixty very much. I don't normally color my tangles but I felt as though this needed color.  I've always found Quandry to be a difficult pattern but not this time. 

On Monday, I was browsing YouTube looking for a tutorial on mandalas and I found a few videos on Islamic geometry art. I taught geometry many years ago and remember constructing various polygons with a compass and a ruler. But this is incredible!

After several tries, I was able to create the structure above. I actually made a mistake so I didn't create what I had intended but I like the resulting structure. What is so incredible about the Islamic Geomtry Art is that with a compass and a ruler, you can create so many different structures you see in Islamic art and architecture. I think I will be trying more in the future.

The appeal of Zentangle and Islamic geometry art is that they satisfy both sides of my brain. When you see a zentangle tile or these geometric art structures, you are drawn to them because they are beautiful and intricate. But creating them takes both your analytical and artistic skill. I have to do more research on brain hemisphere and how that affects the art you create. 

Hope you have a great week. I need to pack up because I am headed to Little Rock, Arkansas for my nephew's graduation! Very exciting!