Playing with Pattern

Sticks and stones blue hues 30 x 30cm Coloured pencil and ink

As I promised to show you in my last post, I have  designed and coloured in some of my own patterns.  So much fun.  I have designed a few patterns with two colour ways.  I wanted one design for the top of the box with another design for the bottom.  I have always loved pattern and this has been a great time just playing with form and colour.

Daisy Chain blue and green 30 x 30cm Coloured pencil and ink

 

Squared, blue and green 30 x 30cm Coloured pencil and ink

The colours were a bit of concern, I wanted to push them a little, not just to use my usual ones, so I did what I normally do and looked at colours that I liked.  In this case it was mid-century designs.  I downloaded some on Pinterest and picked out the colours on the computer (Photoshop, although I am only a wee grasshopper in the working of this program, it did the job.)

Mid century colour swatches

Funny, although these colours have changed I can still recognise them as my palette.  I was worried that I had lost their integrity so I showed the patterns to a friend of mine who really knows her mid-century designs and she assured me that they were authentic colours.

Daisy Chain gold and green 30 x 30cm Coloured pencil and ink

 

Squared gold and green 30 x 30cm Coloured pencil and ink

So I am happy with the samples and am in the process of making larger drawing so I can scan and print them.  I already have plans on how else I can use these papers and am getting orders from friends who also want some.

Working on designs Australia Day

Yesterday was Australia Day and we had the most perfect day to celebrate, sunny, still and 30C.    Happy Australia day to my fellow Aussies I hope you had a lovely day.

Karen

 

Holiday Project

Box decorated with Johanna Basford design from the Secret Garden that I coloured in.

Finally back for 2014, I have had a much needed break and rest and finally feel ready to start in the New Year.  After last year I was too tired  to do much art or think through any major artistic issues.  I still wanted to do something and I finally found something that was pleasant, easy and non-challenging to do.  Colouring in!  What I loved to do as a child still holds a sweet fascination for me as an adult.

Johanna Basford design from the Secret Garden that I coloured in.

I found the perfect project on the Derwent facebook page. They had a link that went to the Guardian that allowed you to download some intricate, magical drawings from Secret Garden by Johanna Basford. I have since purchased the book which is just packed full of these lovely whimsical ink drawings just waiting to be coloured in.

 

The Secret Garden Book by Johanna Basford

 

I coloured in one of the drawings, then colour photo copied it to use in decorating on of the many shoe boxes that I use for storage.  (I have a thing for shoe boxes, and just can’t throw them out, of course this does not even go into the amount of shoes that I purchase to acquire these boxes.)

A box covered with a Johanna Basford design from the Secret Garden that I coloured in.

Really pleased with how this worked out and as I have many more boxes I have decided to design some patterns of my own to use.  More on this next post.

I hope all my readers had a lovely Christmas and New Year, my was peaceful and lovely.  F0r those of you who have just weathered brutal winter storms in the northern hemisphere, we in Melbourne have just had a heatwave that consisted of five days when the temperatures where, 38c (100f), 43c (109), 43c, 44c (111) and 44c   I have never seen temperatures so high.  Thank goodness is has cooled down again and we can emerge into the outdoors again.

Karen