Today's Update

Not too much time to talk about it, but this is where I'm at as of now. I'm using some of the patterns I made up for the Zentangles, but lots of other stuff too. It sure is fun.

Mom inspired me

My mother, an artist herself, looked at my Zentangle and said it would look good as a paisley. I mulled that one over for a few weeks before deciding to try it. The first one is lost to history because I spilled tea on it. Man, was that embarrassing. At least I wasn't nearly done or anything. Well, I decided to try again, and this time I put it on larger paper. I sketched the guidelines. It isn't much to look at, but I have big plans for it. Watch this space for updates!

One Step

Here is the first step of my paisley journey. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. My mom's choice of colors really stands out against the grey Mi-Tientes paper (smooth side). I'm loving the soft shine of the metallics and the richness of the chromatics. I can hardly wait to do more!

New Space

Here is a photo of my new colored pencil work area. This is apart from my mixed media studio. I wanted to keep the colored pencil stuff and the paint away from each other.....not sure why.....guess I'm just afraid of getting paint on my CP stuff. As you can see, I've made myself quite comfy. But not so comfy I will desert my mixed media studio. In fact, I worked on one of my altered journals this weekend. It is getting easier with time and practice.....

Checking In

Well, I have no new pics of stuff to post. It's not that I'm not working on stuff.....I have been. I am working on a human/polar bear drawing in colored pencil (for the WetCanvas Fantasy/Sci-Fi forum, of course), a picture of my dog Daphne in colored pencil (primitive, but not too bad for a beginner), and lots of art journal stuff until Monday afternoon(yay, I am finally figuring out how to combine art with text!). But I have spent most of the last 48 hours here at Rush-Copley Hospital with Keith. Keith had an emergency medical problem that required intensive treatment, but now he's on the mend. I sure don't envy him the medical treatments he endured; at least they worked, though. So the upshot of this is that we have not been home for me to work in the studio or take pictures of anything. I have gotten some colored pencil stuff done, though. It is hard to get a hang of the layering and color mixing. Very different from watercolor!They say Keith will be discharged tomorrow. I can't wait!

Chupacabra

I am a member of the WetCanvas! Sci-Fi/Fantasy forum, and last month's Creature Feature was a Chupacabra. It is a mythical creature from Mexico that supposedly kills goats and sucks their blood (very simplified version of the story). I decided to do mine in colored pencil on black paper. I wish I had taken more time with the rendering as it is a bit indistinct, but I like the red eye and the creepy moonlight effect. Perhaps I should go back and add more shadows. This month's Creature Feature is some kind of Star Wars critter. Wonder if I'll get around to that one before the end of the month?

A New Start

Well, I find myself in a bit of a weird situation. I am having to reinvent my online identity. Choosing to, I guess.....

For, oh, let's see, about six years I was known online as OpalEyedDragon. This I thought was a good, unique name for me since I am a fan of fantasy and sci-fi. Until tonight, all went well...but then another Christian objected to my use of the name "dragon" because in the Bible, the dragon is another name for Satan. At first I thought this was basically stupid, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a problem for me as a Bible-believing Christian. The Bible tells me to "avoid even the appearance of evil". Well, as a matter of conscience, I felt that I could not ignore this mandate. Therefore, I find myself in the midst of a change.

I cannot seem to find a way to change my old blog to my new email address, so I have to transition to a new one. You can find all my old posts at http://www.opaleyeddragon.blogspot.com/