Diva's Weekly Challenge #375: Burtz and Gratitangle2018

It's good to be here.
I briefly considered skipping this week, which found me very un-Zen. My friend Ali sometimes says she has the attention span of a wet fart on a hot skillet. That was me this week. Until I made myself pick up my last Renaissance Zendala, a brown Micron 01 and start drawing. (I didn't say "sit down". That was part of my problem this week, with my achy-breaky hips. I've adjusted my drawing table so that I can stand and draw. I still have to sit to work on the computer, so I'd better move on before the hips have their way with me!!!)

This tile is destined for my favorite pen shop: Crazy Alan's Emporium, here in Chapel Hill. I am so grateful for Alan's hard work and dedication, his sense of humor and friendly attitude! 

Thanks for your visit! Have a wonderful week!

Diva's Weekly Challenge #374: Splotch-tastic AND....Inktober 2018!

Happy November! To celebrate, I'll begin by unveiling (ha!) my Inktober challenge.

Inktober 2018 (9 x 12 in.)

I enjoyed the daily challenge, trying out new-to-me tangles and learning how to unclog a Micron pen!

The background is gouache, which is a bit grainy and likely to clog up your Micron 01. I was using 4 different purple Micron 01 pens, which kept skipping and clogging. Finally, I took a cup of water and swished them around a bit, then drew around on my scrap paper. (If that didn't work, I wet them again and placed the tip on a Kleenex.) Voilà! The ink began to flow.

I wish I had remembered to take the "before shading" picture to show what a difference the Prismacolors and graphite make. Shading is always my favorite part of tangling. This took a couple of days, but was well worth the time.

On to the Diva's challenge to incorporate a "splotch" of something. I grabbed my unopened black gesso and splotched a couple of scrap tiles. I was a little surprised at how much tooth the gesso had.

Normally, I like to use the Signo Uno for white, and did so in the first tile. I think the ink is a little thick and not as bright as when I bought it.

For the second tile, I did a "dingsplatz" with Moonlight Gelly Rolls and a white Gelly Roll. 

This week, I was grateful for several walks in the forest, Monarch butterflies in the garden, fall colors and a relaxing anniversary with Lar. From my gratitude journal:

I hope that you're enjoying the "softer" seasons of fall and spring in your hemispheres.

Thanks for your visit! Have a great week!