26 January 2009

Doodles....Elevated


When I lose myself in a doodle, this is how it turns out.

I did a loopy, black ink drawing one day with my eyes closed. I just sorta "felt" the shapes come out of my fingertips very organically. Then, once the framework was down, I added to it. I varied the thickness of the curves and added flowers and branches and shapes until it felt balanced and bold.

After the first one, I started experimenting with the backgrounds. The one above is on decoupaged book pages. I have one in my hallway that is about 6 feet wide by 18" high....a nice wandering, horizontal, meandering collection of swooshes and swirls. I've tried a light color on a dark background, metallics, you name it. I think the shapes have sort of become like my signature. Always different, but always identifiable and the "same" as well.

I suspect I will continue to complete pieces in this family for a long, long time. It relaxes me. And the end result puts me at peace as well. Maybe it's something about the way your eye follows the curves, and occasionally rests, in a long, and endless loop. It's like watching fish in a fish tank. You can't be sure exactly how long you've been looking, but you really don't care because you feel so darn good!

If a doodle can make me feel like that, then in my book, THAT is a GOOD doodle!

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