Recently my son came home from school with a package of glitter pens that he had won. After it sat unopened in his room for months, I finally asked him if I could use the pens. He said yes, and before I knew it, I was adding glittery embellishments to my doodle art.
I think it’s worth noting that at one point, I said to my husband with sketchbook in hand, “Never in my life did I think I’d be using a glitter pen, as an adult, in a drawing.” He said, “I won’t tell anyone.”
My point is that I let myself play. It was fun, the end result was cool, and no one got hurt. We’re fortunate, you and I, because we’re living in a time when using art to relax is a trend; one that I hope sticks around for a long time. Books like Kim Anderson’s Doodle Trees and Happy Bees can teach us how to make doodle art that has a sophisticated level of complexity that sometimes can even include–you guessed it–glitter.
Kim is an artist/illustrator who designs fanciful images that grace greeting cards and more. In Doodle Trees and Happy Bees, she shows you step by step how to create whimsical art using mixed-media materials and fundamental concepts, such as repetition. Here’s more from Kim.
Repeating a Doodle by Kim Anderson
This technique of repeating a doodle is great fun and the perfect way to get into the doodling rhythm, as doodling is all about simplicity, fun, and letting go of restraints, allowing your art and hand to flow more naturally.
It’s also quite therapeutic to doodle the same thing over and over again. Do you ever doodle when you’re on the phone? It’s pure freedom with your hand, and you tend to “switch off” for a while. Doodling is also like coloring, which has become a big hit these days! It’s good for us to relax and let our hands take over in something so simple, yet creative.
To make this Butterfly Tree design, which has since become a cross-stitch kit and was published as a greeting card, I used a very thin pen and decided to draw a tree outline and fill it with butterflies. Although each butterfly is almost the same as the other, coloring them in with a variety of hues makes them different.
To repeat a doodle, you don’t have to draw a tree. The exercise is designed to encourage you to let go and repeat the same icon all over, even if it’s just on a sheet of paper with no shape at all. Without knowing it, you are also building up your own design art library with doodles you can use in other artwork. ~Kim
Throughout Doodle Trees and Happy Bees, you’ll find doodle art templates that give you simple shapes to begin your designs, as well as tips for using unexpected materials and making art that’s worthy of giving or displaying.
There are even chapters about discovering your own style and finding inspiration for trying new things in your art life.
Live inspired,
Cherie
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