#8 Dandelion Spiral

WHAT

A fun and relaxing controlled doodle that initially resembles a dandelion clock

YOU WILL NEED:

A fine black felt-tip pen (berol or similar), a small brush and water, cartridge paper (or your sketchbook)

INSTRUCTIONS:

PART ONE

Take a few moments to gather together the materials you will need. Clear a space on your table or desk. Take three deep breaths. In through the nose and out the mouth.

1. Rest the nib of your pen in the the centre of the page and take a deep breathe in. As you exhale slowly draw a line from the central point towards the edge of the paper. Stop as your breath ends Return the the centre of your page. Breathe in and as you exhale, slowly extend you line in a different direction.

2. Repeat this controlled line making until you have a series of dense lines emanating from the central point.

3. Draw a small circle at the end of each line or stalk.

This now looks a little like a dandelion clock, right?

PART TWO

1. Starting once again in the centre of the image, rest your pen on the central dot and draw a spiral that grows to from this point. This spiral will create a number of small segments where it interacts with dandelion below it.

2. Now using a fine brush lightly loaded with water (dipped in water and then wiped on the side of the jar), slowly release the ink from the lines and shade in every other segment to form a flowing checkerboard effect.