#1 Peacocks & Shells

WHAT

A fun and relaxing controlled doodle that resembles patterns found on peacock feathers or mussel shells.

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. Starting near the centre of the page, draw a circle or ellipse with a single line. Keep the line flowing and draw a similar ellipse within the first one and repeat until you have four or five ellipses encapsulated within the first one you drew. try and do this with a single line.

2. Lift your pen and move to a point on the circumference of the first ellipse that you made.

3. Draw another ellipse from this point (as in No.1) and then keep the pen moving and draw a series of decreasing ellipses within it. Now go back to No.2 and repeat until your page is full. Vary the size and shape of your ellipses for a more dynamic doodle.

PART TWO

Using a fine brush lightly loaded with water (dipped in water and then wiped on the side of the jar), slowly follow the outer lines of your eclipses to gradually release the ink. Pay attention to the way the ink is released by the water and enjoy the random patterns that are made as water meets ink. Start to think about pattern, rhythm and how the intensity of the ink can be increased or decreased by varying the amount of water that you use. Leave some areas free of ink so you start to build contrast between the clean paper, the ink washes and the black lines.