A few doodles...

This week seemed super long. I'm not sure why, it wasn't particularly bad or anything, just seemed to drag. When I sat down to draw this week, I drew a curvy line to start a string and it turned into this...

Anxiety - by Angie Wallace

So I'm guessing that's how I felt this week since that's what came out of my head for a random doodle.

This one is for the diva challenge this week. Possibly due to the feelings illustrated above, or maybe for some other reason, I wasn't particularly inspired by the designs, but I did it anyway because that's the whole point of a challenge.

Flaming flowers - by Angie Wallace

I figured I would try a second one to see if I could come up with something else, but when I started to draw again my mind was completely blank and this is what came out of that session.

Trickle - by Angie Wallace

Drawing tiny circles is relaxing. Is that weird?

Pointillism

This week has been awesome. The weather is finally starting to chill out and it's starting to feel a bit like fall... at least in the mornings. I've actually been able to drive to and from work without turning on the air conditioning so that's a good thing. It still doesn't feel like mid-October though - I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the non-seasons of living in Arizona.

This week the diva's challenge was to use pointillism. I have tried this in the past but never really stuck with it because it seems to bother my wrist after too long. I ended up doing three smaller tiles this week, although the last one isn't finished.

This was the first one I completed... geometric with shading.

Geo - by Angie Wallace

For this second one I just started doing random shapes and I really like the way it turned out.

Swirly - by Angie Wallace

My last one isn't finished yet - I think I should add some plants and flowers or something but I'm not sure yet, so it will get finished later. It's actually on a 6x6 tile but I cropped the photo since there's nothing else on the page yet.

This last picture isn't mine, but I figured this would be a good place to show it off. The quality of my picture isn't great, but it's one of my favorite pieces. My friend Sarah, who I've been friends with for almost 30 years, made this in high school and gave it to me for my frog collection. She used pointillism with micron pens and prisma color for the eyes.

Frogs by Sarah Babcock Dudley

Challenge Accepted

This week we've been catching up on How I Met Your Mother season 8, so I wrote the title in the voice of Barney Stinson.

Moving on...

Today I learned that even though tangling/doodling/whatevering is supposed to be relaxing... it isn't if your husband is super frustrated at a video game and keeps snapping at the TV. "What??!!" "Oh, come ON!"  Yea... just doesn't work for me. In spite of that fun, I did manage to finish yet another Diva Challenge on time! Whoohoo!

This weeks challenge was to use the 8s Parte Dos pattern. I tend to stay away from patterns this complex because at some point it becomes work instead of play. The perfectionist in my wants everything to be in exactly the right spot. So I admit to cheating a little with this one - I drew a grid on my paper before putting the dots down in ink. I couldn't help myself. Once the dots were down, I erased my pencil lines and drew in the curves so it looked like this...

The beginning...

I finished that part on Thursday. Then I just stared at it for a day with no idea where to go next. Again, the perfectionist in me didn't want to mess it up... yes, even though in this type of thing there is no such thing as mistakes. Ongoing battle. Anywho... this is what I ended up with and I really like the results.

Complex Ain't So Bad - by Angie Wallace

Maybe complex patterns aren't that bad after all...

Diva Challenge #138

Two weeks in a row! It's probably a record. It's been a nice relaxing week. My folks came for a visit and we did some sightseeing and hung out. They took off on Thursday morning and hubby and me had appointments to go to. Yesterday though... nothing on the schedule, no plans whatsoever... and I finally had a whole day where I could stay in my pajamas. Yes, all day. It was lovely. We caught up on some shows and I finished a couple doodles.

So here are the two I completed for the Diva Challenge this week. This first one is the second one I finished - 3x3 tile using micron pens and watercolor pencils.

Borders 2 - by Angie Wallace

This one is my favorite of the two. Used micron pens and an HB pencil for shading. Before the shading I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I really like the results.

Borders 1 - by Angie Wallace

Diva Challenge #137

I finally did one! On time! I had drawn a partial string on a page and decided to use it for this one. So here is my entry for the diva challenge #137. I don't ever use Knightsbridge because it IS a checkerboard and I'm just not sure why they had to name it something else. And it takes a lot of ink to fill in all those squares.

#137 - by Angie Wallace

And here's another one that I did throughout the week a couple sections at a time.

Wonky Fingerprint - by Angie Wallace

Another month...

Another month has gone by already? Man, I am horrible at this. I could say that I'll get better, but I'm making no promises. Years ago, I used to write every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Lately, I tend to write in my head and never get it down on paper.

It's been a long week. But it's Friday! And I'm on vacation for the next week. And my folks are coming to visit! Should be a nice, awesome, and relaxing time away from work. I doubt that I'll have a very productive day today, but that's alright.

As far as art goes, I've been working on a few things. I still have more butterfly photos to post, but haven't had time to finish editing them. No, that's a lie. I've had time, but some days (lately, most days) I just don't want to look at a computer after work. So the good news there, is that I've been doodling a little more. I'm working on a full page doodle, just because I wanted to. Also working up a world map for the stories that me and the hubby are slowly starting write. That has been a challenge because I really want it to be perfect... but it's my first time trying to create something like this, so it's taking FOREVER. Me and my perfection... grrr.

These are the last two doodles that I finished. The first one contains one of my favorite sentences - the alternative to the quick brown fox.

A to Z - by Angie Wallace

The second one I started as yet another not turned in diva challenge. I really ought to get some of them done on time. Or posted on time. Or completed. I'm such a procrastinator. Used a pink pen - mainly because it had the most ink left. The color doesn't translate well when scanned or photographed, so this is super edited, but the pattern is more important than the actual color.

Pink Tipple - by Angie Wallace

Anywho... back to the grind.

Butterflies

One of my other hobbies is photography, but I haven't been doing much of it the last few years. A couple weeks ago I visited the new butterfly pavilion in Scottsdale - Butterfly Wonderland - and it was awesome! I'm still sorting through my pictures - I took over 500 shots and most of them are out of focus or only have part of a butterfly or were taken a second after the dang thing flew away. As my Dad would say, good thing film is cheap!

Anyway, here are a few that I've sorted and processed. I don't do a lot of post-processing so what I saw is what you get!

Butterfly 2 by Angie Wallace

Butterfly 8 by Angie Wallace

Butterfly 13 by Angie Wallace

Butterfly 26 by Angie Wallace

Butterfly 45 by Angie Wallace

Catching up...

Actually I wonder if I'll ever catch up... I have been working on stuff and even finishing stuff, just not very quickly... and then I never seem to take the time to sit down and scan stuff in... So here's a glob of things I've finished over the last month. I have two larger projects started, but I'm not ready to post them yet.

This first one was is just random barber polls. Messing around with color.

Barber by Angie Wallace

This one was going to be a diva challenge submission... Used random pens that I had in my art drawer. Turned out ok I think.

Primary by Angie Wallace

This one I did during a conference call at work. Just used a ballpoint pen, so it's officially just a doodle.

Squiggles by Angie Wallace

This one I really like. I haven't done a lot where I didn't try to fill the whole page so my aim was to just stick to one side of my string.

Borderline by Angie Wallace

That's all for now... and hopefully someday I'll get my act together and start posting stuff when it's actually done.

Too long

It's been too long since I've posted anything. I'd like to say that I've been extremely busy, but the truth is that sometimes I go through phases of absolute laziness and extreme lack of motivation. Over the last month, I have actually finished a few doodles and even finally finished a quilt I just didn't take the time to sit down and write and get it posted. So without further ado...

Knot - by Angie Wallace

Scribbles - by Angie Wallace

?? - by Angie Wallace

Growth - by Angie Wallace

Flow - by Angie Wallace

Most of these were just simple doodles, messing around, trying new patterns, etc. The last one is my favorite though. I had started out thinking that I would fill the string with as many overlapping lines as possible, but then this emerged and I like it much better than what I had in mind.

Hearts Afloat, Hearts on Fire

Now that things have calmed down from the move, I actually had time to doodle this week. I've been wanting to try a Zendala so I decided to combine The Bright Owls' Zendala Dare (#62) with the Diva Challenge (#124) this week. And I accidentally did the Diva's #123 as well.

The Diva challenge this week was an open challenge with disaster's in mind. When I started drawing I was thinking about the flooding of the Diva's hometown, but also of my two home states of Colorado and Arizona that have multiple fires burning. With that in mind and the zendala template this just popped into my head.

Hearts Afloat, Hearts on Fire - by Angie Wallace

I used micron pens and watercolor pencils (not on watercolor paper, so it's a little warped).

Busy but getting back to normal

The last couple weeks have been a bit crazy. We moved across town which isn't nearly as hectic as moving to another state, but still almost as exhausting. Life is starting to get back to normal though... almost everything is unpacked and I'm finding myself with small piles of random stuff that needs a home. I'll get there eventually.

In any case, with as crazy as it's been I haven't drawn so much as a dot or a line for over two weeks. I still wanted to put up a couple things though. So here are a couple of favorites from last year. Enjoy!

Car Rides Are Bumpy - by Angie Wallace

A Splash of Color - by Angie Wallace

Stripes - by Angie Wallace

Bluebird on a Wire

I am moving. I hate moving. I hate packing. I'm one of those overly organized people who wants every space in a box filled, but I want it all to be from the same area - like not mixing knick knacks from the living room with dishes from the kitchen. I know, that's totally unrealistic, but unfortunately that's how my brain works. Thankfully my awesome hubby started packing non-essentials months ago so we don't have a ton left to do, but that also means we're down to packing boxes of random stuff. Ugh. At any rate, it will be over soon. By the end of the week we should be happily settled into our new digs on the other side of town.

Anywho... in the midst of all this chaos I realized that although I finished one piece for the diva challenge last week I never got to do a second one and never submitted anything. Oops. So the first (and accidentally last) tangle that I did, I loved until I finished it. I started on the outside of the circle and worked my way in and I absolutely hate the center. Other than that, I like the way this one turned out, especially the third layer in. I had planned to do a second piece, but obviously got distracted. In any case, here is what I would've submitted.

Bluebird on a wire - by Angie Wallace

Something different

Since I've been in the world of doodling, occasionally some random idea will creep into my head and most of the time I write the idea down so I can think on it for a bit until the ultimate inspiration hits me. I think this is the quickest I've actually completed one of those random drawings.

On my drive home from work the other day I was listening to a very funny a capella song that summarizes Mozart's Magic Flute and pictures just kept popping into my head. If I can ever find out who sang the song and find it online somewhere, I'll link it... kind of bummed that I couldn't find it to share.

Anywho... I came home and put my ideas on paper... and only a couple days later this is the finished product.

Mozart's Magic Flute - by Angie Wallace

Totally different from my usual stuff, but I kind of like it. And I must say, shading does wonders for simple line drawings. Before I added all of that I almost hated how it turned out. Overall, I think I like it though.

A challenge?

Through my tangling exploits I've run across quite a few blogs where people show off their art. One that I found is I am the diva. She posts a weekly challenge, which isn't always complicated, but is definitely a way to expand your range, learn new concepts, or learn new tangles. I have completed a couple on my own, but never submitted one. So even though this one is super simple... here's my first submission for the diva challenge - #120.

Bales - Diva Challenge #120 - by Angie Wallace

This is a design I've used before, but I don't think I've ever just done one tile using one tangle (or 'monotangle' as the diva calls it). It's not awesome, but I kind of like the simplicity of this one.

And in my typical fashion...

...four months later... my next post. After I posted my last post, life happened again and I didn't really feel like writing. But I did feel like drawing...

Last year, my Mom came to visit and she showed me a book called Zentangle Basics by Suzanne McNeill. I was pretty much instantly addicted. I don't do it every day... Like all my other hobbies I go through phases where I'll do a bunch in a week and then nothing for a while. I got to the point a few months ago where I wanted to start sharing my work, but didn't feel like a blog was where I wanted to do it so I opened an account at deviantART. It's fine and I've been pinning my work to Pinterest from there, but every now and then I feel like writing so... I'm going to start posting my stuff here too.

Here are two of my most recent doodles. The first is on a 3" tile. I used Pigma Micron 02 black with some graphite for shading.

Mini Pod - by Angie Wallace 5/13

The second is on the back of my daily dot-to-dot calendar (seriously the best daily calendars I've ever had - calendar, dot-to-dot fun, scratch paper, quilt designs, tangle tiles... what's not to love?). This one I used a uni-ball Signo pen... because that's what I had handy and sometimes it just looks cool.

Red Pods - by Angie Wallace 5/13

So there you have it. I will probably post some of my older stuff along with newer stuff as I go. I have started an A-B-C series... and I do random doodles... and I'm working on a gigantic project on the side and it's going to be awesome eventually but I don't want to say what it is until I have more of it finished. I think it's a completely original take on another unrelated concept so I'm going to keep it a secret for a while.

This Should've Been My First Post...

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog over the last few years and have never done it. I once had a photo blog and actually kept up with it for a while. But then life happened and I didn't have the time or energy to get out and take new pictures so I stopped.

So I ask myself why start a blog at all? To be honest, my life isn't that interesting. I don't have any profound, ground-breaking thoughts - at least I don't think I do. I don't need followers to feel important. I don't necessarily have any life changing advice to give people. I’m pretty sure I won’t have something new to say or share every day either. So why do it?

I have been following some other blogs lately and I’m feeling somewhat inspired. The ladies over at Pinstrosity have been encouraging people to create their own pins instead of just repining. I could do that. I cook. I do art. I do other creative type stuff. I can do that. 

But on the other hand – I don’t do creative things every day. In fact, I may go for a couple weeks without creating anything. Can you have a successful blog if you don’t update regularly? Of course you can! And then I read this post from The Oatmeal that basically says that it’s ok to not write every day, but you really must read it for yourself, because The Oatmeal is brilliant – a bit vulgar at times, but still brilliant. 

So again… why do it? No idea. But it could be fun. Maybe it’ll evolve into something cool. Or maybe I’ll write for a while and end up deleting it. Who knows… 

Maybe it will improve my writing skills. Or at least keep me writing and trying to be creative. I feel my creative brain becoming stagnant and tired.

So I’m doing it. Obviously. 

So what will I write about? What I did today? What I saw? Who I interacted with? Since I won’t necessarily be divulging my identity, I suppose I could say anything...

And on that note... this blog may contain posts about art, music, other random creative stuff, driving, road trips, eating, cooking, baking, reading, books, photography, teenagers, ex-wives, commuting, a little about work, the love of my life (the hubby), marriage, tattoos, video games, faith and/or religion, dogs, breathing, hair, Disney, road trips, quilting, forgetting to send birthday cards, family, babies, friends, drinking, smoking, shopping, clothes, random monsters in a box, politics, bunnies, cars, movies, dreams, hopes, plans that may never come true but are still fun to plan, peace, serenity, God, weird holidays, awesome stuff, strange people in this odd city where I live, the weird water in this odd city where I live, moving, apartment dwelling, furniture, organization, shoes, and various other sundries. 

And of course while I don’t want this to be a place of negativity or whining and I don’t really want it to be too serious… there may still be the occasional post about feelings, emotions, living with someone who has fibromyalgia, financial woes, etc. Not saying those posts will happen very often, but they may happen.

And that said... onward I go...