the end of another journal

My journals are a big mix of half finished drawings, random "idea" doodles, patterns, finished drawings and crossed out ugly stuff. Years ago I would have hated that everything wasn't perfect and that it was all bound together in a journal and I had to live with for all eternity........or burn it........! That mindset would have squashed my creativity - and the anxiety of the possibility of it not being perfect from start to finish might have prevented me from starting. Now, I embrace it.......I see it as a progression of my drawing journey. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Love, love, love........... it still doesn't mean I'm planning on posting the ugly stuff for all the world to see.......I'm  not that enlightened. lol.

What I do like to do when I get to the final few pages of a journal is  go back through and see if there are drawings I want to complete (I'm easily distracted and often find a few that I've completely forgotten about) or ideas I want to expand on. It also works as a reminder of what I've been doing and questions people might have asked me about stuff I've done. 

So, here we are at the end of another journal.

This drawing was half finished, I wasn't sure I wanted to complete it as there were a few things I didn't like, but am ultimately happy with the end result. What I love about these type of drawings is it's easy to bury the ugly stuff - just add more.....more. I used a folded curvy line to begin the drawing - these formed the paisley shapes. It was a fun idea and I would like to try it again taking some progression photos.

Same drawing shaded - I didn't know whether it needed the shading, so I kept it subtle. I do like the depth it gives, making the end result more layered. I like it both ways.

From the string challenge a while back - this was from my brainstorming page and I couldn't resist finishing the shading and posting it - I love its simplicity.

Going back through the journal reminded me that I'd had some questions about the auraknot-bunzo flower that I did for that challenge. Here's a pretty basic breakdown of my approach - at step 4 just keep adding lines until you're happy - I didn't do more than 3 as it becomes too chunky otherwise.

I did something like this oval paradox-y think on one of my drawings - I don't know whether I love it or hate it - ovals are so hard to freehand - I used photoshop to create a template which I traced for my step out here so I could keep the size/shape even. Anyway, I'm sure there's other examples of this idea kicking around, but here is how I did it.

So, that's it, another journal done and dusted and time to take its place on the shelf with all the others. I love beginning a new journal, all those blank pages, all the exciting, unknown possibilities. Fantastic.

Hope you're having a great weekend!
hx