Fearless Friday, Design Tips

The secret to building a design,

or recreating an image that you like,

with your own pen or paintbrush, is simple

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If you look carefully at the design above

you can see that it’s just a combination of simple shapes and colors,

repeated in a particular order

to form a pleasing pattern

It was a practice sketch for the chip and dip set below

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I am always saying that when you draw/paint

you start by breaking the subject down by shapes

The rose on this notebook is a great example

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Start with the center of the rose and build out

PicMonkey Collage

Now add the petals

rose collage

Keep looking at your photo source

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almost done

rose 2 Collage
final rose Collage

Objects can be broken down into 4 or 5 tones,

lightest,  light, medium,  darker, and darkest

In the rose above, there are 4 tones,

easily distinguished,

with the lightest areas being the large open leaves

The darkest tones will be found in the parts of the objects

that receive the least amount of light,

like the rose’s tight bud center

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In this case, a very light pink,

a medium pink, a dark pink, and red for the darkest tone

color rose Collage

Depending on what you’re doodling on, or drawing or painting,

you can use colored pencils, colored markers or Sharpies,

paint pens, Chalk Ink Pens, or acrylic paint

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This shelf was painted with a combination of paint, and paint pens

painted shelf thepaintedapron.com

The best part about using paint is that you can mix your own color tones

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With red and white,

you can mix all the middle tones

by adjusting the ratio of red to white

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Simple shapes and patterns repeat on these painted pots

by my friend Joanne

[I use them to hold my small paint jars

so forgive the paint splatters I made] 

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Her simple flower pattern,

is created with a large dot and 3 quick strokes

The repetition gives this simple flower impact

A swirl of dark pink inside the flower

and tone on tone yellow background with dots,

this is a adorable design anyone can do~

This terra cotta flower pot got a makeover with paint,

an initial, and just a few lines and dots~

it’s amazing the magic that can happen with color!

This Crazy Bead Bowl is painted with just simple lines and dots

but the color grabs your attention and makes it pop

More simple shapes and dots decorate this serving dish, mini cake dome,

and these stemless glasses

Once again it’s the color that makes them special

Remember to use curable paint made for glass

when you’re painting on glassware

I hope you’ll try painting a simple design~

Have fun and Be Fearless!

I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:

Sundays on Silverado/  Happiness is Homemade

Love Your Creativity

Between Naps on the Porch / Turn About Tuesday 

Wednesday Linky Party / Karin’s Cottage Linky Party /  Creative Crafts

Full Plate Thursday /Thursday Favorite Things

Home Matters

Comments
31 Responses to “Fearless Friday, Design Tips”
  1. You know I always love your art posts, so I especially like this one! I love seeing supplies (can you have too many?) and your ideas are always wonderful and so logically explained!

  2. Michelle says:

    I enjoy your art posts so much! You make it simple and fun. Thank you!

  3. Nancy says:

    Oh, that rose! Love it!

    I always enjoy seeing others do art but also when they share their art supplies. Thank you!

    Such a fun post!

  4. Pam says:

    Thank you, Jenna. You break it down where it seems simple. I will share with my girls…they are always drawing and painting! Who knows, maybe they are budding artists. We just had a storm pass through with 50 mph winds and the temps dropped 25 degrees!

    Happy Weekend!!

    • I love that they are so creative and that you are always encouraging them! I know you had quite a storm yesterday, we did too but our temps didn’t drop so dramatically. Stay cool today!

  5. I love seeing all your fun designs! The shelving is my favorite. You are giving me ideas and inspiring me! It’s always fun seeing your design and drawing process.

  6. lghiggins says:

    I love your line “it’s amazing the magic that can happen with color!.” It is true with art, but also metaphorically with all of life when we add pizazz and humor to “color” our days.

  7. Such fun designs Jenna, you always share wonderful tutorials too.

  8. Karen says:

    Love your art tutorials, you explain everything so thoroughly. Beautifully done.

  9. Mary says:

    So creative and fearless Jenna! I love that footed dessert cloche! Happy Sunday ♥

  10. Abstract is my favorite style of art. It is so freeing just being able to go with the flow. Your creations are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

  11. jenniferwise4heritagemakers says:

    Beautiful! I have a hard time seeing those individual shapes in my head, so I love your descriptions and explanations. Visiting from the Love Your Creativity linkup.

  12. Kim says:

    What a wonderful post Jenna! I love your tutorials and I don’t think you can ever have too many art supplies. You must have so much fun in your art room! I hope Debby passed you by unscathed.

  13. Donna Powell Modernonmonticello says:

    Wonderful post Jenna. Not only for the tips on how to create the designs but the encouragement to try something new mixed in. This post will be a feature this week. #HomeMattersParty

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