2017-236: Cosmic Spirals Mandala

My painting/coloring progress for today:

[Select an image for a larger view]

1 – we start here

2 – dry color with dark red, dark green, and dark blue w/c sticks

3 – start adding water

4 – finish adding water

5 – smooth out mandala edge and background

6 – add yellow gel pen details

7 – add blue gel pen details

8 – add green gel pen details

9 – add pink gel pen details

10 – add purple gel pen details

11 – add copper edging to mandala

12 – add more gel pen details in variety of colors

13 – add copper spirals to background

14 – add gold dots to background

15 – full view of today’s progress – finished

On Sunday, August 6, I played with watercolors by wetting the surface and then dabbing in colors with a wet watercolor brush to see what happens as the colors bled, spread, pooled, and mixed with each other. A dear friend calls this style of painting “Happenings” because you never know what’s going to happen.

Image #1 shows the mandala from that day (blues, greens, purples). For the background I added dry watercolors (dark red, dark blue, dark green), coloring them around the background. Adding the water turned the background into a rich charcoal color. Why not use black? Black tends to look flat. Better to mix darker colors to make black.

With all the dark colors, I needed to brighten it up a bit so I decided to accentuate the patterns that dried into the mandala. As I began using the gel pens and looking for the shapes that already existed in the mandala, I noticed a few heart shapes. The more I outlined them, the more I saw. That was a nice surprise.

When I finished coloring the inside mandala, the background needed something. I then saw the copper-color spirals in my head and opted to follow through. It gives it a cool, energetic boost.

I believe the universe wants us to know that It loves and supports us. This mandala reminds us that we can tap into that energy at any time.