are we done yet?

When I'm drawing pictures of more-or-less real things, I have a pretty good feel for when it's complete: either the dog looks like a dog, the tree looks like a tree; I've reached the edges of the page or said what I have to say.

This month, I'm playing with shapes and lines and doodles, and I realize I'm never quite sure when I'm done. I'm not quite sure when to stop filling in space, or whether to just let it be white space. I'm not quite sure when to stop adding colour, or to add colour at all. In this hand drawing, I feel like I could add more, but I also like it the way it is.



I had just gotten a new fountain pen and ink, so traced my own hand with the intention of doing another hand mandala. But the blue colour made me think of images of the Hand of Fatima (or Hand of Miriam, or Hamsa) so it started to turn into that. I'm not sure if this is done yet, but am not really sure what else to do.

I used Pilot Iroshikuzu kon-peki, drawn with fountain pen then washed very slightly with waterbrush. I realized right away I wouldn't be able to use watercolors to color it, then also found that Pitt brush pens would also muddy the ink, so I used gel pens for color. I think, in the end, this is as close to finished as I want it to be.

This, on the other hand, seems to be asking for more colour:



But really, I just don't know where to go from here. Like many others, I draw while waiting, and at this point, my son's haircut was finished, I closed the book and left. So I lost momentum, and don't quite know how to resume this. I have some options since this is in Pitt pen and gel pen and would tolerate a neocolor or watercolor wash. I'll probably play with this later this afternoon.



Tammy at Daisy Yellow suggested trying to draw a mandala starting with a linear shape working inward, then outward from the centre till they meet. I still don't know if this is finished, but it occupied time nicely while waiting for my kids at their piano lesson.

Bar at the top doesn't mean anything - I was just trying to get my rapidograph flowing again. But I didn't enjoy the scratchiness, so I pulled out my fountain pen with Noodler's black. That's a great drawing combination except for the tendency to dry slowly on smooth paper, as can be seen on the lower point of the mandala where I rested my hand. Smmmmmmmudge. So I don't feel this is quite done either, and would like to add colour. But I know that the paper in this pocket Habana buckles horribly with watercolor, and that Noodler's black doesn't always stay put, so I think I'll try gel pens again with this one. Or...maybe it's time to try Tammy's suggestion of putting fountain pen ink in a rapidograph? I haven't tried that yet...so off I go to clean out a pen.