the purple heart

this drawing just started out as a stress-relieving doodle session. i had no idea of where i was going w/ the design or what i was going to do w/ it -- i just wanted to color/create something and have some time to think about things. i went to my (our) bedroom, got out the colored pencils and my journal, and started doodling.

i worked slowly, thinking about the shapes and what would look good and coloring in the solids to look consistent. not because i couldn't work faster, but because i needed something to occupy my time so my mind could think things through. i wasn't in a hurry to create, just creating to channel/focus some energy.

i ended up working on the design over about 4 sessions, and on the 4th session decided that i should "square" up the design to a nice square or rectangle shape so that i could print it on the front of a note card. i started "squaring" in one direction and then in another, but when i turned the page the other way to work i saw "h-m-m-m, that makes an almost perfect V on the bottom of a heart."

so at that point, after the whole bottom half and the middle section clear up to the inner point was done, i decided to make the doodle into a heart shape. i traced the point of the heart as i had done it on to typing paper and cut that out. then i folded the paper in half and cut the rounded parts for the tops of the heart so they would be symmetrical.

i lightly traced the outline of the upper part on the paper and then doodled in the same style shapes until i had reached those boundaries. once i saw where i was going w/ it, i was obsessed w/ getting it done and seeing the final product. funny thing, i wouldn't have ever thought to make that into a heart shape from the beginning -- but it works.

this picture was done w/ a purple prang colored pencil on white 10 x 10 journal paper w/ the consistency and texture of heavy cardstock.

several people have commented on this "doodle," which ended up being almost 10 x 10 inches when finished -- so it's a rather large "doodle". the edges of the heart were a little crimped b/c i ran out of paper! the size does explain some of the intricacy, b/c if it were only a tiny doodle -- that would be some small work!