When we lived at Woodland Beach we had many lovely friends. A couple named Paul and Sue purchased the empty lot next to us and built a beautiful house. We became friends and shared many good times together socializing. Sue joined my seniors' art class at the Bayshore Seniors Club. One night she came to my class all excited to tell me about Zen Doodle. She was a kind and generous person who was very much into meditation so Zen Doodle, a form of drawn meditation on small square cards, really appealed to her. She very much wanted me to try the mindful doodling as a way to meditate. It looked like fun so I gave it a go.
Soon I was doing all kinds of doodle patterns. I found it fun and all-consuming. It is indeed meditative as you really have to focus to do the doodles and you can’t let your mind wander. Not happy to limit it to drawing patterns on small squares, I was soon applying the doodles to drawings of angels, birds, animals, flowers, and other images. When I first started doodle drawing, I was making individual cards for people. They took hours to complete. There had to be a better, more efficient way to use these drawings to create cards. Finally, I came up with the idea of making my original drawings on a master page. Once I had a master, I could print the images on cards over and over. Hand-painting the cards first with watercolour gave me a colourful background on which to print my doodle drawings. The hours it took to create a design became worth it when I could use the drawing again and again. Thus, my hand-painted doodle cards were born. Now I have about 70 designs and counting. Some of the designs were commissioned. Some of my doodle designs have also been printed on fabric and become wall pieces and one of those pieces was even published in a magazine.
Attached to this blog are three photos that show the progression of creating a doodle art design. Starting with a line drawing of the image, I divide it into segments that help create the 3-D shape of the image. Each segment is filled with a doodle pattern to support the dimensions of the subject. Once the drawing is complete, blank watercolour cards are hand-painted with complimentary colours to go with the design. When the cards are dry and flattened the designs are printed on top.
My dear, gentle friend Sue passed away eight years ago this month. Sue would be thrilled to see that what she introduced me to so many years ago has gone so far. She will always be a part of my heart. The cards I create keep her present in my mind and are part of her legacy.
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