Neurographic Art. (Mindfulness, Therapy, Fun.)

When I started to write this blog post, I found one I had already started from some weeks ago. I include it here purely to demonstrate that we have survived pretty much unscathed through Lockdown – so far.  If you want to get straight to the Neurographic Art, just scroll down.

The Loved One and I decided to self isolate due to the corona Virus as soon as the Government recommended it, so we are currently into Week 6. I can’t say it has been all that difficult – it’s knowing that you CAN’T that is annoying, rather than being at home itself. I like being at home. I enjoy the drawing and crochet and playing games on my tablet. And I’ve started writing a book, although whether or not it gets finished remains to be seen. There’s a strong possibility that, once I’ve got the main idea out of my head, I may not feel the need to complete it. 

I’ve got three new hobbies too.

Acrylic pour painting is just great. However, it’s extremely messy so I have shelved it until the weather is warmer and I can do it outside. I’ve included a link here just to wet your apetite.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06mC_b9R_e0&t=5s

And then my younger daughter introduced me to jewellery making using UV resin. this is really good fun, although I’m not very good at it yet. When I finally make something that is worth looking at, I’ll add a photo. but this a another link to a YouTube video of how it’s done. The initial outlay isn’t that expensive and you can make some good stuff. It’s just that I haven’t yet!     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYcbvH9beVE

And then there’s pyrography, which I have been fancying trying for a while. I bit the bullet and bought a kit but I haven’t tried it out yet. Again, I’ll let you know.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IswNq-ztvr8 

During Lockdown I have, like many other people, spent a lot of time looking at all sorts of art on the Internet.  It has given me a great deal of pleasure and, on occasions, quite a lot of amusement. One of the things I “discovered” was Neurographic Art, which I liked the look of from the start. At the top of the page is my first attempt, with which I am inordinately pleased. I looked it up and found myself in a world of Russian psychologists and some interesting theories but well out of my comfort zone, so I went for the easiest way out, found out what to do and then had a go.

When I published three of my pieces on Facebook the response was flatteringly enthusiastic and quite a few people asked me what materials I had used and how I had gone about it. Frankly, I did not feel inclined to refer them to the psychologists and make them wade through all of it, so I have put together a step by step guide on How To.., without the background information. You can find it if you go looking for it, I assure you!

I’ve not done one of these before, so please bear with me.

The equipment.

I used an A4 sheet of Bristol Board, 240gsm and cut it into two pieces; a square 21×21 cm and a rectangle 21×8.5cm. The other ones I had done were A5 and I wanted to try a different shape and size. My choice of Bristol Board was because it is so smooth, which suits using alcohol markers better than mixed media or water colour paper/card, as they have more tooth and the colours tend to bleed.

 

Teh pens are Sakura Microns in sizes 01, 03 and 08, plus a black Sharpie in case there are any large areas of black and a tortillon in case I do any pencil shading at a later stage. (Forgot to include a pencil in the pic. It would have been a 3B.

So off we go.

I can’t draw a freehand shape that even vaguely resembles a circle, so I used this stencil.

Ready to really get going.

 

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For some reason i like to leave one circle without any lines going through it. there is no reason for this, I just do. And, although I’ve used circles in everything so far, you don’t have to. I’ve seen people use other geometric shapes, organic ones and representational ones – it’s really all down to how you feel.

Getting started with the rounding

Rounded but not yet filled in – see the arrow?

And then filled in.

So you start by rounding off all the angles where lines intersect. I’ve seen ones where people only round some of these but I like to do them all. It is very, very, VERY soothing. I love this part.

All rounding complete although I’m willing to bet I’ve missed some!

I quite like it at this stage and I think I may do one in just black and white, using patterns instead of colour.

A selection of colours to choose from

At this point i chose my colours. although I have done one using a lot of different colours, I didn’t like it as much as the limited palette ones. I haven’t finished it yet and I’m hoping the addition of patterns and shading will improve it.  As you can see from this picture, I went for a wide range of greens, knowing I would not be using them all. In order to pare down the number of colours, I did a swatch to find ones that went well together.

You will also see that there is a mix of brands and they will all work together, although some blend better than others.

 

 

A colour swatch using all those pens so I can eliminate what I won’t us.

The eventual more limited palette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the swatch and my eventual selection.

Putting the first colour in is always a bit daunting

Funnily enough, it gets easier after the first colour is in there. or at least, it does for me.

all the greens in – I think

I added just a little lilac for contrast.

This is where I started to add a few patterns here and there.

This may be finished.

And that’s probably it. I just kept on adding to it until i got to the stage where I thought if i did any more it would spoil it.

My second piece.

So, if you think that was any help, please let me know. If you didn’t, I’m sorry. (And you needn’t let me know!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the third.

Until another day, oh world of crafters, be good to each other.