Earth Elements Mandala - The Process Pics ;)

I completed this new mandala painting last week and as usual, I thought I'd share some process pics with you :) I always love looking back on the progression of a painting once I'm finished it...It's always interesting to see how it turns out...almost never exactly as I had planned but I always end up loving it! ;)

Below: I began with some Prussian Blue ink around the edges and sides and added a lot of white ink in the center of the canvas, I usually have a spray bottle of water handy to keep the surface wet and just let the inks blend into each other...

Then I decided to play with some drops of alcohol (becoming a habit I think!) ;)

Added some Burnt Umber and Sepia inks around the outside edges.

 

 After letting the above layer dry, I added some Crimson ink (my favourite colour for sure :D)

Then "Flame Red" and a bit of "Flame Orange" to the mix...splattering the runoff back on to the canvas with my hands...messy but fun! ;) Satisfied with this as my background, I let it dry and got started on the mandala design...

As I was creating the design, I tried to incorporate a few "earthly elements" such as plant life, drops of water, air bubbles and pebbles etc. Here's a few pics of the mandala progression below...

 

 And here is the finished piece! I hope you like it and enjoyed seeing some of the process pics! :)

Earth Elements Mandala

2'x2'x1"

Mixed Media on Canvas

©WhiteVioletArt2013