D is for Doodling

I've said before that I find coloring relaxing and so is doodling. Doodling doesn't have to take place on paper despite what your parents told you when you were three and decided to decorate their walls.

Here are two letter D shapes, both both in craft stores. The black one came already painted, the other one was made, I believe, of particle board. 

I am photographically challenged. The larger D looks better in person than in this photo. It would probably help to have sunshine entering the house for photos but alas, no sunshine in this part of Michigan today. 

My original attempt at decorating the particle board D was to draw on it with a Sharpie oil based marker and then add stain over the drawing. There wasn't much contrast after drawing the first few lines with the marker. The particle board was more porous than I had anticipated. I based coated the entire letter with white acrylic paint and let it dry.

I used a blend of acrylic paints that I had on hand to create the background colors. There is turquoise, teal, a deep blue and even dark grey in the mix. I didn't want a perfectly smooth blend which is why you see streaks. The darker shades are at the bottom of the letter because that felt right to me. Dark = heavy, heavy = bottom. That isn't a figure analysis but I'm not posting my profile either. 

This color combo looked like my younger son's living room. I asked him if he was interested in it. He was. Would he like black or white doodling on it. Brown or gold. Huh? Those weren't options! Back to the craft store to look for extra fine tip, oil based markers in brown and gold. No luck with brown, at least not in a fine tip, so I bought a gold pen. 

I used black paint on the raw edges and on the back of the letter. I like how this turned out, and I think it will look nice in my son's house, but it isn't my favorite letter.

I like this one better, but I've always liked black and white. This one has more curved doodles in addition to those things that are rather flower-like. They remind me of a dandelion that has gone to seed. Do the designs on the other one look more masculine? I don't know. I try not to over think this. 

I have no idea where this black and white one will go yet. Can I justify redecorating a room based on this? Hmmmmmm.......