Darker Days

We are now at the start of November and especially since having moved our clocks backwards to Winter Time, we definitely notice how shorter the days are becoming. Here in the Netherlands, the mornings see daylight around 8:00, and it starts getting dark around 16:00. The days will increasingly get shorter until 22 December then gradually lengthen. Can’t wait for that! And today, I thought I’d share a digital abstract painting I made the other day to cheer us up during these dreary months to come. Dark doesn’t have to be depressing!

The Start

Started with just a random experiment and play around with Procreate brushes on a tanned background. I was initially considering a toned tan sketch with black charcoal but changed my mind and went for some pastels instead. Oil and soft pastel brushes along with some colored charcoal. As I was working rather aimlessly, I still had no idea what I was going to do with the doodling but I nevertheless continued…

Change of Plans

Seeing how pretty the bright colors all looked, I switched the background to black then abandoned the idea of a charcoal and pastel painting. Good move. See how the colors really pop out now! And now, I began playing around with the Neon Lights pen by doodling some cute animals like a kitty, bunny and bear. This then made me want to go further and start introducing some texture brushes and more vivid neon shades along with some gold too. And what a painting this turned out to be. Mysterious abstract with some kawaii elements!

Always fun to explore the many possibilities with digital art, especially during dark dreary days like this; just sitting down, snuggled up warm and doodling away! With the black background which symbolizes the darkness, those bright vivid colors prove very uplifting as do the glitter and neon lights. And of course, let’s also not forget how making it all kawaii can further cheer us up!