How to draw BULLSWHY

Hello again my tangling friends!

It’s the weekend and a welcome long holiday one for us here in the USA. Memorial Day weekend is also traditionally the unofficial beginning of Summer and I think we’re all ready for that.

Today’s fun BullsWhy tangle is another from the pen of NY CZT Jody Genovese.

Jody explains she came up with this tangle some time ago but couldn’t come up with a name for it so she filed it away. Then recently she rediscovered it again and shares it with us today. Jody introduces BullsWhy and explains how she came up with its name.

I really liked the name I came up with, but couldn’t fit it to the pattern completely. What I mean by that is it very obviously looks like a target, at least to me. So I went to BullsEye and then thought BullsWhy (Y), however it is based on an X and well you see the dilemma.

I tried, I really did to come up with something that worked with the X. I really liked BullsWhy. So, I filed it and forgot about it. When it fell out yesterday I thought I would make a tile and see how it went.

I liked my tile and then I remembered the names aren’t supposed to mean anything anyway! Score…(see what I did there?) 😉

Jody illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing BullsWhy below and she includes two beautiful tiles featuring her tangle. Scroll down for Jody’s explanation on how she created the background on the first tile. It’s fire! 😉

Lemon Juice + Watercolor + Heat = Magic

When I asked Jody how she created the beautiful background for her tile, she graciously shared this intriguing technique.

The background was done with lemon juice and watercolor. I dipped a mug into some lemon juice and ‘stamped’ it onto the tile and by being generous with the dipping and somewhat forceful with the stamping you get some random splashes. Then I dropped just a little bit of watercolor into the spill. Sometimes it moves and sometimes it stays put, but I try to limit to two colors that will blend happily together should they choose to do so.

Once it’s dry I hold the tile over a candle to get the lemon juice to reveal itself. The longer you hover the darker the brown. I always do this either by a sink or with a bowl of water nearby as I have hovered too long …

I’ve tried heat guns and blow dryers, but a candle works best for me. I try to get some that are free standing or in a candle jar so I’m not juggling both things. It’s also nice without the watercolor. That was how I first did this back in 2017.

This method was new to me but with a little research I learned lemon juice can be used as “invisible ink” and heat is the method used to reveal the message. A search for “lemon juice in art” brings up many references, including this lesson plan for school children.

While I was researching I’d asked Jody now she discovered this technique and here’s her reply:

I credit Nancy Drew actually. I was hooked on the books as a kid and saved my allowance so I could buy a new book as often as possible. They were $2.50 at the time. She used to discover secret codes that had been written in lemon juice by using the candle on them and I loved this as a kid. It just came to me one night and I gave it a try and it works. It also works with rum and other tasty treats. Though I don’t actually drink. It smells good though!

Lime juice works too. Zentangle tiles work great, but I would avoid dictionary pages and the like. Watercolor paper is good and a thicker mixed media.

Needless to say, if you plan to try this, please take the precautions Jody mentions when it comes time to using the candle. Please proceed with great caution! (And at your own risk.)

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Check out the tag jodyg for more of Jody’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

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